Telework can benefit the employer in diverse ways such as:

• Increased productivity
• Staff retention and loyalty
• Contribution to green commuting
• Potential savings to the organization

 
Your crucial first step is to put in place practices and policies providing the employee with a formalized structure. This framework promotes a mutual agreement between the organization and the employee to ensure your shared responsibility and success.
 
Your policies and practices will clearly outline these parameters:

• Organizational commitment to managing remote workers 
• Identification of positions and tasks suitable for telework
• Review of job requirements and business needs 
• A framework of rules and practices
• Meeting management techniques to ensure goals and planning are effective and team dynamics are cohesive
• Provision of tools and support to ensure the performance of a teleworker
• Mechanism for measurement of employee performance and provision of feedback.  A mutual commitment to clear communication to identify potential challenges and to work through any issues that arise.
• IT framework for provision of support for remote operations

Creating an effective telework environment also relies on the creation of a strong virtual team that is managed with strong skills such as interpersonal communication, leadership and transparency.   This, combined with a solid base of technological tools, will allow a telework program to succeed. 
 
Other steps to ensuring business success are:

• Identify the benefits you are targeting
• Develop a budget reflecting costs and financial benefits of tangible and less tangible measurements
• Ensure that your senior management is committed and that the corporate culture supports the initiative from the top down
• Review continually to determine what training is required
• Normalize telework by educating employees that it is a normal and effective way of working for both the employee and employer
• Communicate widely, review feedback and refine continually

Telework balances relationships and technology within a strong organizational framework dedicated to the mutual success of the employee and employer.  Your organization’s commitment reflects your understanding that the only thing that has changed is your employees’ location.  The management responsibilities of performance, communication, trust, and team cohesion remain and potentially will be strengthened by telework. 
 
For further tools and information to support the implementation of your organization’s internal telework initiative, please contact the WORKshift team at info@workshiftcalgary.com