/images/header5e3.jpg)
the remote job – it really is remote
Why is is so hard to get away from the office when we can work from anywhere?
Years ago, a while before this current catastrophe, I was looking at how I could ply my craft while staying at home, and investigated telecommuting. I was convinced that
1. I could do more/better work from home (I am very self disciplined)
2. Any body I worked for would be happy to have me working those extra 2-3 hours I’d save in commuting
3. The technology was ready – with a phone line, a satellite dish, and electricity I could connect to any computer anywhere.
4. it was the wave of the future – no cars, no weather, no problems
BUT – I found out at the time (and unfortunately it’s still too true):
managers manage people, they don’t manage work.
So, I decided to try to teach managers how to manage work, even when they did not know what work their people were performing.
Of course, this is in technology, back office, support services fields..manufacturing and other fields still need people on site.
I made my cases, presenting (I make really good presentations) to my former as well as new clients, but I was met with a startling resistance…
Managers did not want to learn the details of what their people did! In technology, it used to be true that the Managers came from the business side, and the techies were from Saturn. There was fear. There was lack of understanding of the tools needed.
This is not so true any more. Many (most) managers are tech savy, even proficient, but there has been a only small increase in virtual-offices, and jobs available in those offices. I expect there will be more, with this current situation.
So, I renew my offer – Any managers out there who would like to save rent on office space, and learn how to manage the work their workers work at, remotely, let me know. I can help you make it happen, and your workforce will love it. I can train them too. It can work, with the right structure.
p.s. A lot of companies have out-sourced operations – these off-shore companies are not all bad, but the many problems experienced (language, inefficient communications, and customer dis-satisfaction) have left them in a hard place. They’ve grown used to the savings, but yet need to improve productivity to survive, if they have not yet died…
We have the talent, the skills, the need and the time, right now, to pull this all together. But we don’t do it alone. Use the bandwidth! Use the tools and technologies we’ve built up all these years! Put America to back to work! let the empty cube be moved to cyberspace! The rent is cheap.
The Problems well outlined: Virtual Office
Advice on how to implement telecommuting without losing productivity
