Responses to Telecommuting Question

["Frank A. Saucier" <0004969358 -at- MCIMAIL -dot- COM>]

Finally! Here are the responses I received to the Telecommuting question I
posted to TECHWR-L back in January. The first message is my original message.
Don't get two excited. I only received five responses.

You may be wondering why it took me so long to combine and post five replies.
One, I was hoping to get a few more replies. Two, our group recently changed
platforms and mail packages and I had to do the e-mail shuffle.

Does anybody remember that Bugs Bunny cartoon where a construction worker found
a dancing/singing frog. You know "Hello my baby. Hello my honey. Hello my
ragtime gal. Send me a kiss by wire. Baby my hearts on fire. If you refuse me ,
honey you'll loose me and then you'll be left alone. So baby telephone and tell
me I'm your own." OK so I watched a few cartoons as a kid. Anyway, the guy
thought he was going to make millions with this frog. Then when he put the frog
on stage and the curtain went up, the frog didn't sing and all you could hear
were crickets. That's how I feel. Oh well, better to be a person with a dream
than a skunk with a thing for painted cats.

Frank Saucier
496-9358 -at- mcimail -dot- com

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Date:     Sun Jan 30, 1994 10:57 am  CST
From:     Frank A. Saucier / MCI ID: 496-9358

TO:       TECHWR-L                                 (Ems)
          EMS: INTERNET / MCI ID: 376-5414
          MBX: TECHWR-L -at- vm1 -dot- ucc -dot- okstate -dot- edu
Subject:  Telecommuting
Message-Id: 30940130165703/0004969358ND2EM

Hi Gang,

I recently passed a copy of an article about Telecommuting around our
department. The worker bees thought is was a great idea, but the manager bees
proclaimed it nothing more than "interesting reading." Is there anyone out
there in TECHWR land who is Telecommuting? I'm really interested to the answers
to the following questions.

+ How often do you Telecommute in a month?

+ How long have you been Telecommuting?

+ What company do you work for?

+ What industry is your company in?

+ What type of work do you do?

+ In what part of the country do you live/work?

+ How far is it from home to work (miles and minutes)?

+ How would you get to work before you started Telecommuting?

+ Why did you start Telecommuting?

+ Did you suggest Telecommuting to your employer or was there a program already
  in place?

+ If you suggested the idea, what information did you present to convince your
  employer?

+ Is your option to Telecommute a company wide program or is it something your
  specific department, group, or boss lets you do?

+ What type of equipment do you use to Telecommute (desktop computer, portable
  computer, fax, phone, modem, multiple phone lines, pager, portable phone,...)

+ Was the equipment you use to Telecommute provided by your employer?

+ What did it cost to set you up for Telecommuting?

+ Do you know how much you are saving the company by Telecommuting (time,
  money,...)

+ Have you had any problems/difficulties?

Any information you have time to provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Frank Saucier
Worker Bee No.11
496-9358 -at- mcimail -dot- com

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Date:     Mon Jan 31, 1994  7:19 pm  CST
From:     David Hamilton
          EMS: INTERNET / MCI ID: 376-5414
          MBX: david -at- ursus -dot- com

TO:     * Frank A. Saucier / MCI ID: 496-9358
Subject:  Re: Telecommuting

In message <199401301707 -dot- JAA09693 -at- nova -dot- unix -dot- portal -dot- com> you write:

> I recently passed a copy of an article about Telecommuting around our
> department. The worker bees thought is was a great idea, but the manager bees
> proclaimed it nothing more than "interesting reading." Is there anyone out
> there in TECHWR land who is Telecommuting? I'm really interested to the answe
> to the following questions.

I spend a significant portion of my time setting up telecommuting
systems for our clients and teaching corporations how to use telework
effectively.  In almost all cases, the workers and senior management
was very much in favor of telework.  Most of the problems originate at
the lowest levels of management, who feel insecure if they cannot see
someone sitting at a desk.  It takes us far longer to educate these
managers in management-by-objectives techniques than it does to set up
the equipment and software systems to support telework.

