The Virtual Office

THE TELEWORK PLAYBOOK
A CONCEPT REBORN

THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN
An invisible virus visits Planet Earth.
Suddenly the World changes. Every
norm is turned upside down and we
are forced to reconsider how we live
from the inside out.
One of the biggest impacts on our
daily lives is how we work. Going to
the office is no longer an option and
in order to survive, companies and
organizations are forced to reinvent
how they work and function.
Teleworking is then reborn as people
realize this option has been available
for years. Management understands
with the invention of new technology
and services, teleworking is a great
option after all.

MORE THAN HALF OF TELEWORKERS
WANT TO STAY WORKING FROM HOME

THE PAST
Some of us think of teleworking as a new phenomenon. In fact, the idea was born
more than 35 years ago and originated at NASA in 1972. Back then it was known as
telecommuting. It evolved slowly and didn’t start taking off until the mid 90’s when
the government in the USA looked at teleworking as a means of connecting
numerous federal agencies.
By 2009, more than 100,000 USA Federal employees were teleworking which led the
government to pass the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, which sought to make
teleworking more secure and effective for Federal employees. This is the main
reason why we see so many governments, not just in the USA, adopting teleworking
as a common means of communication with employees.
Adoption by industry soon followed as one realized the benefits of teleworking
include:
• Flexibility in the hiring of employees
• Greater productivity
• Popularity with employees
• Lower costs for the workforce
• Improved climate change with less commuting

THE PRESENT
Fast forward to today and the telework landscape has changed dramatically. After
the arrival of the corona pandemic, companies and organizations have been forced
to send people home and encourage them to work from home (WFH).
They have also discovered that technology has advanced considerably since the
conception of teleworking and there are lots of new products and services now
available which simplify the task of WFH.
Everyone is expecting that, after we get Covid-19 under control, many
corporations will consider integrating the concept of teleworking permanently into
their way of doing business. Many of the employees who are not working in a
factory or having to fulfill physical activities in the office could continue to work
from home.
In fact, almost all of the surveys conclude that the majority of employees would
prefer to telework as they avoid the daily commute and are able to invest that
time in more meaningful activities. Employers are also discovering that
teleworking saves them money with some estimates showing this to be at least
$11.000 per employee per year or more.

OLD OFFICE
NEW OFFICE

MEETINGS THE OLD WAY
MEETINGS THE NEW WAY

The Flex Telework Guide will provide managers and supervisors with the necessary
information to implement a mutually beneficial telework program. Specifically, this guide is
designed to educate managers about implementing a program, including how to:
• Develop a telework program;
• Determine which employees should telework;
• Break down the cultural barriers;
• Select the right tools for telework;
• Ensure security with teleworker’s equipment;
• Launch the program; and
• Evaluate results to determine success

Here is an outline of the most important elements for a Flex Telework Plan:
• General policy statement with program definitions
• Program goals and objectives
• Explanation of the process for program participation
• Review of program benefits
• Identification of positions appropriate or not appropriate for a telework arrangement
• Review of time, pay and attendance issues
• Sample agreement to be completed by the employee and supervisor
• Checklist of technology and equipment needs

