As Published in Business 2 Business, June 2010

Working Virtual: Goodbye Office, Hello Telework

    By Ira S Wolfe, Success Performance Solutions

Whatever stats or studies you look at these days, the result is the same: telework is growing rapidly. The convergence of technology, a changing workforce, and a recession that forced companies to look for new ways to cut costs suddenly enticed many executives and business owners to take a real hard look at taking their company virtual.   

Can you see an office-less company in your future?

Whatever stats or studies you look at these days, the result is the same: telework is growing rapidly. According to the research firm Forrester, 34 million Americans are working from home at least part time. The number of people who worked from home grew from 9.5 million in 1999 to 17.2 million in 2008.

But it’s not just employees and contractors who are working remotely.  The convergence of technology, a changing workforce, and a recession that forced companies to look for new ways to cut costs suddenly enticed many executives and business owners to take a real hard look at taking their company virtual.   

Based on the number of articles on blogs, questions on LinkedIn discussion boards, and a feature story in the April 2010 issue of Inc. Magazine, going virtual is a real decision many CEOs and owners are wrestling with.

The most tantalizing and obvious benefit of going virtual is significant savings - no rent, no building maintenance, no fees, no real estate taxes. Getting rid of the office and working remotely also has appeal to younger workers, new parents, and contract workers. It is also better for the planet.

But eliminating all the costs normally associated with owning, renting, and maintaining an office has a blinding appeal if the CEO/business owner doesn’t go virtual with his eyes wide open.

I was one of those business owners who took the plunge into the depths of the virtual business world just a few months ago.  For the record I had been the teleworker in my business for the previous 6 years. For those 6 years, my employees went to work in an office – and I worked remotely.  When it came time to renew the lease, my employees and I evaluated several alternative office locations including staying put.  But after very little deliberation, they opted to work from home. The decision was made.  My business would become office-less.

All-in-all, we have no regrets. In fact, the transition was virtually uneventful (pun intended!) barring a few technology hurdles and hitches.  But compared to over a dozen moves during the past three decades – a combination of business and residential - going virtual was a piece of cake.

Despite the rosy picture I’ve painted, I will be the first to point out that a virtual business is not for everyone. Based on my experiences, I recommend management, partners, and employees consider the following questions.

1. Have all the senior managers, owners, and/or partners worked virtually before?  If not, I'd encourage everyone to take the next 30 or more days to work from home and see how it works.  Spending your entire adult life working in an office causes you to develop habits – eating lunch with co-workers or scheduling meetings to break up the day. Working from home disrupts the routine. You may like it or hate it. If the decision to go virtual is already a done deal, this time will give management the opportunity to work out the technical glitches and emotional hiccups.

2. Do the same thing for your employees.  Even if you provide the technology for everyone to work virtually, not all your employees may be disciplined enough or comfortable enough to do so. In other words, do you have the right people in place to do this?  In addition, do the employees have space for a home office or will they be forced to use the kitchen table?  What about office furniture and equipment?  Who will provide it and where will they put it?

3. How will you hold out-of-sight employees accountable? Even if your employees don’t always get along in the traditional office space, a co-worker or manager is only a few steps away from a face-to-face meeting when it comes time to work out a disagreement, adjust priorities, mentor an employee, or collaborate on a project.  When everyone is working remotely, you have altered roles and responsibilities. Instead of employing a group of competent generalists, the expectation is now one based on specialists who are productive, efficient, and good at meeting deadlines without someone looking over their shoulder. Are your employees ready and able for this challenge?

4. When working remotely, high-speed connectivity is critical.  Don’t assume every employee has the bandwidth capacity to work from home on a regular basis. In fact, some employees in rural or remote locations may be limited to dial-up or unreliable connectivity.  Other workers may not have purchased the fastest Internet service package. Who will pay for the upgrades and monthly service fees? How will co-workers communicate with one another and with clients?  Will they use home and/or mobile phones or will you (the employer) be setting up a VOIP (Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol) phone system?  Where will your data be stored – on a server or in the cloud?  In either case, how will employees access the data? Who will be responsible for setting up and maintaining the necessary technology in each employee’s home?

5. How will your customers react? Will a virtual home alter your "brand" or client's perception?  Where will you hold client meetings?  Will the neighbors, customers, and competitors think you have gone out of business and going virtual is a prelude to shutting down the business altogether? If employees meet clients, prospects, and vendors in their homes, will the setting be business-like enough for the guests? 

6. Supervising employees in a virtual business opens up a quagmire of the unknown. Compliance with compensation, benefits, and safety guidelines are still the responsibility of the employer. But OSHA and Fair Labor Standards Act are still based on the traditional workplace and predicated on a static work week.  How will you hire and train new hires and develop current employees? How will you monitor hours worked? What about overtime? How will you handle a dismissal of a terminated employee?  If terminated, how will you retrieve the equipment, furniture, and data? It’s not like you can escort the employee out of their own home and pack up their belongings in a box.

It's my belief that many businesses will go virtual over the next few years.  But I also believe that many will fail if the decision is driven by the allure of cost savings alone. The savings won't compensate for productivity loss and mismanagement due to human factors relating to working virtually and remotely.

Are you ready to go virtual?

Telecommuting by the Numbers

What would happen to the U.S. economy if everyone who could work from home -- about 40 percent of the work force -- did so half the time. Kate Lister of the Telework Research Network, a San Diego -- based research firm,  has a rough idea of what this future state might look like.  The figures are annual.

$200 billion productivity gains by American companies

$190 billion savings from reduced real estate expenses, electricity bills, absenteeism, and employee turnover

100 hours per person not spent commuting

50 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions cut

276 million barrels of oil saved, or roughly 32 percent of oil imports from the Middle East

1,500 lives not lost in car accidents

$700 billion total estimated savings to American businesses

Source: Telecommuting by the Numbers

About the author

As president of Success Performance Solutions, Ira S Wolfe helps organizations find and hire the right employees and identify high-potential leaders. He speaks nationwide on hiring, workforce trends, managing the generations in a presentation titled Geeks, Geezers, and Googlization. He is also the author of Perfect Labor Storm 2.0: Trends That Will Change the Way You Do Business.