Many articles have been written about the personality traits needed to be a successful workshifter. Most stress the importance of finding people who are flexible, adaptable go-getters and disciplined workers. But in my opinion, the traits of those people who manage workshifters are equally important. A strong relationship between managers and workshifters is one of the most important elements in a sustained remote working environment.

I'm lucky because two of the three people who supervise me also work out of their homes and as a result understand the situational factors that influence a workshifting environment. But I know this isn't the case for everyone. As a workshifter, the people who manage you are often the only lifeline you have to the office and sometimes even clients and customers. It can quickly become frustrating if you're stuck with a manager who isn't in tune with your unique needs or tries to control every move you make.

As a result, it's important for organizations to not only focus on the workshifters that are part of the team, but also the managers who oversee them. Identify the people who have a management style that best supports worshifters, and provide them with the freedom they need to successfully manage a remote workforce.

From my perspective, here are some of the traits I've found to be most important in people who manage workshifters:

1. Be an over-communicator. In my opinion, there's no such thing as communicating too much with a workshifter. Workshifters are not around to hear the back and forth about ongoing projects in the office, which is valuable information they're missing out on. Make sure you keep your remote team in the loop. Develop mechanisms that will help them stay informed without having to constantly call their office cohorts to get the information they need.
   
   
2. Be a team builder. Feeling a part of the team is important to the success of workshifters. It increases motivation levels and helps reduce feelings of isolation. Managers who are natural team builders will succeed in acting as a bridge between the culture within the office and the remote team.
    
3. Don't micro-manage. Excessive scrutiny increases stress, fosters insecurity and doesn't empower workshifters to contribute their own ideas. It also gives the impression that that you don't trust them. Managers need to figure out a way to monitor the workshifter without micro-managing them. Build trust. Emphasize deliverables instead of actions.
   
   
4. Be responsive. Appointing your busiest employee to manage a team of workshifters is probably not the best idea. Workshifters who don't hear back from their manager until the end of the day will become frustrated at their inability to move projects forward due to lack of information. Managers need to make a conscious effort to be responsive and make themselves available to their team. 
   
   
5. Be curious. Take time to understand your workshifter's world.  It's easy to build relationships with the people you see every day in the office. For offsite employees this becomes more challenging. Workshifters who believe their managers do not understand their world will feel unsupported and skeptical about their managers' ability to give performance feedback. Managers should go out of their way to get to know workshifters and make them feel more connected. Visit each other's home office. Share family photos. Meet regularly.
   
   
6. Be flexible. Workshifters are a self-motivated, autonomous and dedicated group. This means that managers must look at workshifters as individuals and not as a group entity. Understand each individual's unique needs and motivations and how to respond to them.
   

Do you have any other traits that you would add to this list?

Photo Credit: Round Indigo Rock

In any relationship, trust is a critical part of the foundation. For Workshifters and the companies that employ them, working arrangements must be based on mutual trust to be successful.

Businesses need to trust their telecommuting employees aren't slacking off and are actually working when they say they're working. Workshifters, on the other hand, need to be able to trust that their physical absence from the office doesn't isolate them from the team and negatively impact their chances for growth within the company.

So what builds trust? Here are some tips from a Workshifter's perspective that may help:

For Managers:

• Maintain a sense of teamwork. Feeling as though they're part of the team can often be one of the most challenging aspects from Workshifters. Find ways to create and sustain a sense of camaraderie among your employees. One way to do this is to schedule regular team meetings, by phone, video conference or other methods.
  
  
• Assess the needs of your remote workers to determine the tools they need to succeed. This isn't going to be the same for everyone, so I recommend addressing these needs on an individual basis. If you demonstrate that you're invested in their success it will go a long way in establishing trust.
   
• Share organizational knowledge. Develop tools to keep your Workshifters plugged in. Whether it's Google Docs, a server that's accessible via a VPN client or other applications, remote workers need to be able to access organizational knowledge anytime and anywhere to be successful.
   
• Finally, be accessible to your remote team and make it a point to connect on a regular basis. This will go a long way in building the relationship with your Workshifters and building mutual trust.
  

