Telework

The rise of new technologies, such as cloud computing, VoIP, unified communications and videoconferencing, has made work more mobile and flexible than ever before.

In the past, few companies were able to give their employees the option of working remotely. Working from home was a luxury afforded to a lucky few.

Today, the phenomenon that has come to be known as "telework" or "telecommuting" has become widespread. Many independent business owners run their companies entirely from home. And it has become commonplace for larger organizations to offer employees the option of working remotely, either some or all of the time.

In order to be effective, telework solutions rely on a number of important factors.

Firstly, telework cannot be conducted properly without the necessary infrastructure. The reason that, in the past, few were able to telework, is that the contents of an employee's briefcase could never match the resources of his or her office. Today, however, this can be achieved.

If companies utilize cloud-based solutions for their important applications and data, these can be reached from any PC, tablet or smartphone, in any location. In other words, employees can access exactly the same resources remotely as they could in the office.

Access to applications and data, however, is insufficient on its own. In order to be able to work effectively, employees need to be able to communicate rapidly and collaborate with coworkers. VoIP, instant messaging and unified communications services make this possible.

In fact, the effectiveness of such collaboration solutions are clear enough that many companies utilize them not just for teleworkers and between offices, but even within an individual location.

In addition to physical infrastructure, another important factor is crucial for effective telework solutions: An appropriate approach to management.

In some organizations, managers traditionally supervised their employees' work, in part, by keeping track of the number of hours they spent in the office. In recent times, many managers have shifted from this approach, known as "management by observation," to a more flexible approach, termed "management by objectives."

In this model, managers supervise their employees by observing the results of their work, as well as the degree to which they meet stated goals. In a business that uses this approach to management, telework may be an ideal solution from both the employees' and the managers' perspectives: It gives workers the freedom and flexibility to determine their own schedule in a way that best enables them to fulfill their jobs' requirements as best as possible.

Download Red River Telework brochure

Read The Presidents Telework Enhancement Act

Read The Definitive Guide to Telework

Read Red River's Latest Telework Articles