There are many companies that have gone beyond the routine media
definitions of "telecommuting" and have employees/contractors
scattered around the country who work remotely full time.  One client
has programmers in Utah, New Mexico, and New Hampshire, while their
offices are in California.  It works quite well for them (I set up the
hardware/software systems).

In a routine month, 75-90% of my time is spent away from the office.
Since most of our meetings are handled via email, this isn't a
problem.  BTW, the "social aspect" has never been a significant
factor, either here or at our clients' sites.

-dh
_____________________________________________________________________
David Hamilton                                        david -at- ursus -dot- com
Ursus Information Technology, Inc.                    Santa Clara, CA

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Date:     Tue Feb 01, 1994 11:38 am  CST
From:     Hanna Nelson
          EMS: INTERNET / MCI ID: 376-5414
          MBX: hanna -at- holycow -dot- portland -dot- or -dot- us

TO:     * Frank A. Saucier / MCI ID: 496-9358
Subject:  Re: Telecommuting

On Jan 30, 11:57am, "Frank A. Saucier" wrote:
> I recently passed a copy of an article about Telecommuting around our
> department.

was this in the WSJ?
if not, i'd be interested in seeing the article...
i'm also interested in seeing your compilation of responses.

> The worker bees thought is was a great idea, but the manager bees
> proclaimed it nothing more than "interesting reading." Is there anyone out
> there in TECHWR land who is Telecommuting? I'm really interested to the
> answers to the following questions.


> + How often do you Telecommute in a month?

i telecommute every day from my home in portland, oregon
to my company in santa cruz, california.

> + How long have you been Telecommuting?

7 months

> + What company do you work for?

why do you ask? :-)

> + What industry is your company in?

computer software

> + What type of work do you do?

Technical writing

> + In what part of the country do you live/work?

west coast (see above).

> + How far is it from home to work (miles and minutes)?

abou 700 miles, 1.5 hour flight :-)

> + How would you get to work before you started Telecommuting?

by bicycle, car, walking.
i used to live in santa cruz, 2 miles from work.

> + Why did you start Telecommuting?

i decided to move to portland and sort of gave notice.
i'd been with the company/department for over 6 years
and the cost to replace me in all my various jobs would
have been significantly more than keeping me on at a distance.
it seemed like a beneficial situation for me at the time
(i.e. not having to scramble to get a new job and besides,
i like my current job).

>+ Did you suggest Telecommuting to your employer or was there a program already
>   in place?

neither :-)
well, our department has an informal telecommuting arrangement
(people can work from home if they have the appropriate equipment
and are generally viewed as self-motivators).
my manager suggested my long-distance telecommuting situation
and then arranged it with HR and all the levels of management.

> + If you suggested the idea, what information did you present to convince your
>   employer?

my immediate managers presented the cost factor of replacing me and
that i was fairly senior and had already demonstrated the ability
to work alone (i wrote a book for publication in my spare time
a couple of years ago).

> + Is your option to Telecommute a company wide program or is it something your
>   specific department, group, or boss lets you do?

department/boss.

> + What type of equipment do you use to Telecommute (desktop computer, portable
>   computer, fax, phone, modem, multiple phone lines, pager, portable
phone,...)

desktop computer (UNIX on Intel platform), fax, modem, 3 phone line
(one home, one work only, one fax/modem), X terminal.

> + Was the equipment you use to Telecommute provided by your employer?

all equipment is mine except the X terminal.
however, i desperately need a test box, which they will provide.
i'm also looking to get an internet connection (PPP);
currently i'm using uucp for login & mail connectivity.

> + What did it cost to set you up for Telecommuting?

phone line installation, basic service on 2 phones, and a two-line phone.
basic service runs about $12/line.  i use an 800 number to call california.
quarterly trips to the office (about $1000 each).

> + Do you know how much you are saving the company by Telecommuting (time,
>   money,...)

not in dollar amounts, no.

