BootsnAll Travel Community

I have an employee whose husband will be working abroad for a year. We are working out if she can go overseas and still work for us here in the states. I’m wondering if anyone here works for a job at home while traveling abroad for a month or more. I’m trying to get an idea of what it would take.

I work for a US company that works overseas. I work from many locations. I can manage my work any place that I have phone service and a good internet connection.

It is a great set up for me and it works really well for them too. They don't really care where I am just as long as the work gets done. I would say the biggest challenge is dealing with different time zones.

What kind of issues are you trying to overcome?

The time difference may be something to consider; your person might be working odd hours. If that’s not an issue, and location isn’t either, then it doesn’t matter where you work from. Virtual phone systems like Gotvmail now make people just an extension away, wherever they are. There’s internet, email. It’s definitely doable. This person will just have to be worth the expense of long distance.

Beside the time difference there are other factors to consider. What kind of a job is it? Is it dependent on input from others or is the job something that can be done independently. Also, what kind of worker is the person. Do they need a lot of supervision to get anything done or are they a dependable self-starter? How much are they worth to the company to keep? Good workers are hard to find. If it was someone I wanted to keep long term, and they were a dependable self-starter, I would bend over backwards to accomodate them.

In my case, could be done independantly, however, my current client is a pain in the fuckin ass =D (Im a graphic designer)

We're all assuming that your company has no policy prohibiting this (mine doesn't allow telecommuting, even though it's an IT firm -- absurd!).

I suggest that you spell out your expectations for your employee very clearly, in writing. State the duration of the work week and that you expect the same number of hours as if she were on site. Does she fill out some sort of timesheet today? Can she do it remotely? Even if you don't care when she does the work -- she could skip a day, then work 14 hours straight to meet a deadline -- you should enforce the regular work at least at first. It sends a signal that she's still being managed.

If there are any regular meetings she must participate in, state that, and try to schedule them so the time zones work.

Create a plan for verifying her work. You might, at first, require a daily progress report -- a quick three sentence email that is supported by the evidence of her producing something (whatever it is she does). I have worked a home a lot, and I can assure you it's very easy to put off working on a multi-day/week task if no one is going to be asking for an update today.

Once her productivity is clear, back off to weekly updates. But do be sure that you or a designee evaluates her actual work product.

If you don't get the required report, pursue it. Don't let it slide. Even the most willing distance worker will be distracted. If you try to contact her when she should be working, and can't get her, follow up. Conversely, do not contact her when she's off the clock -- be respectful of her personal time too.

Continue to treat her as part of the team -- don't omit her from communications that may not apply because she's off site. This will give her the sense of belonging that also contributes to productivity.

Of course, by now you've probably resoved the situation. I'm curious what has happened.