Telecommuting & Virtual Teams: Advocacy & Resources

 
I've been researching and advocating the practice of online volunteering (virtual volunteering) since 1996. When I started, there was no research regarding online volunteering, so I used a combination of traditional volunteer management research and publications with telecommuting manuals to come up with the original suggestions for how to work remotely with volunteers using the Internet.

Also, during my first year at the Virtual Volunteering Project, I worked from home. I telecommuted. My supervisors were in Washington, D.C. and California. I adhered to those telecommuting manuals in putting together my home office, defining my work day, providing my supervisors with regular updates and creating a balance between my home and work life (which were just inches apart).

And, finally, I've managed hundreds of volunteers online, people working a few miles or hundreds of miles away from my geographic location. I've also worked on projects together with dozens of paid staff in remote locations, relying on a variety of communications tools and methods to collaborate successfully.

Through these experiences, I became an advocate for telecommuting. I don't advocate that we all give up onsite office work and face-to-face meetings entirely -- I don't know anyone who is advocating that. But I do believe that workers can be more productive, create a better work-life balance and reduce their fuel costs, and that the environment can be made much cleaner and our roads less congested, if vastly more workers will given the option to telecommute part-time.

There is extensive information online and off about companies who have instituted successful telecommuting programs, as well as guides on how to start a program. There's also a growing number of guides regarding working in multi-cultural teams and working with virtual teams. Below is a comprehensive list of such resources that I'm particularly fond of, and that I think, together, counter any remaining arguments against telecommuting. These resources are compiled for various audiences: workers who want to convince management to allow telecommuting, managers who are skeptical of telecommuting, workers and managers about to embark in a telecommuting relationship, and people who want to work with others (whether paid staff or volunteer) in remote locations. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list - just my favorites.

• Robert Moskowitz's "Are You Ready To Telecommute? An Objective Checklist To Determine If Your Company And/Or You Are Ready For Telecommuting." This was a key resource for the early days of the Virtual Volunteering Project.

• Successful Management in the Virtual Office
  This outstanding, extensive guide, released May 10, 1995 by Bernie Kelly and Bruce McGraw, is still incredibly relevant. It had the most influence on the original Virtual Volunteering Project of any telecommuting resource.

• Pacific Bell Network Telecommuting Guide. Pacific Bell's telecommuting program was one of the first in the nation. Unfortunately, Pac Bell removed this pioneering document from its web site. But you can still find it by cutting and pasting this URL:
  http://www.pacbell.com/products/business/general/telecommuting/tcguide/index.html
  Internet Archive Wayback Machine

• Gil Gordon Associates / Telecommuting, Telework & Alternative Officing
  This is an outstanding set of and links to resources for managers of telecommuters. This site - operating since May 1995 - consolidates a wide variety of information from around the world, and from many different perspectives, on the subjects of telecommuting, teleworking, the virtual office, and related topics.

• Communication and Trust in Global Virtual Teams
  This is an in-depth academic study by Dr. Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa that "explores the challenges of creating and maintaining trust in a global virtual team," particularly those that involve people of different cultures and interest, and varying degrees of commitment. It's from June 1998, but let's face it -- technology may change, but the fundamentals of communication and trust do not. Still an outstanding resource.

• The Psychology of Effective Business Communications in Geographically Dispersed Teams
  In September 2006, Cisco released this white paper that identifies rules for communicating that will help virtual teams to work together successfully. Virtual communication 'best practices' recommended in the report include agreeing to protocols on response times, and establishing rules for the selection of media and the frequency of communications, especially in multi-cultural teams. Encouraging socializing and ad-hoc chats over a virtual 'coffee machine' by using spontaneous and richer media for communications can also speed up the development of trust. Whether you work with online volunteers or with paid staff in dispersed locations, this is a very interesting and helpful white paper. One of the things I like about it in particular is it's focus on the cultural differences that can become exaggerated within virtual teams and lead to misunderstandings. Great stuff. Read the press release about this (it's a good list of highlights of the white paper). You can download the Executive Summary (PDF 137.10KB).

• Involving People With Disabilities in Virtual Volunteering Programs
  A benefit of online volunteering is that it can allow for greater participation of people who might find on-site volunteering difficult or impossible because of a disability. This in turn allows organizations to benefit from the additional talent and resources of more volunteers. This resource provides suggestions on how to accommodate and encourage people with disabilities in online volunteering programs, and to help agencies develop volunteering programs and systems flexible enough to meet the needs and preferences of the broadest range of users of computers and telecommunications equipment.

• Questions and Answers About Telecommuting for Persons With Disabilities: A Guide for Employers
  Produced by Dr. James E. Jarrett, Graduate School of Business, University of Texas at Austin, and the Independent Living Research Utilization Program at the Institute for Rehabilitation and Research in Houston, Texas. While this guide is focused on managers working with paid employees, the advice is easily adaptable to managers working with online volunteers who may have disabilities.

• Establishing a Corporate Telecommuting Program
  Part of "The HR Manager", an online reference guide to the broad range of Human Resources topics. It's produced by Auxillium West.

• The Telework Coalition
  "Enabling Virtual, Mobile, and Distributed Work through Education, Technology, and Legislation." The Telework Coalition brings together a diverse array of organizations, companies, and individuals with the common interest of promoting awareness and adoption of existing and emerging Telework and Telecommuting applications including telemedicine and distance learning, as well as addressing access to broadband services that may be needed to support these applications.

• Oregon Department of Energy - Telework/Telecommuting Resources
  This site contains loads of information: an introduction and setting up a telework program, case studies of successful programs, tax credits for telework equipment, information on videos and brochures for Oregon-based employers, and more. I love Oregon. I want to move there.

• The Work and Family Guide - references. A long list of print and online publications relating to telecommuting and flextime. Published by Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.

• Studies and research regarding online volunteering / virtual volunteering
  A compilation of publicly-available research regarding online volunteering, and a list of possible angles for further research regarding online volunteering.

• Online culture and online community
  It's becoming the norm for mission-based organizations (NGOs, NPOs and others) to use Internet tools to work with volunteers (including board members), staff, donors and others. This section of my site has been greatly updated, providing even more ideas and resources on how to work with others online, in language that's easy to understand for those considering or just getting started in using online technologies with volunteers, donors and other supporters.

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