Comments on: How do you manage and measure home-based employees?

By: Steve Reich

Steve Reich — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 04:10:56 +0000

We have had great results with a combination of SalesForce and frequent calls. SF lets us monitor real time activity with our distributed sales team, and frequent calls keep people connected at an emotional/team level.

By: Kim Shepherd

Kim Shepherd — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 23:28:29 +0000

Having 53 virtual employees, the life balance experience is well worth the strategic time needed to create a “real” virtual business. After all the tactical issues have been addressed, it’s critical to look at what I call the soft skill side of the employee experience, with a serious focus on corporate culture, retention, rewards, building a virtual water cooler and establishing a sense of pride in their work and the work family they belong to.

By: Marshall Macias

Marshall Macias — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 13:35:16 +0000

I am a new entrepreneur who has chosen to ‘virtualize’ my business and allow all employees to work from home full time. I can tell you, it can be challenging at the beginning, but once you implement measures and controls (as suggested by Dave) it can be tough to ever want to go back to the corporate office.

Dave, thank you for your posts. They are extremely helpful to people of all ages and backgrounds. As a young entrepreneur, I always find a wealth of information from your blog. Keep up the great work!

By: Laura Meck

Laura Meck — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 19:21:48 +0000

I have worked in both corporate environments and in a home-based office. While there are clear advantages such as the obvious gains including lack of travel to and from the office, flexible scheduling, reduced overhead and dis-advantages like un-anticipated isolation, lack of in-person collaboration; managed by both parties appropriately, can provide great value to those with the right motivation. Those without the proper self-motivation will get lost in the shuffle and find themselves out of a job in a short period of time.

As an executive evaluating the option for someone to work in a virtual environment I have to take into consideration the employees level of self-motivation. In weighing this I look at things like “does this person meet deadlines on-time, early or tardy, and are they typically running late to the office or are they on-time?” Both examples can be telling; virtual workplace has some strong points, but we cannot overlook that it is still not an option for all, regardless how much both parties may wish it.