Why Isn’t Working Virtually/Telecommuting Working More?
March 18th, 2009 | by Leanne
There are times when I’m flummoxed by what seems obvious to me but is not to those I’m conversing with. Like when I hear from the HR community that telecommuting and virtual workers sound great in theory….but it just won’t work for our organization. Huh? One of the most highly respected HR online communities is ERE.net. Not only are recruiters extremely productive working with each other there, ERE is extremely productive as an organization…a virtual company…whose employees are scattered across the 50 states.
Does anyone else see the irony here? Seriously.
Last fall I talked with David Manaster who started ERE.net in 1998. I asked him why virtual? “That wasn’t a plan,” he said, “it’s just sort of evolved.“
When David started his company he was already working full-time, once he quit his job to pursue ERE in start up mode, there just wasn’t money for an office. As ERE evolved and grew he did get an office and still has one. At one time his entire sales staff worked out of that office, now only 1 of his 12 full-time employees goes there regularly.
You see the people who used to work at the office moved to different states for personal reasons, or they hated the commute in and out of New York, or they just work more productively outside the office. The reasons didn’t matter to David. He had hired great people, they did great work, and he wanted to keep them. So he figured out how to make it work for everyone.
He acknowledges there are challenges and you really have to communicate well and clearly with each other in a virtual set up. If that breaks down it can be hard to fix. But he also says he wouldn’t give up the rewards. Of course there is the cost savings of having no office overhead. But the real reward he says is that he “simply would not be able to have grown the business to 40% year over year growth without these employees who know the business, have the contacts and understand how to get results.”
Okay HR folks aren’t those the kind of results your executives are looking for? So, again, why aren’t more people working virtually/telecommuting at your company? I’ll be in San Diego at the end of the month for the latest ERE Expo let’s talk. If you can’t find me, ask Kevin Plantan, VP of Sales for ERE and a real man who flexes, he’ll find me for you.
2 Comments
Great article about ERE! I have worked for ERE for over 4 years now and the flexibility has been wonderful. I started working from home full time over two years ago and I love it. It works well for me because I am more productive in a quiet environment, opposed to a loud office. I would say that it definitely takes a certain type of person that has the discipline to work from home and it’s not for everyone but it’s a great lifestyle for me.
The past few years I have been able to move around the country and keep my job. I know that I am very lucky to work for such a great company with this flexibility.
I would say that if a company has trusted employees who do well at their job, the chance to work from home is a great opportunity.
I think the time zone differences can be a real advantage also. People on the West Coast, for example, who check in to the site or take a look at their emails late at night can often spot problems that would have been missed if everyone was on Eastern time. Then, by the time the Eastern-time readers wake up, the problem’s been solved. If it’s a small one.