Saleshq.com offers up tricks for telecommuters in this article. There are some solid points like this: 5. Communication It’s very easy to forget the outside world when you work from home. While you do get to avoid the intricacies of corporate politics, it also means that you have to be your own advocate. Make sure there are multiple ways for your boss and colleagues to contact you. Check your email frequently, and respond as immediately as you can. Keep your phone at hand, and make sure you call if there’s an office meeting. An instant messaging service works well for open communication if something changes last minute. For more long… Read More
Continue ReadingHard Numbers On Telecommuting
The Herman Trend Alert newsletter (sorry, no link) provides some interesting statistics from a Cisco survey: Now the international technology giant Cisco Systems has just released a study of its own organization demonstrating these benefits and more. Using telecommuting, Cisco estimates annual savings of USD $277 Million. In its in-depth “Teleworker Survey” of almost 2,000 company employees, the company evaluated the social, economic, and environmental impacts associated with telecommuting. The study found that telecommuting significantly increased employee productivity, work-life flexibility, and job satisfaction. In addition, the report cited that “a majority of respondents experienced a significant increase in work-life flexibility, productivity, and overall satisfaction as a result of their ability… Read More
Continue ReadingBest Companies To Work For
I think in this economy you could simply state “any” as the best. Well, that may be a bridge too far, but you get my point. Fortune magazine released their annual list of the top 100 companies to work for. Here are the top 10: 10. Nugget Market 9. Goldman Sachs 8. Methodist Hospital System 7. Genentech 6. Cisco Systems 5. Wegmans Food Markets 4. Google 3. Boston Consulting Group 2. Edward Jones 1. NetApp How about this excerpt on the number 1 company NetApp: Typical of its down-to-earth management ethos, NetApp early on ditched a travel policy a dozen pages long in favor of this maxim: “We are a… Read More
Continue Reading10 Ways To Help Out Your Employees
ManageSmarter has a good article that provides 10 ways that you can help your employees through the economic crisis. There are some simple ideas on the list that a manager should do regardless of the economy. What better way to retain your employees than to show your appreciation for their efforts? Shortening the work week to four days with extended work hours will increase productivity and give a welcome break for people. Consider giving turkeys to employees for Thanksgiving and accompany the gift with a card expressing appreciation for what everyone is doing. Facilitate a car pool, coordinating rides or give a gas cards. Hold regular one-on-one meetings with employees to… Read More
Continue ReadingActual Excuses For Missing Work
CareerBuilder.com usually runs some sort of “unusual reasons for missing work” story every year. This year’s offering is refined down to 8 entries, but is still fairly entertaining. Thanksgiving karma | Employee hit a turkey (yes, a turkey) while riding a bike. Author’s Note: Animals – turkeys in particular – seem to be a hot topic this year. See our “Unusual Jobs” survey results for more on this phenomenon. Near-death experiences | Employee said he had a heart attack that morning, but that he was “all better now.” Just can’t find a thing to wear | Employee’s wife burned all his clothes and he had nothing to wear to work.… Read More
Continue ReadingPsychological Recession
I’m not one to head into a weekend with a downer of a post, but this article from CNNMoney.com is fascinating. The author is explaining how the US economy is not in a recession. The twists begin early with this stat: After all, most of the CFOs questioned in a recent poll agree that the U.S. is in a recession; among the general public, 76% said the U.S. was in a recession six months ago, and other polling suggests most people believe things have grown worse since then. I have seen this belief firsthand which always catches me off-guard. I have even heard people talking of another depression. I suppose… Read More
Continue ReadingJust 5 Minutes
Something to make you think, from today’s JustSell.com enewsletter (sorry, no link): Just five minutes a day… What if you came to work five minutes early and left five minutes late every day for a year? (5) x (twice a day) x (roughly 250 sales days in the year) = 41.6 hours a year. That’s a whole extra work week. And possibly… Another project successfully completed Another deal closed Another prospect turned into a customer.
Continue Reading“Technology has destroyed time and space boundaries.”
The Wall Street Journal offers up an interesting read about work/life balance from Dr. Henry Cloud. Every time I receive a call from one of our customers at 8:30pm I think of this topic. Here is the full text of the quote referenced in the title: I think the first thing is to be aware that you basically have two things available to you to create your vision — in work and in life. First, you’ve got your time. Second, your energy. The second thing, energy, you might not be aware of because of people and activities getting the best of your energy, or the wrong people and wrong activities… Read More
Continue ReadingTelecommuter-Friendly Companies
A few months ago I posted on the rising trend of telecommuting. The percent of companies that allow working from home has gone up dramatically over the past few years. From our experience, that trend has been accelerating in just the past few months. More companies are offering salespeople the option to work form home a few days a month once they are through their on-ramping process. We are also being asked by sales candidates early in the process if telecommuting is an option. Not all companies and positions have that flexibility, but that shouldn’t preclude you from looking for alternatives. A recent article from the Workforce Management newsletter lists 7 companies… Read More
Continue ReadingAn Electronic Leash
You just knew this was going to happen – companies are using technology to monitor remote employees. The Wall Street Journal provides this article that illustrates what approaches are used by employers: They’re taking photos of workers’ computer screens at random, counting keystrokes and mouse clicks and snapping photos of them at their computers. They’re plying sophisticated technology to instantaneously detect anger, raised voices or children crying in the background on workers’ home-office calls. That seems quite invasive, but it appears telecommuters are generally willing to trade the invasiveness for the work-at-home option. I’m not certain I would be so eager to allow this type of monitoring into my computer. … Read More
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