ELIGIBLE POSITIONS
Telework is feasible for:
• Work that requires thinking and writing, such as data analysis, reviewing grants or
cases, and writing regulations, decisions, or reports;
• Telephone-intensive tasks, such as setting up a conference, obtaining information,
and contacting customers; and
• Computer-oriented tasks, such as programming, data entry, and word processing.
Positions that are not suitable for teleworking typically require:
• The employee's physical presence on the job at all times;
• Extensive face-to-face contact with their supervisor, other employees, clients, or
the public;
• Access to material that cannot be moved from the main office; and
Security issues that prevent the work from being accomplished at an alternative
worksite. Managers should consider each position thoroughly and determine whether
there is potential to create a telework opportunity. As an alternative, the employee
may be able to telework one day a week, or half a day for two days a week.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS
Below are a few tips to help a manager make the right decisions to ensuring telework
is successful within the organization.
• Trust your teleworkers at all times and demonstrate this trust by assigning
challenging projects once the employee delivers a strong performance
• Include teleworks in surveys and evaluations
• Try teleworking yourself when you have the opportunity.
• Consider your teleworker's point of view in all situations.
• Involve teleworkers when setting work goals and objectives
• Delegate assignments fairly among teleworkers and non-teleworkers
• Include teleworkers in day-to-day activities.
• Keep teleworkers and co-workers in touch and up-to-date.
• Communicate on a regular basis with all technology methods
• Be flexible and open to increasing the frequency of teleworking if it is working well
for the employee
• Keep an open mind about teleworking.
• Be flexible with the program’s policies and procedures in case they need to be
adjusted for any reason

TIPS FOR EMPLOYEES

Technology advancement is so
fast it is hard to keep up-to-date.
New applications for teleworking
are appearing everywhere.
Software/Apps
Product integration allows
software to be used across
different platforms

THE HOME OFFICE SETUP
What is needed at home to run your Work From Home position?
• A computer (desktop or laptop or advanced tablet)
• A smartphone
• A printer (optional)
• A highspeed Internet connection (WLAN)
• Workspace in a quiet, tidy corner

THE HOME OFFICE

MONITOR
Monitoring performance includes measuring performance and providing feedback. In a
telework situation, measuring the results of employees’ efforts rather than their
activities can be more efficient and effective. Quantity, quality, timeliness, and costeffectiveness
are four general measures that should be considered at all times for all
employees, whether they work from home or in the office.
After establishing performance measures, communicate where an employee stands on
performance frequently. Since teleworkers are not in the office to receive quick,
informal feedback, make a conscious effort to send an instant message to teleworkers
so they know they are doing a good job.
During the first few months of implementing the program, managers may experience
a few glitches here and there, but once you find solutions for any minor problems, the
organization will soon experience benefits such as decreased sick leave from
employees, a reduction in workers' compensation cases and overall improvement in
employee morale and productivity.

SECURITY
A collaboration software program provides organizations with a cost-effective method
for transferring important files over a secure channel. While most products have
security as an add-on, others build strong security specifics within the tool to provide
better protection. All components of a collaboration tool - including audio, video, data
and files - should be protected with the strongest levels of encryption. Some of the
security factors one has to look for include:
• Lock-tight password protection
• Comprehensive encryption using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
• Public key encryption
• Encrypted file storage
In most cases, a VPN connection between the employee’s home office and the company
will be established to facilitate secure communications with the company as many
integrated project solutions will be accessed jointly. A separate Security Policy and a
Security Plan must be developed and implemented.

Product and Application Integration

FLEX is a systems integrator which means, instead of reinventing the
wheel, we integrate existing products and services into one harmonized
solution which complies with all the recognized industry safety and
security standards. In some cases, you may already be utilizing some of
those products.
The advantage of this approach is you can benefit from the enormous
power and investment these companies have made in their individual
products. We ensure you benefit from a skillful integration of these
designed to solve your particular needs.
We develop your Telework Strategy, the Telework Policy, and the
Implementation Plan and help you follow up, monitor, and help make
the necessary improvements. This service is still somewhat unique as
most systems and product providers want to sell just their own products.

FLEX FUNCTION INTEGRATION
Flex brings all the component parts of a successful teleworking venture under one roof to
ensure nothing gets neglected.

FLEX INTEGRATED SOLUTION
This is just an example of the types of products/services that might comprise a solution. There
are many more companies and products that we can use to create an integrated system.

…THE NEXT STEP
Talk to one of Flex’s experts and consider getting a feasibility
study of your teleworking potential. It just requires filling out
our questionnaire with some simple basic facts about your
organization.
Then we will arrange for a video conference call to discuss our
observations and suggestions. This service we offer completely
free without any obligations.
Contact us at: info@flextelework.com