For Workshifters:

• Establish a consistent routine so coworkers know when and where to reach you. Being predictable in your actions will build trust with the people who aren't able to observe you work every day.
  
  
• Be responsive. This is even more important for Workshifters than our office counterparts. After all, your colleagues will probably begin to wonder what you're up to if you haven't returned phone calls or checked your email all day.
   
• Deliver as promised. Although this is a bit of a no brainer, I feel it's still worth mentioning. One of the quickest ways to build trust, after all, is to deliver quality work when promised and on a consistent basis.
   
  
• Finally, go beyond emails when you're communicating with your coworkers. We all send and receive hundreds of emails a day. Go out of your way to build stronger relationships with the people you work with by picking up the phone or making time to stop in the office, if possible.
  

What are some of the tactics you've used to build trust?

Photo Credit: vagawi

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

Today we have a guest post by James Ware.  James is the co-founder of the Work Design Collaborative and the Future of Work program.

We all know there is a virtual explosion of distributed/mobile/flexible work occurring across theeconomy, including large organizations, small businesses, and free agents/entrepreneurs. In fact, our research suggests that fully 15% of the U.S. workforce now spends one or more days a week outside a corporate facility. We project that number to grow beyond 25% within five years.Yet managing mobile workers and distributed teams is an enormously difficult challenge. When your staff is working at great distances from each other, keeping them focused on their tasks and connected with each other and the larger organization often seems nearly impossible.

We've written previously about the "anywhere office" and the growing desire, if not need, of most knowledge workers to tune in and log on from anyplace at any time. But being connected technically is actually only a small part of the solution.

The most frequent objection we hear from managers concerned about the possible loss of shared knowledge and corporate culture when workgroups start operating more virtually is the fear of reduced accidental meetings at the coffee pot or in the hallways. They worry that distributed teams will suffer from a reduction in the serendipity that so often leads to important business breakthroughs--those unplanned, spontaneous conversations between people who don't interact normally in the course of doing their jobs.

More importantly, however, is the need to keep team members focused on common goals. One CEO several years ago posed essential questions about leadership of a distributed workforce:

"How do I know that our 5,000 employees spread out all over the globe are focused minute by minute on doing the things the company needs them to be doing? How do they know in the moment that they are making the decisions and taking the actions we want them to? And how do we know what they're thinking?"

There is no simple answer to this fundamental challenge, but here are four basic principles for connecting distributed team members with each other and the organization at large:

Use Highly Participative Approaches in Distributed Work Environments

People who are involved in decisions affecting their work are much more likely to go along with them. That doesn't mean that you have to get 100% buy-in before doing anything; just being asked about their views will go a long way towards satisfying most people, even if in the end their manager doesn't agree. It's primarily a matter of valuing staff ideas and acknowledging their individual perspectives.

Define and Publish Formal Policies and Procedures for Distributed Work

As soon as you allow employees to work remotely you are opening a can of worms, including legal issues, financial disputes, and potential misunderstandings. Legally, when an employee who is working at home trips over a rug and breaks an arm, is he or she eligible for workers' compensation? Who will pay for the home office furnishings, the telephone that is being used for work, or the Internet connection? And when is the employee expected to be accessible to other employees and management?

It is critically important to treat employees consistently--in all matters, of course, but particularly as they move into flexible work programs. Nothing will stir up employee anger or legal action more quickly than the discovery that some of them are receiving different levels of financial support or being held to different work schedules.

Establish Explicit, Tangible Measures of Individual and Team Performance

This is the single most important thing you can do to keep distributed team members aligned with company goals and each other. Formal performance and productivity measures (here are some tips on being a productive workshifter) serve several important functions:

• They establish clear guidelines and common expectations about how each distributed employee will be measured and rewarded.
  
  
• They help create an atmosphere of accountability in both directions and across the organization.
  
  
• They provide senior management with clear evidence of how cost-effective (or not) the distributed work arrangements are.
  
  
• They help shift the dominant management culture away from managing time spent on tasks to focusing on the results produced.
  