> + Have you had any problems/difficulties?

yes.

i sometimes experience communication breakdown because of the
inability to talk face-to-face (this problem already existed
between the CA and UK offices).
i'm currently experiencing problems accessing new tools being
developed and made available at the office because i have no
way to run them (over uucp).
occasionally, things happen or decisions are made without the
information being disseminated to me.  i've forged a lot of
relationships with people in different groups and made myself
present via email and phone conferences so i get remembered
by a lot of different people.
downloading new software is slow (until i get PPP)!
large conference calls with many people are difficult
because they can all see each other, but i can't see
the reactions on their faces when i'm talking
(so i don't know when to shut up :-)  videoconferencing!

i think that's all.  mostly it's communication breakdown.
the quarterly trips are designed to touch base and have
face-to-face meetings with everyone i work with.

--
Hanna Nelson               hanna -at- holycow -dot- portland -dot- or -dot- us
voice: 503/232-3395        fax: 503/231-8742

"Al Gore would be proud!"  - jason brandt lewis

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Date:     Mon Jan 31, 1994 11:13 am  CST
From:     Jane Torpie at III HQ
          EMS: INTERNET / MCI ID: 376-5414
          MBX: Jane_Torpie_at_III-HQ -at- proteon -dot- com

TO:       techwr l
          EMS: INTERNET / MCI ID: 376-5414
          MBX: techwr-l%osuvm1 -dot- bitnet -at- pucc -dot- princeton -dot- edu
TO:     * Frank A. Saucier / MCI ID: 496-9358
Subject:  Re: Telecommuting

The following answers apply to my previous employer, not my current
employer.  (I could probably telecommute at least occasionally, but in my
current situation, I prefer not to.)

The situation I describe below applies to a software company in Boston at
which I worked for 3.5 years as a Technical Writer.

+ How often do you Telecommute in a month?
Tuesday and Thursday each week

+ How long have you been Telecommuting?
3.5 years total

+ What company do you work for?
Pilot Software (formerly Pilot Executive Software)
N.B.  I do not know if this arrangement is available any more.

+ What industry is your company in?
software

+ What type of work do you do?
Technical Writing

+ In what part of the country do you live/work?
I lived in suburban Boston and the company's office was downtown.

+ How far is it from home to work (miles and minutes)?
7 or 8 miles, 45 minutes by public transit, driving would be the same

+ How would you get to work before you started Telecommuting?
worked for another employer in the suburbs and drove there

+ Why did you start Telecommuting?
my company offered it as a benefit

+ Did you suggest Telecommuting to your employer or was there a program already
  in place?
already in place

+ If you suggested the idea, what information did you present to convince your
  employer?
NA

+ Is your option to Telecommute a company wide program or is it something your
  specific department, group, or boss lets you do?
available to those who did a significant part of their work in solitude,
such as software developers, technical writers, software quality assurance
engineers, and trainers who were doing course development

+ What type of equipment do you use to Telecommute (desktop computer, portable
  computer, fax, phone, modem, multiple phone lines, pager, portable phone,...)
desktop computer, phone, modem, two phone lines (one for voice, one for
data)

+ Was the equipment you use to Telecommute provided by your employer?
the desktop computer, the modem, and the installation and monthly standard
fee for the phone service were provided by the employer.  I provided the
phone.

+ What did it cost to set you up for Telecommuting?
Relatively speaking, not much.  I had a "second tier" machine at home which
would probably be otherwise unused by anyone in my department.  (For
example, I had a 386 at work and a 286 at home.)  I had a 2400 baud modem
but not a 9600, which were available at the time.  The cost of the second
line installation was somewhat under $100.

+ Do you know how much you are saving the company by Telecommuting (time,
  money,...)
No.  However, this company established telecommuting because it was less
expensive to buy additional hardware (at commercial and multiple-unit
prices) and install phone lines than to rent office space and buy
furniture.  Some of the most senior and talented people continued to work
at the company because they valued the telecommuting arrangement.

In my situation, I'd say that the company probably got another 4 hours of
work from me a week.  I'm not a 40-hour-per-week worker and tend to work
the hours necessary to do a project.  But I get tired at the end of the day
and have responsibilities outside of my job.  The hours I didn't spend
commuting were hours I could put into my work, and usually did.

