Forum - November 2009

WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?

A Tough Economy Calls for
Interesting Solutions

Allowing employees to work remotely
has been a hot topic this year in the
association world, especially with the
tough economy and employees’ desire for
increased flexibility from employers. You
may be thinking to yourself, “It won’t work
in my association” or, “How would we
even go about allowing that to happen?”
Well, I’m here to tell you, as a fully remote
employee myself, that if done right,
there are definite benefits not only to the
employee, but also to the association.
BY BRUCE E. HAMMOND

HOW WORKING REMOTELY CAME ABOUT

When I was re-hired at Delta Sigma Phi in 2006 as the director of alumni relations and editor (I had worked here previously from 2001 to 2004), it was an interesting time in my life. My future wife was starting her last pre-doctoral internship in the Detroit suburbs and I needed to live in the same town. Living in Indianapolis, where our office is located, wasn’t an option for me. My boss and I therefore worked out a deal where I could live and work remotely after a three-month reintegration period working in Indy.

During the summer of 2006, I lived in Indianapolis, worked from the office and reintegrated myself into the daily operations of the organization. It was a good exercise in ensuring that I was engaged with what was happening, comfortable with my fellow employees and able to do the job from 300 miles away.

THINGS THAT WE DISCUSSED WHEN STARTING OUT

A number of things we discussed as we were first starting out have been put into practice and can be instructive for other associations thinking about enabling remote workers. Among them:

• Pay range: Would I be compensated at the level for my position in Indianapolis, or in Detroit?

• How regularly I’d need to be in the office: Would I be traveling to Indianapolis monthly, every two months, quarterly?

help me do my job: Would the fraternity provide a computer, printer and cell phone; reimburse me for Internet costs; and provide other technological things like a VPN connection to get onto our server?

• What my hours would be: Was I required to work 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or since I was in a home office, could my hours be flexible as long as I got the job done?

We worked all of these situations out in the initial three-month period while I was in Indianapolis, coming to our conclusions well in advance of me leaving to work in Detroit.

WHY IT’S BEEN A SUCCESS

I think the main reason this arrangement has been a success for our organization, and the only way it can be successful in any other association, is because of trust. Everyone, from the leader of the association to fellow employees to the remote employee, must trust that this arrangement is in the organization’s best interest, and that all parts can rely on one another to make the situation work.

In my experience, that has been easy.

I have regular calls with our executive director, who is my direct supervisor, and I also sit in on regular calls with other staff members to get a sense for what is happening within the association.

I also make the three-hour drive from my home office to our office in Indianapolis about every other month for a week, spending time renewing the relationships with my fellow employees and completing necessary in-person meetings and projects.

The other reason this has been a success is that the organization has shown me time and again that it is willing to take personal circumstances into consideration in order to keep top talent. That makes me feel good as an employee — knowing that my organization understands what’s going on in my life and is willing to support my needs by allowing me to work remotely.

THINGS TO CONSIDER

In conclusion, there are five main things to consider when deciding whether your association can/should offer the opportunity for telecommuting:

1. Can you trust the person to do the job on time and effectively?

2. Is your association’s culture conducive to telecommuting?

3. Is the position conducive to telecommuting (i.e., a northeast chapter relations position might be a good candidate to live in the northeast, but a receptionist probably wouldn’t)?

4. Will you allow all employees to work remotely, or just a select few? (If only a few, how will this affect the others’ morale?)

5. Are you as a leader comfortable managing someone who is off-site on a daily basis?

If you can answer all of these questions in a way that makes you think telecommuting can work for your association, I’d encourage you to take the plunge. You can find some great talent who will be forever grateful to you for trusting them to work remotely.