 "Managing by walking around," which was a common rule of thumb in the 1980's and 90's, has deep common-sense appeal in that it encourages managers to be visible and to interact regularly with their subordinates.  In that context, however, "interact" generally meant face-to-face communication (though it also often included peering, uninvited, over employees' shoulders to scrutinize their work).

But clearly that kind of interaction just can't happen in a distributed environment. It's absolutely essential to replace such close-in monitoring of employees' actions with a focus on the results they produce.

Develop Formal Agreements about Regular Interaction

One of the inevitable consequences of working in a distributed team is that members just don't see each other or their managers as often as they do when they are co-located. Yet we all know that more frequent interactions generally lead to higher levels of trust and greater comfort with other team members.

But with distributed teams frequent face-to-face interaction just isn't feasible. However, there are several critical points in the life of a team when being together in-person can make a huge difference:  at the very beginning, as the team converges on a design solution, and as it winds up its work and disbands.

For managers of distributed teams the bottom line is really very simple: Make the invisible visible for team members--be proactive in reaching out and paying attention to the personal/social side of your team's members, no matter where they are physically.

For more information on connecting and engaging distributed teams, read the full whitepaper.

Recently I had two more team members that started workshifting full time.  One moved to San Francisco and the other to Oregon.  This can be a little bit like tearing off a Band-Aid.  The sting of reality can hit quickly.
 
The transition from a fully supported employee, with things such as a creative culture, big brain peers, office chatter and laughter, a gym, a kitchen, stellar IT support, etc., to a coffee shop or home office, can make for a rough landing.  As a manager, it's important that the person making the transition understand that it's not always as glamorous as it appears.
 
What I have found really helps is to team them up with other remote employees or at least make the introductions.  In the case of the San Francisco workshifter, she has a counterpart in the city and we happen to have an office there as well.  Based on her personality type, she should make a very easy transition.
 
For the Oregon workshifter, it's just the opposite.  No counterparts, no office.  In this case, it's worth it to take the time to let them know about the challenges people can face when they make the transition out of the nest.  The following withdrawal symptoms are fairly common:
 
1.  Lacking a sense of team and comradery
2.  Fear that the lack of "face time" will hinder their career
3.  Adjusting to conference call or web conferencing etiquette (inability to raise hand)
4.  Missing the corporate culture
5.  Lack of IT resources
 
To help with the transition, it always good to explain that the symptoms are normal and can vary depending on the person.  I know I sound like an advertisement for the latest anti-depressant, but it's true.  The best thing to do is to take the time to understand what type of person they are, and give them what they need.  It could be a call once a day or a regular video call so you can add a human element.  Scheduling regular visits to the office, even if they don't or can't make it, are very important.  It says to the workshifter that I value the relationship.
 
On that note, the importance of "face time" can't be underemphasized.  Depending on the person's level or job responsibility, it's good to visit the mother ship at least once a quarter.  If for nothing else, to reconnect with your peer group at a personal level.  Because at the end of the day, its all about trust, and the relationships that are being built.
 
What's your advice for someone about to leave the Corporate nest?

Photo by: biggertree
 

As of October 2009, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) figures place national unemployment numbers at 9.8%. These numbers are that much more pronounced and dire for young people. BLS says the unemployment rate has increased among 20-24 year olds by 50% since August 2008. In August of this year, roughly 15% of people in that same age bracket and 10% of 25-34 year olds were out of work.

Indeed, Generation Y, also known as the "'Net Generation" or "Millennials," face the toughest job market in decades. That's a tough pill for a group of young people who were raised during boom times and for whom invincibility has been a common and cohesive feeling.

These 76 million Americans born between 1979 and 1995 tend to have distinctive attitudes toward work, including where and when it ought to be performed.

• Sixty-three percent of Gen Y women placed the highest importance on accomplishing personal goals; 23% who stated professional goals were tops.
  
  
• Fully one-fourth of these women indicated that they would prefer to have flex scheduling and the ability to set their own work hours in lieu of a 10% increase in salary.
  

