Chapter 1 - Introduction

Welcome to your online Working from Home: How to Set Up A Homeworking Programme training course. For over 20 years, our trainers at Total Success Training have taught thousands of our delegates to become more effective by teaching them practical tips and techniques that can be used immediately.

We’ve designed all of our courses to be both practical and easy to follow and have included topics that we feel will help you to learn quickly and easily.

To get the best out of this on-line training course please complete all the topics but go through each one at the pace you feel comfortable with. You may decide to do it in one go or in stages. It’s all up to you. We have included lots of exercises and quizzes to get you thinking, planning and using the course information in the most practical way.

By the end of this course, you will feel both competent and confident in setting up a homeworking programme for your staff who work remotely.

Chapter 2 - Managing the Communications and Control of Teleworkers

Because social isolation is often mentioned by remote workers as a disadvantage of this type of work arrangement, the objective of good communications is to avoid excluding them from aspects of on-site work, such as internal communications, outings, competitions, social gatherings, internally advertised job opportunities, as well as information relating to their work and health and safety. Communications between teleworkers should be encouraged and opportunities provided to meet face-to-face, both for work and social purposes.

Chapter 3 - Setting Up the Teleworking Programme

From management by osmosis to management by design, excellent communications are central to resolving two of the main objections to teleworking:

• the perceived loss of management control over employees
• the dangers of isolation for employees

These both require a shift from informal, largely ad hoc, face-to-face communication, to more formal, pre-arranged communication, much of which will be remote. It is a case of making explicit that which has been implicit.

Three simple guidelines will help:

• Keep talking,
• Keep them visible, and
• Keep everyone informed.

Both sides have a responsibility in the process, but ultimately the buck stops with you, the manager. It’s your job to know what your employees are doing, to monitor their performance on a regular basis, specify targets and longer-term objectives, and provide their longer-term career development and training.

When everyone is in the same place most of the time a great deal of communication passes through the informal network, over the grapevine, via the coffee machine, by seeing the comings and goings which indicate new activity. This informal communication can compensate for considerable gaps in the formal flows of information within a department and from one department to another.

When some of the people are away most of the time, the gaps and cracks appear very quickly, and can have devastating effects. Technology has a significant role to play in easing the way, but technology alone cannot be the total solution to anything. Forward planning, careful scheduling and commitments to central diaries and information are what drive the technology and ensure that all the necessary structures are in place.

Chapter 4 - Choosing the Right People

A successful teleworking scheme displays five fundamental characteristics.

These are:

1. Voluntary participation
2. Strong culture of trust
3. Open, two-way communications
4. Clear ground-rules established from the outset
5. The right people

Let’s look at number 5 — finding the right people. This is the key to successful teleworking. No amount of planning, enthusiasm or careful job definitions can make up for lack of suitable candidates. It’s important to remember that not even all of those who were willing and interested in the idea may be suitable. To avoid costly destructive mistakes, careful selection is essential.

The selection process has many stages:

• Identifying the general level of interest,
• Profiling the most likely candidates in more detail
• Making the final selection.

This will involve a combination of a self-assessment questionnaire that will be completed and reviewed by potential candidates with their line manager and interviews with the HR department and with the departmental manager or supervisor.

Below are some selection criteria for suitable participants in the scheme. Candidates should display many, if not all, of the characteristics listed above. These fall into three overall categories:

• Personal attributes
• Work-related attitudes and skills
• Personal circumstances

All of which are closely related. Candidates should be highly motivated and willing to participate in the scheme in order to change their work practices whether for personal, family, work or commuting reasons

Personal characteristics

• Flexible
• Reliable
• Dependable
• Trustworthy
• Focused
• Self-disciplined
• Confident
• Sensible
• Independent
• Self-starter
• Team player

Work related attitude/ skills

• Able to work unsupervised and without peer pressure
• Good communication skills
• Good people skills
• Professional approach
• Highly organised
• Good time management
• Good at problem solving
• Good track record in timekeeping
• Meeting deadlines
• Experience of the job
• Experience of the organisation
• Technically competent

Personal circumstances

• Adequate space at home

• Ability to separate their work area from family commitments/disruptions
• Has a support network/ good social life outside the workplace
• Effective support from the people they live with
• Desire/reason to change
• Ability to create opportunities out of problems
• Ability and attitude to separate work life from homelife

The final decision about who is eligible for telework lies with the immediate supervisor or manager concerned, since they will be responsible for the performance and well-being of the staff member in question.