Teleworking.IntroductionHomeworkers have traditionally been employed in low skilled jobs, but the development of computer and telecommunications Communicating information, including data, text, pictures, voice and video over long distance. See communications. technology has opened up opportunities for teleworking to many other workers, including professional and managerial staff. The potential benefits of teleworking include: * the reduction of overheads and expenditure on office premises * less time spent travelling to and from the workplace * greater flexibility for employees who need to care for dependents or have disabilities * better motivation and morale for employees who can manage their own schedule * lower absenteeism ab·sen·tee·ism n. 1. Habitual failure to appear, especially for work or other regular duty. 2. The rate of occurrence of habitual absence from work or duty. * the opportunity to employ well-qualified staff who do not live locally * the retention and attraction of staff whose skills are in scarce supply * improved productivity. If these benefits are to be realised, teleworking needs to be carefully managed. This checklist is designed to help line managers who want to introduce teleworking for the first time, either as a planned scheme or as an ad hoc For this purpose. Meaning "to this" in Latin, it refers to dealing with special situations as they occur rather than functions that are repeated on a regular basis. See ad hoc query and ad hoc mode. response to individual requests. National Occupational Standards for Management and Leadership This checklist has relevance to the following standards: D: Working with people, unit4 Definition Teleworking, or telecommuting telecommuting, an arrangement by which people work at home using a computer and telephone, transmitting work material to a business office by means of a modem and telephone lines; it is also known as telework. , involves employees working away from the employer's premises on a full- or part-time part-time adj. For or during less than the customary or standard time: a part-time job. part basis for all or a substantial part of working hours, either at home or an alternative site such as a telecentre or telecottage Telecottage is the name given to a teleworker's physical workplace. The telecottage can be in the individual's home or, as is becoming increasingly the case, on a communal site within a short walking distance of the teleworker's home. . Communication with the organisation is carried out mainly electronically through the use of telecommunications and computer equipment. Action checklist 1. Carry out a feasibility study "A Feasibility Study" is an episode of the original The Outer Limits television show. It first aired on 13 April, 1964, during the first season. It was remade in 1997 as part of the revived The Outer Limits series with a minor title change. Include a cost-benefit analysis cost-benefit analysis In governmental planning and budgeting, the attempt to measure the social benefits of a proposed project in monetary terms and compare them with its costs. in your study, taking productivity, travel arrangements, communication and training costs, administrative support requirements and office space into account. 2. Decide the basis on which you will introduce teleworking * A central policy--teleworking is introduced as an organisation-wide option through a formal policy. * Functional reorganization--teleworking is selected for a specific function only. * Self-selection--the teleworkers make their own choice by proposing the arrangement or by creating the situation which leads a manager to suggest it. * External recruitment--teleworking is introduced for a function and new staff are recruited externally. * Upgrading of mobile staff--staff who are already mobile and equipped with information technology which will allow them to work partially from home. 3. Conduct a pilot and evaluate the results A pilot may not be needed if teleworking is introduced on an ad hoc basis for individual jobs but is essential before it is brought in throughout the organisation. 4. Decide which individual jobs are suitable for teleworking The work must be intrinsically in·trin·sic adj. 1. Of or relating to the essential nature of a thing; inherent. 2. Anatomy Situated within or belonging solely to the organ or body part on which it acts. Used of certain nerves and muscles. interesting and not too monotonous. It must be capable of being carried out without continuous face to face contact with others and of being measurable by results. 5. Select the individual teleworkers Working from home requires specific personal qualities in addition to the normal criteria for the job, including: maturity; trustworthiness trustworthiness Ethics A principle in which a person both deserves the trust of others and does not violate that trust ; self-sufficiency self-suf·fi·cient adj. 1. Able to provide for oneself without the help of others; independent. 2. Having undue confidence; smug. self and self-discipline, and good time management and communications skills. Some of these may need to be developed. 6. Prepare teleworkers and their managers Ensure the home environment is suitable: i.e. peaceful and safe. Give clear information about how to deal with isolated working conditions. Consider running workshops for new teleworkers and the use of mentoring or shadowing schemes. 