While unemployment has hit this 'Net cohort harder than others, they may bounce back faster than older workers would; as technology is their native tongue, which allows them to work remotely, saving employers money on overhead, sick pay and losses related to traffic and weather-induced delays for traditional employees.

Some companies are jumping on the remote working and flex-time bandwagon, with a program called "ROWE," or "results only work environment." Businesses on board with ROWE included Best Buy and Gap Outlet headquarters, and the City of Minneapolis. Workers at these companies "work wherever they want whenever they want, as long as the work gets done."

Under ROWE, "productivity isn't judged by how many hours someone puts in the chair but rather the quality and quantity of their work."  This attitude was echoed across all age groups in data from a survey conducted late last year by the polling company™, inc./WomanTrend for Citrix Online.  More than half (56%) of respondents revealed that they were never able to work remotely, also referred to as "Webcommuting," though nearly three-fourths (73%) of American employees wanted the ability to do so at their current or next job. Gen Y workers (those aged 18-29) were more likely than most to "never" be able to work from a location other than the office (60% vs. 56% overall).  In addition 18% of Gen Yers were willing to sacrifice up to 5% of their salary to work remotely, an astonishing figure considering the year-long economic downturn and bleak employment prospects for that age group.

Gen Y has grown up doing what they want from where they want, and being "forced" to commute and work from the same place at the same time each day belies both their flexibility and productivity.   However, in the aforementioned survey, 56% of 18-29 year olds said they were unable to work remotely as their "job functionality required them to be on site." This was the most of any age group. At the same time, 62% agreed, either "strongly" or "somewhat" with the statement "I would benefit from a fast and affordable way to meet over the Internet with colleagues located anywhere, and share our computer files, presentations and other information just as if we were in the same room." This indicates a strong desire to work from somewhere other than the office.

According to "career doctor" Randall S. Hansen, PhD , this newest crop of workers "has no interest whatsoever in working in a cubicle -- not because it is beneath them, but because they feel advances in technology should let them be able to choose to work from home, Starbucks, or anywhere there is a Wi-Fi connection."

Another tremendous advantage of shifting work from a traditional brick-and-mortar to an alternative and more convenient venue for the employee (if not the employer) is that talent can be recruited from around the world, not just around the corner. Additionally, there is evidence that the type of flexibility achieved through Webcommuting increases employee satisfaction and retention. With Generation Y remaining informed and entertained, communicating and transacting on the computer, working seems the next natural step.

Photo by: Justin Levy

Robin's story where she paid tribute to a great manager is exceptional, and I just don't have anything that quite measures up on the positive side of things. However, I do have my experiences from the trenches that challenge the assumptions that a lot of us make regarding the whole workshifting proposition.  

I think perhaps my worst experience was with "upper management" while managing a team at a startup. Start ups are never easy, and they require a whole lot of sweat and tears, and beyond all else - love. I remember during a particularly tenuous time, an executive making a blanket statement about there being team members leaving at 5pm. (Horror of all horrors, someone who observes the workday schedule). It was definitely made to sound as though the whole team was comprised of slackers, and that we weren't really giving it all that we had. It was one of the few times that I have had to excuse myself from a meeting - for fear of the things I might say if my mouth were to open.

This happens all the time, in lots of places, to tons of people. This is not a special or unique story, until you really start to look at the details. It was a fairly bleeding edge group of people that we were working with. The individual who was calling out the folks (really 1 person) who were leaving early was fully appraised of every possibility in terms of working with technology in order to work from anywhere. He was also one of the younger individuals on the executive team - not the oldster who stereotypically has the greatest challenge dealing with a lack of "face time." He also happened to have a very robust background in technology, and development, and that whole space where the typical workshifter can be found. The employee in question, who was conveniently providing a generalized "malaise" to be associated with the group was actually a gentleman who was going through some very rough times at home with his family. Through it all he was always available for calls, and always responded to emails promptly - even though not in the office. However, he had become the scapegoat and the mascot all in one go.

In the end, after reflecting on this situation- and learning about Robin's story - you realize that what it comes down to, in terms of being successful and working with people who respect you and your work despite location or time - is really a capacity for compassion, and open lines of communication. On both sides. It is also, in large part,  the capacity to recognize when you're in an environment, or on a team where workshifting just isn't going to be a sustainable solution and figuring out where to go from there.

