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 Features
The Power of Partial Telecommuting
 Plan
Once many of the questions and issues have been resolved by a game company, they are then faced with deciding how to implement a telecommuting plan.
Below are some potential plan foundations:
- Special Case – The typical model for game companies is to allow telecommuting on a case by case basis. Employees who approach management wishing to become a partial telecommuter and have a convincing argument or offer that is in the company’s best interest tend to be approved for a trial run. The good part of this plan is that people who really value telecommuting and need it to balance their lives are the ones who approach management. It means they believe they have a situation or a plan to meet the company’s eligibility requirements. The downside is that some people will have to be declined. Take the person who wants to improve their yoga skills. Let’s also suppose that they aren’t willing to work any more for the company in exchange for telecommuting. To make matters even worse, this guy ranks in the bottom 66% of the company on reviews. Since not only do they not have a compelling reason (yoga instead of massive commute, sickness, kids, etc.), and because there isn’t a clear benefit to the game company in terms of added productivity (refuses to work more hours), and finally, they aren’t ranked as a critical priority for employee retention, then their request should be declined. Unfortunately, when these people hear “no,” they might become angry with the company or the other telecommuters. In this case, it’s important to communicate that the employee can become eligible, if they so choose, by putting in more effort when working from home.
- Company days – A clever solution is to allow 1-2 days a week to be free telecommute days for anyone in the game company. Anyone who wishes to telecommute can do so on those days. This works very well since people can, even if just 1-2 days a week, decrease their stress levels. This avoids much of the “clique” problem some teams face since the program is offered to everyone whose job allows for telecommuting. That in turn means, that companies can also apply the “special case” plan on top of the company days plan without many of the “special treatment” feelings other teammates might have. Again, the main issue here is coverage. Be sure to spread out which 1-2 days programmers work from home so there are always programmers onsite. In addition, be sure there is one day that everyone is in-office.
- Office Sharing – Another effective method, which is tailored to saving the company money on rent and food, is to implement desk sharing. Employees can alternate time in the office, perhaps both working 2 days a week in-office, 3 from home. Most effective telecommuters see home as the place they crank out their work, and onsite days are more for communication, or because they are required. This means, they are much less attached to their at-work office space, and can tolerate cubes, using a conference room, or sharing desks much more easily than full-time onsite employees.
- Public program – Using the eligibility criteria, companies can create a telecommuting policy to offer to all those who meet the requirements. These requirements could include increased workloads for employees in exchange for days at home, such as for every day at home, the employee agrees to add 1-2 extra hours to their schedules. Having a clear list of requirements and offering it everyone is the most effective way to remove any potential “special treatment” feelings other teammates could have. It also sends a clear message that the employee is responsible for making sure that telecommuting ends up being a win for the company, and not just a benefit to the employee.
How to Optimize Telecommuting
When telecommuting works well, it creates a powerful work force. People are happier, working harder than they would in-office, loyal, grateful, and determined to make the program a success. Some recommendations on how to optimize telecommuting in the game biz would be:
- Appreciation – Employees need to know they aren’t 2nd class citizens if they work from home. This means, they should not take a pay cut to work from home, or be looked down upon because they don’t commute in everyday. They should be given the respect they earn, equal to the respect they would get if they were in-office.
- Communicate Expectations – Employees need to know they are expected to perform at or above their current in-office level. To do this requires extra effort to perform at their current level. They will need to use many forms of communication, especially voice communication on an everyday basis. The employee should be educated in what is expected from them, and taught how to telecommute effectively.
- Tools – Provide the tools employees need to work well from home. This includes VPN, FTP, machines for remote desktop, even high-performance laptops or development kits if needed. We want employees armed with as many time-saving and performance enhancing tools as we can to ensure the only thing holding the employee back is perhaps their horoscope.
- Team Unity – It’s important to remind employees that telecommuting programs help everyone. They are designed to not only make life better for the employees but to also increase the company’s profitability. If on-site teammates have issues or feel resentment towards the telecommuters, everyone involved should discuss solutions to those issues.
Conclusion
Telecommuting is concept that many game companies are beginning to embrace. It might not be for everyone or for every company, but for most game companies, it provides a large benefit to both companies and employees. Companies planning to offer a telecommuting program need to remember to have a great plan, communicate expectations well, and expect great things from your telecommuters. As a result, companies will be amazed at the power of partial telecommuting.
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