For my part, I rarely or never had to be away from work because a repair
person came to the house or I had a dentist appointment.  I scheduled these
on a "home day," let my manager know that I'd be away from my dining room
table for a while, and made up the hours after dinner.

+ Have you had any problems/difficulties?
Occasionally I wished I had a nicer computer or a faster modem.

Sometimes friends would confuse "the days I wasn't going to work" with "the
days I wasn't working."  It only took a minute to clear this up.

There may have been some employees who resented our privilege to work at
home.  In general, I think this is a management problem ... most people
understood that we worked just as hard there and had to produce to continue
to have the privilege.

But in general, it was a good arrangement that encouraged trust between my
manager and me.  He and other managers had to learn to trust their
employees to do their work well and finish it on time.  Employees had to be
self-motivated and self-monitoring.  There were a few people who abused the
situation and didn't work on their "home days;" disciplinary action
resulted.

I also learned a lot about organizing my work and managing my time.
Because my home days were regularly scheduled and coincided with other
workers' home days, we could plan meetings according to our needs.
(Meetings didn't just "happen" and soak up all of our time; we had good
reason to think about whether a meeting was necessary and what topics we
wanted to discuss.)  I got a huge amount of work done because there were
fewer interruptions.

Any information you have time to provide would be greatly appreciated.
Here's my last comment, addressed to management:

Most information workers who are willing to try this arrangement can make
it work, but the support of management (or lack thereof) is the most
critical aspect in achieving success.  Like employees, individual managers
must be willing to try an "intrapreneurial" approach to working, especially
in the networked '90s.  Our networking technology reinforces the fact that
a work team (group, department, company) is made up of individuals who are
interdependent.  If your people really are your most important resource,
then restricting their autonomy will in some way restrict their ideas, too.
 It's the 90's ... take a leap and consider something new, rather than
reinventing the wheel.

Good luck, Frank.

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Date:     Mon Jan 31, 1994  4:50 pm  CST
From:     Linda Kelley
          EMS: INTERNET / MCI ID: 376-5414
          MBX: linda -at- disc-synergy -dot- com

TO:     * Frank A. Saucier / MCI ID: 496-9358
Subject:  telecommuting

Frank,

Here are my answers:

+ How often do you Telecommute in a month?
     I only go into the office about twice a year, for about a week each
time.

+ How long have you been Telecommuting?
     Two and a half years.

+ What company do you work for?
     Digital Information Systems Corporation (DISC) in Rancho Cordova,
CA (just outside of Sacramento).

+ What industry is your company in?
     Computer software.

+ What type of work do you do?
     Technical writing.  I write manuals and produce the technical
newsletter that is sent to our supported customers.

+ In what part of the country do you live/work?
     I live just outside of Denver, but I'll be moving to Chicago in a
month and will continue to telecommute.

+ How far is it from home to work (miles and minutes)?
     899 miles, give or take a few.

+ How would you get to work before you started Telecommuting?
     I drove--I used to live in Sacramento.

+ Why did you start Telecommuting?
     My husband accepted a transfer to the Denver area.  I had worked
for DISC for three years, and when I told my boss I'd be leaving, he
suggested that I telecommute and continue to work for DISC.

+ Did you suggest Telecommuting to your employer or was there a program
already in place?
     It never even occurred to me.  DISC had worked with contract
programmers long-distance before, but I think I was the first salaried
employee to do it.

+ If you suggested the idea, what information did you present to
convince your employer?
     They suggested it, but they knew it would save them the cost of
hiring and training a new senior writer.

+ Is your option to Telecommute a company wide program or is it
something your specific department, group, or boss lets you do?
     It's not a company-wide program. Occasionally the other writers or
programmers will work from home (assuming they have the appropriate
equipment there), but it's not a regular thing for any of them.
(On the other hand, I don't know that anyone has asked to
telecommute regularly.)