I'm curious to know where your "in the trenches" stories fall when dealing with managers.  Great, good, indifferent or similar to the above?

Photo by: Mr.Tea

Today Zack Grossbart stops by again to provide some tips for effectively hiring workshifters.  Zack is the author of the upcoming book The One Minute Commute and writes over on his blog.  Zack focuses much of his writing on exploring how to build distributed teams using best practices from the high-tech industry.

Hiring a workshifter is one of the most nerve wracking experiences a manager can have. Even thinking about hiring a workshifter seems fraught with risk. You don't know if they'll work out. If they aren't working out how will you know? How will they fit in with the team? What if you can't contact them? The potential problems are seem so insurmountable that many managers decide to never even  open that can of worms.

You can take a lot of risk out of hiring workshifters by knowing what to look for. Potential workshifters should have all the attributes of any good employee, but there are specific talents that every workshifter must possess to succeed. Hiring managers who know what to look for can judge these skills with a simple set of tests during the  interview process.

Talent 1: Clear Writing Skills

Writing well is the single most important skill for a workshifter. You don't need to hire Hemingway, but if the candidate can't clearly communicate their thoughts in documents and emails you'll both be in big trouble.

Start by looking at their resume. Is it well written? Did they make it easy to read and understand their qualifications? A resume acts like a magnifying glass for writing ability. If your teleworker candidate's resume isn't well written they won't write well once you hire them. But don't stop there; after all it's possible that they had help writing their resume.

Do a Google search and find any blogs, Facebook pages, and other social media pages. These pages don't always have to discuss professional topics, but the author should write clearly. Can you follow what they have to say? When you are finished can you summarize the content easily?

Another overlooked tool for evaluating writing skills is email. Always start an email conversation with candidates. Ask leading questions and see if they respond well. Make your questions open ended and give them a chance to impress you. If you get answers that are terse or unintelligible move on to the next person.

Talent 2: Accepting Criticism

Workshifters are inherently a little disconnected from the team. Being out of the office can bring with it the advantage of being more productive, but it also means that interpersonal issues are more difficult to resolve. Workshifters have learn to accept criticism well and not take it personally. If your new teleworker doesn't take criticism well they'll never survive outside of the office.

Ask them directly how they handle criticism. Ask them to discuss how they've handled difficult situations in the past and how they responded to criticism. You can learn a lot by their answers.

Blogs and Facebook pages can also come in handy here. If they have an existing social media presence they have probably received negative comments. How did they handle them? Were they dismissive or did they take the comments to heart and really try to understand them?

Talent 3: Quickly Learning Conventions

When a workshifter starts in a new job they will probably attend orientation lectures and learn the basics of how work gets done in your organization. This will cover the big issues, but what about the dozens of other smaller details that go into working in your office and working with your specific team. Important details how to format a presentation, the best way to file expense reports, are a critical part of any job? Workshifters are at a disadvantage here because they can't just stick their head over the cubicle wall and ask. They must learn conventions quickly.

Always ask to see some work from a previous jobs. Does it look like the same every time or did they adapt to the specific requirements of each new workspace?

Ask them how they would go about learning the ins and outs of your organization, and look for specific, detailed answers.

Talent 4: Self-sufficiency

Workshifting gives you freedom and along with that comes responsibility. Good workshifters manage their own time and their own needs. They can't just call the IT department every time they have a problem.

Workshifters should have a plan ahead of time for the following issues:

• A home office - Do they have one set up? What is it like? Were they planning to work out of Starbucks? Successful workshifters have made a serious commitment to their office environment.
  
  
• Telephone and Internet connections - Do they have a good land line and a fast Internet connection? Are they expecting you to pay some of those costs?
  
  
• Tools - Do they need you to buy them a computer? A printer? A desk or a chair?
  
  
• Computer support - How much do they need and how will they get it?
  
  
• Backups - Will they take part in your backup systems or do they have their own?
  
