Managing Telecommuters

As many of you know, my paralegal works for me as a virtual assistant. She works out of her home just as I do. In a sense, she is a telecommuter. One comment I get a lot is how you make sure she has your interest at heart and is working on the projects you give her. And quite honestly, I have never worried about it. But, I know there are others that do.

I was pleased that in today’s RSS feeds I received a great post called Managing Telecommuters from a great blog called Management Craft. What a timely post.

Lisa Haneberg points out a key point in her post when she states,

I believe that the KEY - the key - to telecommuting situations is connection, engagement, and relationship. An invested employee works hard and is more likely to exercise good judgment.

One thing we have to remember is that we don't have control over how our telecommuters/virtual assistants work. In fact, that is key to the arrangement I have with mine. In fact, she is not an employee, but an independent contractor. And I get value. She gets paid for the work she does for me and not by the hour. She doesn't get paid unless she deliveries results and that is finished work.

Our only hope to get value from this arrangement is connection and engagement - true partnership and collaboration. Treat these people more like you would a trusted and valued contractor.

And that is just how my arrangement with my virtual assistant works.

Comments

[Richard]

I like this discussion at a few levels. I have a business that manages the telecommute so I get excited to see relevant dialogue. We handle the 15 (or so) pieces of the telework puzzle for businesses and government agencies. Starting with Policy and finishing with Support we handle every piece in the middle from Voice and Data, to collaboration and Productivity management. Have you discussed, on your blog, the issue of Tax incentives and or Penalty's (maybe associated with the Cap and Trade GHG legislations....)iPeople in favor or against? It seems you focus only on home office lawyers, not large practices or even the legal services that may be related to serving the employers or employees of larger enterprises and gov agencies. You probably know this but 50 Million will be working from home in 08.
Anyhow, the reason this is a solid discussion (in my humble opinion) is because the issue of independent contractor vs. employee is something that is going to happen more and more as a result of the "flat world". More interesting to me, though, is the issue of "results based work" vs time based measurement. We call it productivity management. Gartner points it out as "management's inability to manage by objective rather than time" . At the core, the issue is really, "what are the employees doing when they work from home?". This is the #1 inhibitor for middle management when it comes to allowing a two day a week telework program. If businesses managed by objective more this would be a non issue, in theory.
Do you have any recommendations for the best resource for OSHA, State Regulations etc as it relates to Telecommuting. Also, legislation around tax incentives/ credits. Or Precedent for HIPPA and Home based workers, Precedent for Utility reimbursement, Non Exempt Workers, etc.....

We have some good stuff on our site (research related) but we are in the middle of an overhaul on the research, whitepapers, ROI calculator etc and a blog.... Should be a week or so away. I'm always looking for more information out there.... Thanks for reading.

[Tina Hilton]

As a virtual assistant offering Real Estate Law/Title Assistance, it was wonderful to stumble upon your blog and see that there are professionals out there who see the value in teaming up with a virtual assistant. It was like getting my own personal pep rally. Thanks!

[Vikki Watanabe]

Recently, I came across this website. The first article I read was about Virtual Assistant's.
I am a Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant. VBA's work specifically for Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys preparing bankruptcy petitions. As such, there are many of us out there preparing petitions under the direct supervision of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.
It is my hope that more attorneys will come to realize the value and benefits of contracting a Virtual Assistant and/or a Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant.
It was a great to read your post as an attorney who utilizes the services of a VA.
Thank you for sharing.
V. Watanabe
Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant

[Michael Haaren]

Enjoyed your post -- In our own VA trainings, we often mention the variety of attorneys who could benefit from having a VA, and it's wonderful to hear how well it's working out in your own practice. Thanks for sharing!

[Althea Tan]

I work with VAs myself by providing them services for their clients. I agree that VAs are independent contractors and not employees because they are paid per project in general