Our advice: Increasingly, companies and organizations are recognizing the many benefits of allowing and enabling employees in different functional areas to telecommute. This can mean reduced costs, increased productivity, and less employee turnover, to name just a few benefits if it's managed well.

Here are some issues to consider when setting up your telecommuting program:

Organizational: One suggestion for successful telecommuting programs is to have employees spend at least one or two days per week, or in some cases per month, in the office. This gives everyone the chance to be part of the office team, to connect with colleagues and project timetables, to attend meetings, and to demonstrate that they're keeping up with their responsibilities.

The office can become like a "drop-in center," with shared work spaces containing a desk, a phone, and a jack connecting the portable computer to the data network. There should be secretarial support, meeting rooms, and office equipment. Unlike traditional office space, telecommuting means you need fewer such work spaces for a given number of employees.

People: The most effective telecommuters are those who develop specific goals, and who have their success measured by results rather than by number of hours or meetings. Telecommuting can work better when the employees selected for this mode of work are screened, evaluated, and trained. Skill in time management and goal-orientation help telecommuters deliver their results on time so that others can rely on them.

Success at telecommuting also seems linked to employees who are driven to succeed. People must not only master the technology: the computer, the fax, the modem, wireless devices, and the teleconference; they must master themselves.

Although it may be difficult to establish and maintain a good working relationship by telephone and fax, experience shows that once a telecommuter meets another person and establishes a relationship, the two can accomplish much of their work without frequent face-to-face contact.

Processes: To make sure someone is working hard when they're remote, agree on what tasks need to be done. Agree on a deadline for each task, and how it will be evaluated. If a task gets done on time, and meets specifications, that's proof the individual was working hard while away from the office.

The best environment for a home telecommuter will be a dedicated space such as a spare bedroom, attic or basement office. High-speed connections are the best and on the rise. In 2003 there were 4.4 million telecommuters working at home with broadband. By 2004, the number soared to 8.1 million, an 84% increase. Security measures are a necessity on both the network and the desktop or laptop.

In addition to phone, E-mail, and fax capability, other software tools such as instant messaging and collaborative workspaces can help with projects where more of a team effort is needed.

-- Robert Garber