According to a recent story in BusinessWeek, the trend of major corporations employing people who work from home is ramping up in a big way. Abetted by technology and urged by
managers struggling to cut costs, an increasing number of employees are allowed - if not required - to work from home offices.
For example, Microsoft sent a slew of employees packing to help minimize traffic created by the 35,000 employees at its Redmond, WA-headquarters. And this trip didn't involve
any pink slips; it just prompted moves from cubicles to kitchens, boardrooms to bedrooms. IBM saves $100 million per year in real estate expenses by having 42% of its 330,000
employees work from home, on the road or at a client location, the BW story reports. Sun Microsystems also reaps huge savings - anywhere from $300 to $500 million over the past
five years - from encouraging employees to work from home.
While this trend empowers many employees to embrace the pajama work style, it poses challenges for communications executives who are responsible for facilitating smooth
internal communications, strong brand health and consistent corporate cultures. And although these roadblocks are not insignificant, they can be overcome by sticking to a well-
defined roadmap.
Make sure employees are onboard from the beginning. Upon getting the news that their offices are being boarded up in favor of a "domestic" alternative, many employees may be
reluctant to fill a virtual post. There are a number of very real concerns that must be addressed: fear that being "out of sight, out of mind" will prevent upward mobility, fear
that productivity will drop, lack of peers and mentors. PR execs must play a key role in explaining the reasons behind pushing employees to work from home. They must address every
concern with a very specific solution. The explosion of technology presents any number of opportunities: instant messaging allows for real-time conversations; Webcasts and
streaming videos mimic "face-to-face" interaction and make meetings feel more personal; internal Web sites can allow for employee interaction that minimizes the feeling of
isolation.
Link employees to management. PR executives must protect employee morale and solidify the corporate culture by ensuring that managers maintain communications with out-of-office
workers. Massive problems can arise if remote employees can communicate with one another, but their senior managers fail to bridge the cyber gap. First, the team must issue
constant reminders that "X" number of workers are off-site, but their voices are just as important as those of on-site employees. Encourage collaboration: IBM execs use portals
that are customized for specific projects; the portals include everything from calendars to task lists. Employees can log on from anywhere and "tune in" to their fellow peers.
Managers, in turn, can monitor progress and provide input.
Prepare for unexpected visitors. Just because an employee works from home or on the road doesn't mean he or she won't pop in for a day in the office. Make sure the office
environment supports temporary work space, including desks/cubicles with Internet and phone access. And location is important: Placing the "visitor" desk by the janitor's closet
doesn't foster feelings of inclusiveness. Rather, it will make virtual workers feel like outcasts who don't belong in their own company.
Collaborate with the HR department/management teams to ensure that virtual employees are handpicked. New hires should never fill virtual positions; neither should employees
who demonstrate the need for constant interaction or support to be productive. Some personalities are more conducive to the "lone wolf" lifestyle; these are the best candidates to
cut from the office and paste on the road or in the home. Also, certain positions should always have an in-house presence: Human resource managers, communications/PR executives,
IT workers (although there must be IT support on-hand to troubleshoot for off-site employees).
Establish a system for virtual employees to (1) check in and (2) be reached during business hours. If possible, implement a forwarding system so every employee can have an
"office" number that matches up with the company's switchboard. This diffuses confusion among consumers or clients looking to make contact, and it prevents any "system
malfunction" (low cell signal, power outage) that could cripple communications efforts. It's also essential to establish check points to track progress and give structure to
assignments.
Be a social coordinator. Hosting frequent social gatherings - luncheons, happy hours, intramural sporting events - reinforces a feeling of community, gives virtual employees
the opportunity to mingle with their peers and provides a excuse to trade in the pajamas for a day.