+ What type of equipment do you use to Telecommute (desktop computer,
portable computer, fax, phone, modem, multiple phone lines, pager,
portable phone,...)
+ Was the equipment you use to Telecommute provided by your employer?
     My company has provided me with a 486 PC with fax/modem card, a
laser printer, a second phone line (usually connected to my computer),
and preprinted UPS labels billed directly to them.  They reimburse me
for any business-related expenses that aren't billed to them directly.
I dial in several times a day for electronic mail messages and to
download or upload files, and I have my voice mail set up to dial me at
home if someone leaves me a voice mail message.

+ What did it cost to set you up for Telecommuting?
     It didn't cost me anything until I moved a few months after
starting.  Then I paid the charges to install the second phone line in
my new house (approximately $60), because DISC had just paid those
charges a few months earlier.

+ Do you know how much you are saving the company by Telecommuting
(time, money,...)
     Sorry, I don't know.  I DO know that I don't get interrupted as
much, and I'm able to put in extra hours more easily, so I
believe I'm more productive.

+ Have you had any problems/difficulties?
     I definitely miss the face-to-face interaction, but I communicate
 with people via e-mail and phone.  I "attend" meetings on a
speaker phone, although sometimes it's difficult to hear
everyone.  At first, people forgot I was out here and didn't
include me when they called meetings, sent messages, and
so forth, but I worked hard to stay "visible," and it's not
much of a problem any more.  I don't think a telecommuter
who went into the office a few days a week would have the
same problem.

     My resources are more limited.  If I run into a hardware or
software problem, I'm usually left to solve the problem myself, instead
of being able to call in a fellow employee who has more experience in
the matter.  I also miss certain office conveniences that I used to take
for granted, such as access to a copy machine.

     Oh, I also had to give up managing the documentation department,
because we decided it would be too difficult long distance.

+ Any information you have time to provide would be greatly appreciated.
     People always ask me how I can write manuals when I'm not at the
office.  In some ways, it's an advantage.  I always load a copy of the
software I'm writing about on my PC, and I sometimes find bugs no one
else has encountered because my system is different than the ones at the
office.  I talk to the programmers on the phone, and I send my work in
to be reviewed.  We eliminate some of the time-wasting--chatting by the
coffee pot, for example--because we're focused on the task at hand when
we do talk.

     Anyone who telecommutes has to be self-disciplined--you can't let
yourself get distracted by dishes in the sink or a good show on TV.
I recommend keeping regular work hours as much as possible.

Hope this helps.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Linda Kelley
Senior Technical Writer
Digital Information Systems Corporation (DISC)
E-mail: linda -at- disc-synergy -dot- com  Phone: (303)680-0471

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Date:     Tue Feb 01, 1994 10:03 am  CST
From:     nancy ott
          EMS: INTERNET / MCI ID: 376-5414
          MBX: ott -at- ansoft -dot- com

TO:     * Frank A. Saucier / MCI ID: 496-9358
CC:       ott
          EMS: INTERNET / MCI ID: 376-5414
          MBX: ott -at- ansoft -dot- com
Subject:  Telecommuting survey

Frank,

A reply to your telecommuting survey:

I will begin telecommuting in April after returning to work from
maternity leave.  My main reasons are:

1. To have more flexibility in my child care arrangements.
2. To be able to work without interruptions.

I'll be working at home at least two days a week, and in the office
the rest of the time.  (Alternatively, I may work mornings in the
office and afternoons at home.  It depends on how the situation works
out.)  Any missed home work time will be made up evenings and
weekends.

There's no formal policy for telecommuting in my company -- it's
handled on a case-by-case basis.  Several salespeople and one
researcher are working offsite at various places around the country.
Another guy in my office telecommutes a few mornings each week due to
his child care situation.

My manager became very supportive of the idea when I explained my
situation, and is providing me with a 486 PC and modem.  (I'll be
downloading files and working locally on the PC.)  I'm making
arrangements for installing a second phone line purely to be used for
work, and will bill that cost to the company.  I will be keeping in
touch on the days I'm not in the office via phone and email.

Hope this helps.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
nancy ott      | I thought I was by myself
Ansoft Corp.   | But I cannot kill the angel in the house
Pittsburgh, PA | Even in my wildest heart
ott -at- ansoft -dot- com | I cannot kill the angel in the house
               |                   -- Johnatha Brooks

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