7. Put the right communications structures in place Will email be sufficient, or do you need an additional messaging system Software that provides an electronic mail delivery system. It is made up of the following functional components, which may be packaged together or independently. Mail User Agent ? Are the ground rules clear on how and when the teleworker See telecommuting. is expected to communicate? 8. Provide suitable equipment Most equipment is normally supplied by the employer and includes: suitable desk, chair and storage facilities; telephone and dedicated line; fax and answering machine; personal computer; modem and printer. Ensure equipment is ergonomically sound, fully compatible with systems used elsewhere in the organisation, easy to use and easily maintained. If appropriate equipment is already held by the teleworker, then arrangements should be put in place to pay for use and maintenance. 9. Ensure equipment is safeguarded Take out a service contract on all equipment and provide access to technical helplines. Install anti-virus software anti-virus software n → Antivirensoftware f and ensure teleworkers only use software supplied by the organisation and that they have effective back-up systems. Ensure the employee has insurance or arrange it. 10. Draw up a contract Many teleworkers have permanent employee status and will only need additional clauses in a standard contract which might cover: expected working hours, including any 'core time'; reporting procedures; equipment responsibilities; health and safety; and details of recoverable expenses or allowances. 11. Consider whether additional training is needed The teleworker may need to improve their generic skills, for example, keyboard skills, use of software and hardware, report writing, communications or time management. 12. Provide facilities for teleworkers on office days Ensure that if teleworkers are required to attend the office on certain days they have access to the necessary facilities: telephone; computer terminal; and personal filing. These can be shared among several teleworkers ('hot desks'). 13. Set up support systems for teleworkers Teleworkers on their own at home, may miss day to day personal contact, become socially isolated and lose motivation. Try to create a sense of belonging and ensure that teleworkers receive organisational newsletters and details of training courses and social events. Regular meetings, every three months for example, between teleworkers and managers can provide a framework for motivation, control and review. 14. Set up effective management systems Teleworkers need to be managed by results. Set up a performance measurement system if one is not already in place. Make sure that teleworkers are included in staff appraisal and development systems. 15. Establish a monitoring system Have review mechanisms in place to pick up costs and benefits and assess where changes are needed. How not to manage teleworking Don't: * regard teleworking as an alternative to childcare * make assumptions about which employees will want to become teleworkers * fail to communicate regularly with teleworkers * allow teleworkers to become isolated. Additional resources Books Work well from home: how to run a successful home office London: Bloomsbury, 2005 The teleworking handbook
This article is about reference works. For the subnotebook computer, see .
London: A and C Black: 2003 Moving towards the virtual workplace, Viviane Illegems and Alain Verbeke Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, OM, GCVO (2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English Romantic composer. Several of his first major orchestral works, including the Enigma Variations and the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, were greeted with acclaim. , 2003 Ebusiness and workplace redesign re·de·sign tr.v. re·de·signed, re·de·sign·ing, re·de·signs To make a revision in the appearance or function of. re , Paul Jackson Paul Jackson can refer to:
London: Routledge, 2002 This is a selection of books available for loan to members from the Management Information Centre. More information at: www.managers.org.uk/mic Journal articles Should employers keep their distance from teleworking? Workplace Report, May 2006, no36, pp17-19 An update on telecommuting review and prospects for emerging issues, William Rick Crandall and Longge Gao SAM Advanced Management Journal, summer 2005, vol 70 no 3, pp30-37 Homeworking IDS HR Studies, Mar 2005, no 793, whole issue This is a selection of journal articles available from the Management Information Centre. More information at: www.managers.org.uk/mic Related checklist Moving the Virtual Organisation Forward (077) Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the resources Homeworking.co.uk: Advice for individual homeworkers and employers. www.homeworking.co.uk Telecommuting: Information and advice from Gil Gordon Associates. www.gilgordon.com Organisations Telework See telecommuting. Association, FREEPOST, CV232312 WREN, Kenilworth Warwickshire CV8 2BR Tel: 0800 616008 www.tca.org.uk OwnBase, Birchwood birchwood a wood whose shavings are favored in Europe for the smoking of meats. , Hill Road South, Frodsham, Helsby, Cheshire WA6 9PT Email: info@ownbase.com www.ownbase.com |
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