Getting work done at the source, wherever it may be, draws on more effective and creative talent, and makes the business of development more responsive, efficient and profitable.

The current business climate is forcing everyone to find efficiency gains beyond mere cost cutting, of which there’s probably very little, if any, left. Corporate America, according to an article in today’s Wall Street Journal, is now embracing something that would have been unthinkable even a short while ago: telecommuting. One of the advantages cited is the release of office space, but other serendipitous benefits are making some wonder why it took so long to adopt.

Small companies, particularly tech companies (like FutureWare), have known about these benefits for some time now. Many are based on a virtual office from their beginning. These are appealing for a very simple reason: economics, not just a reduction of fixed overhead and eliminating commutes, but in an increased ability to quickly respond to customers’ changing demands as their markets evolve. All the positives far outweigh the negatives, with an increased quality of life kicker.

Telecommuting is not for everyone, and there are some negatives that have to be addressed. The most important requirement of telecommuters is having a high sense of self discipline. And while creative work is necessarily an individual effort, so the second requirement is being able to relate well to a larger group, as well as outside customers, is an absolute must. With these two requirements met, everything else, such as schedules, daily teleconferences, periodic face to face meetings, etc., become organizational details.

It’s easier not only to stay in touch but also to creatively collaborate with team members, what with Instant Messaging, Skype for both audio (including conferencing) and video, shared presentations with GoToMeeting.com and its competitors, and of course FreeConferenceCall.com (and its competitors) for those who prefer a real phone. No more jockeying for meeting rooms and juggling attendee schedules, and the ability to quickly put a focus team together is not only makes for a faster responding team, but also highlights everyone’s contribution for everyone else to see.

Keeping tabs of progress is also easier. Daily updates, be they screen shots, web pages, design layouts, storyboards, etc., can be securely posted by using any number of collaboration tools, for review and comment, as well as documenting scheduled workflow progress. This benefit alone has not gone unnoticed, offering tangible gains by eliminating another layer of middle management bureaucracy.

There are some security issues that have to be addressed as well, but worrying about thumb drives is typically not one of them. In general, these can be easily handled by organizational outlines, such as isolating data from functionality, having isolated test beds and development environments, and working on a project flow basis. Each team member is responsible for their particular workproduct, which is really part of the self discipline requirement.

Telecommuting offers another benefit that generally is surprising when recognized: The ability to draw on proven and creative talent. Several companies we know have extended this to their sales teams as well, with great success. One of them, Vendini in Boston, has a sophisticated sales system that eliminates the need for salesmen or service personnel to travel, which was highlighted by Salesroundup.
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Queen Victoria’s meetings did not have any chairs, requiring everyone (including her) to remain standing. It was her way to keep the meetings to the point and short. Telecommuting can effectively accomplish the same thing, even if remotely and electronically. With everyone able to openly contribute their unique talents, their sense of accomplishment and work satisfaction can only increase.

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Tags: collaboration, design management, eliminating commuting, motivating staff, recruiting technical talent, telecommuting, virtual offices

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 at 0:55 and is filed under Software That Works. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.