As someone who's been workshifting for more than 15 years, and also as someone who during that time has managed workshifters for a number of organizations, I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to successfully supporting remote employees. Here, a few suggestions and observations from the trenches:

• Workshifting isn't for everyone. Although most companies will see significant benefits from allowing employees to work from home and/or the road as needed or desired, some employees simply aren't cut out for the independence and discipline such a set-up requires. Many people (especially mature adults who've been in the workforce for a while) know that about themselves--given the choice, they will opt to go into an office everyday for the companionship, sense of purpose, or even just because they don't trust themselves to be productive at home. Other employees may want to workshift but are clearly ready to do so. It's a manager's job to recognize when an employee shouldn't work from anywhere but the office, and support any employees who fit that group.  Alternatively, you could know what traits you're looking for ahead of time and hire for those workshifting qualities.
  
  
• Sometimes, a transition period is needed. Letting people work from home one or two days a week is a good way to trial the new way of working, and make sure that it's a good fit for everyone--not just the workshifting employee, but also his or her manager and colleagues. However, for the transition to succeed, workshifters must be given the technology and business model support they would get if they were workshifting full time.
  
  
• Speaking of which, make sure you give workshifters the technology they need to work from somewhere other than a corporate office. These will likely include a notebook PC, mobile phone, access to IM and conferencing tools, and a headset.  Ensure that you have a remote support option in place to help them at a distance.
  
  
• Shift your reward system to focus on results, not time spent on any given project, or any given workday. Workshifters get used to the freedom to work anytime and from anywhere pretty quickly; as long as they're getting the job done, don't stress about how or when they're doing it. (That said, if part of their job is meeting with clients or participating in conference calls, you should expect them to be available at the necessary times to do so.)
  
  
• Assign workshifters to small working teams whenever a project supports collaborative work--and make sure you mix up the players often. Working with one or two colleagues on a specific task ensures remote employees get to know one another better--and having a solid relationship will help the team be more collaborative and engaged even when they're not working together on anything specific. Audio, video and web conferencing can help small teams work effectively across physical and cultural boundaries.
  
  
• Leverage social networking tools to keep people connected from afar. This, too, will help far-flung employees get to know each other better, and stay in touch even when they're not actively working on a project together. That reaps rewards when the time comes for favors, support and collaboration.
  
  
• When possible, meet in person. If you can't afford to bring an entire group together on a regular basis, encourage team members to meet live in small groups whenever they happen to be in the same place--at conferences, on client calls, etc. This will help people get even more out of their virtual meetings during the rest of the year.

What are some of your tips that you have found useful for managing workshifters?

Photo by: joelogon

Workshifting is a state of mind, and for it to succeed, managers and employees need to change how they view productivity, time, loyalty and work-life balance. But technology can help, too. I like to say that technology has allowed us to get to the point where workshifting is possible (thanks, Internet). But technology is now also necessary to make workshifting work--to make it as productive as actually being there is.

To that end, here's a list of my favorite workshifting-friendly technology:

• A headset. This is the most important tool that I own. I spend a lot of time on the phone, with clients and in conference calls, and my neck and shoulders are grateful for my headset. More important, the headset lets me move around my office and my house while staying connected--allowing me to take full advantage of my remote location without sacrificing connectivity.
  
  
• Audio and web conferencing. Especially web conferencing, which allows me to share information and collaborate with colleagues and customers without having to travel. This is especially important for me, since I have three youngs kids and I hate to leave them. But I use conferencing as more than just a replacement for events and large group meetings; I use it to make what would otherwise be phone calls better. Web conferencing supports work-product collaboration in a way that's hard to do even when collaborators are in the same room. It's designed to enable document mark-up and sharing, which is even better than having two people work on the same document in the same room, on multiple or a shared PC.
  
  
• Instant messaging and (more important) presence. I use presence information to see who's available when, and how I can best reach them--important data when I can't literally see the people I'm working with. But I also use it to let my colleagues know when I'm not available--either by setting my status as unavailable or by simply logging off the system. That ensures that when I need to focus on work, I can--it's the virtual equivalent of a closed door (which, let's face it, is really the value of doors).
  
  
• The forward feature on my business landline that ensures my business calls are automatically forwarded to my cell phone, and its voicemail, when I'm away from the office or on a call. It's poor-man's find-me/follow-me, and it keeps managing my phone calls and voicemail much simpler.
  
