Telecommuting: Making it work for your company

Managing The Telecommuting Employee: Set Goals, Monitor Progress, and Maximize Profit & Productivity
By Michael Amigoni and Sandra Gurvis
Adams Media; $17.99 (CAN)

In today’s business environment, telecommuting just makes sense-after all, it’s a great way to trim the budget, retain the best employees, and reduce the company’s eco-footprint. In fact, it’s estimated that in 2009 upwards of 21 million Americans will work via telecommuting. But what does this dramatic change mean for managers?  

In Managing the Telecommuting Employee: Set Goals, Monitor Progress, and Maximize Profit and Productivity (Adams Media; November) telecommuting experts Sandra Gurvis and Michael Amigoni show today’s managers that this change doesn’t have to be painful-in fact, it can be enjoyable, productive, profitable, and a great way to grow an organization.

Supervising the telecommuting employee poses many unique challenges for the modern manager, from motivating and communicating effectively to building schedules and enforcing deadlines. In their new book Amigoni and Gurvis provide answers to the most complex and important challenges that managers face, such as:

•          Conducting meetings and conferences efficiently with off-site employees
•          Monitoring productivity
•          Determining if the program is a success
•          Deciding when the arrangement isn’t working

Using expert advice, case studies, checklists, and sample forms and charts, Managing the Telecommuting Employee teaches managers how to make telecommuting enjoyable and profitable for themselves, their employees, and their company.

The book is designed for today’s modern managers who are supervising a workforce that is increasingly distanced. With specific strategies, case studies, and checklists for making the most of their workforce,  

Michael Amigoni has managed a staff of telecommuting employees since 1977 by constructing a call center business that services the insurance and telecommunications industries. He has spoken at numerous conferences around the country about supervising telecommuting employees.

Sandra Gurvis is the author of eleven books and hundreds of magazine articles. For more than twenty-five years she has managed groups of telecommuters, from transcriptionists to interns and assistants.

For more information, visit www.adamsmedia.com