  
• Data security - What steps will they take to make sure your data is secure when it leaves the office? This might include encryption or a virtual private network solution.
  

A good workshifter candidate will have detailed, specific  answers to all of these questions during the interview.

Talent 5: Staying Motivated

Sometimes an office is a distraction, but it also offers a certain camaraderie. Going to a shared work place surrounded by other working people is a great way to stay motivated. Workshifters, on the other end of the spectrum, must stay motivated on their own.

This is one of the most difficult skills to judge since most candidates will lie to you. They aren't doing it maliciously, but unless they have a lot of experience with workshifting they may underestimate the importance and difficulty of staying motivated when they work from home.

One of your first clues to self-motivating candidates  is excitement. Everyone should show some excitement during an interview. If they can't do it then they won't do it from home.

Hobbies are another good indicator of the self-motivated. What does the candidate do outside of work? Do they have long term hobbies or just fleeting interests?

Can the candidate tell you specifically how they were proactive in their previous jobs? Did they wait for someone else to show them the path or did they lead the way? Can they talk about how they got their work done in other positions?

Talent 6: Showing Their Work

In the office you can see someone arrive early and stay late. At home you can't just trust that a workshifter is doing their job. They have to show their work.

Let them describe what previous projects. How did they communicate about their work? Were there status meetings? Did they send emails or documents? Ask to see examples of these documents whenever possible.

Every workshifter is a little different, but they all need a way to proactive show you they're getting their work done.

Talent 7: Being Consistent

Imagine this: at 10:00 AM you send Bob, a member of your team, an email with a question you need answered quickly. At 10:30 you see he isn't on IM yet. He isn't there at 11:00 either. You check your calendar and your deleted email folder, but Bob didn't send you a note about taking the day off.

By noon you are a little annoyed. It has been two hours without seeing him online. You ask other team members but they don't know either. By 2:00 PM you are thoroughly frustrated. You haven't seen Bob, you don't have the answer to your question, and you have no idea when you will get it.

In the office you might walk over to Bob's office, but when Bob is a workshifter you have no idea where he is. Is he taking a vacation day without telling you? Did his computer crash? Is he just ignoring you? This might not be a big problem if it only happens occasionally, but a member of your team that is consistently inconsistent will drive you nuts.

Ask them about their plan and what they expect. Are they willing to commit to a specific work schedule? Also ask them for references. References are very helpful in providing real feedback on a candidates consistency.

Recognizing Workshifter Talents

Workshifting is a skill and you have to judge that skill. The ultimate indication of workshifting ability is previous experience. Have they workshifted before? Did it go well for them? Can they supply references?

Focus on these workshifting talents and you can hire teleworkers with confidence.

Photo by: AJ Leon

At some point during one's corporate career, we learn that our success is less dependent on "what we do" versus "who we work for."  No matter when this moment occurs it is a bit shocking. I learned this in my late 20s - I had a boss who coached and mentored me with such wisdom.  I was on an accelerated track and working 24/7.   But then a personal event took place, the death of my father, and I truly "disappeared" for two weeks and disconnected from work in every way.

I had already learned that my direct manager would be the key to professional success. And hopefully each of us learns (quickly) to align ourselves effectively.  Perhaps more startlingly is that with the blurred lines of work-life, the direct manager actually has a key to personal fulfillment as well.   Most individuals experience this the very first time their "work-life" is out of synch.  It is in this moment, we learn exactly what a company culture truly stands for including the accountability of the manager.  In my case, I experienced first hand that my boss was a man of the highest integrity, believed in shared success and was nothing less than brilliant.  To this day, I would walk thru fire for him; yet,  I've always wondered since, what happens to those individuals who have a boss - who is  not quite so accepting and accommodating to personal circumstances?  

Candidly, my manager (by the way his name was Frank Sorrentino)  was not your usual flex suspect. He was with the company 35+ years and the company culture lagged far behind today's standards.   However, he saw the value of an operating environment of trust, collaboration and results.  He looked to the team and stakeholders to advise him what was needed.  I took the death of my father quite hard - the truth is it took me another 4 weeks to come back full-force.  I actually phased in during those four weeks and when I came back - I was strong and returning to an even stronger organization.   With the exception of one individual (an employee called me the day after the funeral to tell me she was resigning) - there were no negative implications or water cooler conversation about my absence.  