  
• Social networking tools Facebook and Twitter. I use Facebook to stay in touch with colleagues, partners and customers on a personal level; it's amazing how much I learn about people, and that knowledge informs my business relationships with them. For starters, it gives me common ground in our conversations and interactions--a point of departure for opening a new discussion or request. But it also makes me more willing to help when asked, and more likely to get help when I need it. That's what friendly business relationships do, after all: grease the wheels. (Of course, they also make work more fun.) I use Twitter to be part of a very specific community--in my case, people who cover and/or care about unified communications and collaboration. Sending my thoughts into the ether and watching them get traction (or not), as well as following the cloud conversation to see what's top of mind right now keeps me connected to my market regardless of where I am or what I'm doing.
  

What tools make it possible for you to successfully workshift? And what would you love to have that you don't?

Photo by: Justin Levy

Lately, my sister has been trying to convince her employer--a non-profit that supports freedom and democracy around the world--to allow its employees to work flexible hours, from anywhere (but most especially from home). She does project-based work that only occasionally requires direct input from co-workers--that is, she is the ideal candidate for workshifting. And still, she is having a tough time selling the idea upstairs.

In the process of making her case, my sister has come across an enormous amount of research about the value of workshifting (although to be fair, most of the studies don't call it that; see also, flextime, teleworking, etc.). Here's some of it:

• The Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) reports that according to results of a 2009 study, "a full 84% of companies overall believe that flexible work arrangements in their organization boosts employee morale. That figure is up from 76% in a similar 2008 study conducted by i4cp. Correspondingly, the 2009 study showed that 78% of polled companies say flexwork options bolster retention rates, up from 64% the previous year."
  
  
• A 2008 report from Corporate Voices for Working Families notes that in their 2007 survey of senior-level executives at large corporations:

• "Respondents reported an overwhelmingly positive experience with flexible work strategies;"

• "More then 75 percent of the business executives interviewed define flexible work strategies as an alternate time or location arrangement; for instance, a nonstandard 40-hour workweek or working from home;" and
   
• "The respondents, by a ratio of 9-to-1, report that flexible work strategies have a positive effect on helping organizations reach business goals
  
  
• In a 2009 letter of recommendations submitted to the Senate Staff Working Group on Workplace Flexibility, Corporate Voices cites, "Our 50 partner companies [including Booz Allen Hamilton, HP, and KPMG LLP] understand that flexible work arrangements, for both salaried and hourly employees, contribute to more productive work environments, increased employee loyalty, reduced stress, and as a result, increased profitability and global competitiveness."
  
  
• IBM has seen a dramatic savings due to its support of telecommuting.  As of October 2007, according to a FinancialWeek article of that month, 40% of IBM's 355,000 employees are mobile workers. The magazine reports, "The company estimates that its mobile workforce reduces its real estate requirements by at least 2 million square feet, saving IBM about $100 million a year."
  
  
• Families and Work Institute (FWI) reports in their study The Impact of the Recession on Employers, "fully 81% of employers have maintained existing flexible work options during the recession and 13% have actually increased those options, while 6% have reduced them.
  

Even Michelle Obama is a believer in workshifting: Speaking at a Corporate Voices conference in May 2009, Obama stressed that her own personal experiences support Corporate Voices' research. The Washington Post reported that Obama said, "I found that as I've managed staff, the more flexibility and opportunities that I gave them to be good parents, the more commitment that they made to working with me, the less likely they were to leave because they wouldn't find the same sort of situation somewhere else." She added, "So this isn't just about family balance. This is about making work places stronger and more effective, and keeping and attracting the most qualified people."

As someone who's been workshifting for 15 years, I couldn't agree more--and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my sister is successful in her fight for the freedom to be happier, healthier and more productive!

Many of us who workshift travel a lot, perhaps more than we'd like. Although I had the pleasure of a summer pretty much free from business travel, things are starting to ramp up again for fall. And while I love the opportunity to meet with clients and colleagues live and in person, I hate the drain traveling puts on my productivity. It's just not easy getting day-to-day work done from airports, taxis and hotels. Throw in delays, bad food, sick seat mates and time away from family and friends, and business travel is a necessary burden, not a pleasure.

