Telecommuting: Six Tips
to Help You Get Started
© 2003
Reprint by permission only. All
rights
reserved.
by Matt Hyatt
How much time do you spend traveling to and from work? Have you
ever done the math? If you’re like most people, that time
spent in the car adds up a lot faster than you may think. I read
recently that the average Atlanta commute takes a little more than
30 minutes each way. That’s at least 5 hours a week, or 250
hours a year. Divide that by 40 hour work weeks and you
come up with more than 6 weeks spent in the car every year! There
must
be a more productive way to spend our time.
So what about telecommuting? Work from home, skip the
traffic, add more hours to your day – it all sounds great,
but you’re bound to encounter some hurdles as you make
the leap to telecommuting. Here are some guidelines to getting
started
without falling flat on your face.
1) Get the boss onboard with the idea. Business owners
and managers are constantly looking for ways to increase
profitability and stay competitive, but most will
want proof that telecommuting
works before sending anyone home. In other words,
you’ve
got to show management how telecommuting will help
you be more productive and efficient. You may even offer to put
in some overtime
at home for a while to prove your case. Once the
boss sees that you can be productive from home, she’s more
likely to let you work there during regular business hours.
2) Find
a quiet place to work. You’ve convinced your boss
that you are going to get lots of work done at
home, so now you’ve
got to keep your end of the bargain. To stay productive,
find a quiet place away from the kids and work from
there. Avoid temptation
to check what’s on TV. Set hours for yourself and stay
true to your schedule.
3) Stay near the phone. For
telecommuting to work, you’ve
got to be available to your coworkers and other
business colleagues. Most modern telephone systems
let users seamlessly forward a telephone
extension to an outside number. Call-forwarding
services are also available for businesses without
sophisticated telephone systems.
At the very least, your office voicemail should
include a telephone number where you can be reached
while telecommuting.
4) Check your email. There are lots
of ways to
access your email from home. Most Internet Service
Providers (ISPs) let you check your email from
an ordinary web browser like Internet
Explorer. Even large corporations hosting their
own
mail servers often provide web access to corporate
email. Ask your ISP or network
administrator about “webmail” for details about
how to check your email from home.
5) Keep your
computer connected. Most jobs require sharing
computer files with coworkers, so you’ll need to stay connected
to your office network. If your office network
supports it, you can connect across the Internet
with Virtual Private Networking
(VPN), remote control, or both. Even if your
office network doesn’t
already support these features, products like
GoToMyPC (www.gotomypc.com) make it easy and
inexpensive to get started. Check with your network
administrator before installing any remote access
software to make sure you don’t inadvertently violate
company security policies.
6) Stay in touch. You
know the old saying, “out of sight,
out of mind?” Even if you’re a fulltime telecommuter,
it’s smart to visit the office regularly. Doing so
keeps you in the loop and helps ensure that everyone
remembers you’re
an important part of the team.
Telecommuting has
lots of benefits and can be a great way to work.
Besides being a sure-fire
way to avoid traffic, it saves plenty of energy,
money, and
time.
After all, who couldn’t
use more of those?
Matt Hyatt is founder
of Rocket IT, an IT consulting firm
near Atlanta, Georgia. For technology help with your business,
contact Rocket IT at 770-441-2520 or visit online at www.rocketit.com.
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