What my "traditional" boss accomplished was based on instinct.  The increasing momentum around flexibility and the commitment by so many organizations to create an inclusive culture provides a window to a very exciting future. But these very organizations also recognize that change takes time and that not everyone will have Frank's instincts.  Providing managers with the right tools and support is critical. To not do so can adversely impact and set both the employee and manager up for failure.

Below are five manager practices that organizations find most important in making flexibility real at the manager level: 

1. Enabling and encouraging managers to work flexibly themselves -- on reduced work hours schedules (less-then-fulltime), in a job share where two managers share one job and share the responsibility for being available to their team, on flexible work hours (in lieu of them needing to be present whenever employees are working, which can lead to very long hours and exhaustion), etc.
   
   
2. Using manager self-assessments to help managers recognize and change their mindset about how to manage flexibly. Often it's the manager's attitude that needs changing that leads other changes in their behavior.
   
   
3. Rewarding managers who earn better evaluations on work-life supportiveness from employees.  This requires including questions on employee sureys or 360 degree evaluations of managers that inquire about their 'supportiveness'.  Great organizations have found that collecting this information helps them measure differences in depts. where managers are more supportive of employees' work-life needs with other depts. in terms of their employee retention and even customer satisfaction.
   
   
4. Including considerations of work-life -- attitudes and skills -- in decisions about which managers to hire and whom to promote as manager.  A great example is encouraging managers to pay consideration to resumes submitted that declare an individuals willingness to work flexibly.
   
   
5. Mentoring programs that connect managers who are skilled at managing flexibly and believe in it, with those who are just learning how. This is particularly important as companies are focused on multi-generational workforce.

What are other practices that you think should be included?

Photo by: Timitrius

I would like to introduce you to eWorkPlace, a new and exciting program available for Twin Cities metro employers. Are you ready to be an eWorkPlace Employer?

What is eWorkPlace?

Set in the Twin Cities in Minnesota, eWorkPlace is a cooperative venture to not only reduce traffic congestion and gridlock, but to assist employers to reach their bottom line more effectively. All types of employers are included (large or small, private, non-profit, and public) to offer the telework option of working remotely from the office at home or at another location. We are a unique collaborative of 11 partners (public, private and non-profit) dedicated to raise the level of telecommuting in the Twin Cities.

Why Now?

Now one might think the recession has a powerful effect on the amount of telework going on.  But the tides have turned.  Employers see the advantages of more flexible work in terms of increased productivity, greater employee satisfaction and being able to offer a carrot on the stick to those employees who may not have such high rates of compensation. In today's economy, every business is dealing with budget cuts, tight deadlines and staffing shortages. We're all expected to manage through these challenges while leading effective strategies and delivering outcomes

eWorkPlace assists Twin Cities employers to increase the use of telecommuting and flexible work schedules. The strategy of eWorkPlace is to move work to the employee rather than move the employee to work.

What do you have to do?

Employer requirements include definition of their expected level of commitment and reporting of results. Employers sign up and agree to a minimum number of telecommuters, either working during rush hours or at least 1 day per week.  We launched ours initiative in June 2009 and due to employer need for pandemic planning, we are receiving continued interest.

Employers can enjoy many free services and tools from national telework experts for a limited time. Expert assistance includes consulting advice, e-training and remote access strategies from MTIE, WFC Resources, and Superior Endeavors, an IT group. Employers have a wide range of services to ensure telework programs are practical and successful.  You can either start or refine your telework capacity. Information technology is an integral part of the office environment, especially as physical location is less important now than ever before. Technology is no longer a telework challenge, but rather has become an opportunity to increase productivity and morale while potentially reducing business costs.
eWorkPlace provides:

• Free telework toolkit and resources.
  
• Expert training and consulting services for qualified employers.      
  

We will be exploring some excellent employer examples in the future. Stay tuned!

For more information on eWorkPlace, head over to their website.