But I have found ways to mitigate the impact. Here are a few friendly tips:

• Designate a carry-on bag that you take on every trip, and leave the things you know you need on the road in the bag. In my experience, these should include business cards, noise-canceling headphones, ear plugs, hand lotion and/or no-wash anti-bacterial gel, a notebook and pen, and breath mints.
  
  
• Invest in extra chargers for your cell/smart phone and PC. Then, leave them in that designated carry-on bag, so you always have power for your critical business tools.
  
  
• Pack healthful snacks for your trip--as many as possible to cover you for the duration. I like nuts, dried fruit, pretzels and hard cheeses. Then, I toss in some fancy chocolates, for a late-night treat. I also keep an empty water bottle on hand, and fill it when I'm past security. This lets me get smart calories and a reliable energy boost, without the crash of processed foods--and without the high airport and mini-bar prices. And it guarantees I won't go hungry or thirsty on the flight if we're stuck on the tarmac for hours on end.
  
  
• Check into your flight from home or the hotel, and print your boarding pass ahead of time. (Most hotels will let you do this free in their business center, or at a computer/printer by the front desk.) Also, print out directions to the hotel and any other locations you'll be visiting, and make sure you let the hotel know you'll be late checking in if, in fact, you will be.
  
  
• Request a room with no connecting door. TV noise and loud voices carry in the space underneath the doors, so you're more likely to get some peace and quiet with a solid wall between you and your neighbors.
  
  
• Try to get in a workout whenever you can, whether that means hitting the hotel health club or going for a run in the neighborhood before your first--or after your last--meeting. Stretch in your room, and take the opportunity to walk whenever you can, even if (especially if) you're in front of clients all day.
  
  
• Plug your devices into an outlet whenever you can.  There's nothing worse than running out of juice mid-trip, and not being near a power source when you need (or simply have the time) to get work done. Consider investing in an extra battery for your phone and PC, too (and then leave them in your travel bag).
  
  
• Make a list of tasks you can reasonably expect to get done on your trip during your down time, but don't be too ambitious. Sometimes, it's nice to take advantage of being disconnected from the regular slew of calls and e-mail--a nice benefit of being on the road. 

What tips have you found that are useful to YOU for staying more productive while traveling?

Photo by: Chris Brogan

It's true: I do some of my best thinking on my bike. Or while swimming laps. Or sitting on a snowy chairlift during a powder day. And one of the great advantages of workshifting is, I can do all those things while I'm supposed to be working--because, while I'm doing them, I usually am working.

Here's the thing: Most of us don't spend enough time thinking at work, at least not about work. We spend plenty of time doing things, or asking others to do things. We spend plenty of time procrastinating, and thinking about other things (like what to have for lunch, or who to invite to our child's first birthday party). We certainly spend plenty of time talking, discussing, reviewing, brainstorming and otherwise "meeting." But we really don't spend much time at all just thinking. And that's a problem, because the only way any of us can come up with new, better ideas is to think about them.

But then again, the fact that we don't think nearly enough is not really surprising. After all, with the exception of highly-trained academics, who among us can really think while sitting in an office chair, staring at the wall? No--don't check your e-mail, don't tweet, don't post a status update to Facebook ("I'm trying to think!"), don't check your favorite web sites for news and information... just sit there and think. It's pretty much impossible.

On the other hand, there's not much to do but think when you're riding a bike for an hour, or swimming back and forth in a pool, or staring into deep, drifting snow banks from 15 feet up. And that's why I consider my time out of my office chair to be some of my most productive. I use it to analyze new research data, to formulate ideas for client presentations and PowerPoint slides, to evaluate where vendors and markets are and where they're going, and, yes, even to come up with ideas for blog posts.

Of course, there are downsides to thinking on the go. For one thing, there's no guarantee that the ideas that pop into your head will be work related. For that, you need to focus on business--I've gotten pretty good at it, and I liken it to yoga, where you try to clear your mind of everything but your mantra. In this case, you're clearing your mind of everything but the business topic at hand. Also, there's usually no way to write down your ideas, so you have to get good at remembering them on the fly. That, too, takes discipline and practice, but the skill is one I've found useful in many other areas of my life, so I'm happy to hone it.

The great thing about work shifting is, most of us can sneak out of the "office" for an hour of uninterrupted thought. But don't feel guilty about it--you're probably being more productive than your cubicle-bound colleagues. And, you're getting some exercise, to boot!

Where do you do some of your best thinking?

Photo by: mtsofan