Employees working from home

Manage employees who work from home

Working from home can bring a wide range of benefits for both businesses and employees, but it needs to be properly managed to be successful.

Monitoring and assessing the performance of people who work at home is perhaps the most significant managerial challenge. It can be helpful to measure their effectiveness in terms of their output rather than the hours they work.

Agree set goals and deadlines for particular tasks. Keep a close eye on how well the targets are being met and give feedback promptly and sensitively if things go wrong.

Training can prepare employees and help them develop the skills they need. This might include:

• self-management skills, eg in time management
• general skills, eg in using IT more effectively or writing reports
• job-specific skills

You can download guidance on the key issues associated with teleworking from the DTI website (PDF).

For staff who work alone, a sense of isolation is one of the factors most likely to make homeworking fail. As a result, it's important to put formal systems in place to ensure people feel part of the team. For example:

• frequent two-way feedback sessions about work and work-related issues
• regular scheduled visits to the workplace
• inclusion in social activities
• clear procedures to follow and people to contact if things go wrong

If an employee's job is home-based from the start, it's a good idea to carry out their induction at your premises. Homeworkers are more likely to be focused and productive if they have a chance to establish a clear idea of the people and company they're working for.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• Advantages and disadvantages of employees working at home
• Types of work and skills suited to home working
• Employment contracts and working from or at home
• Kitting out people who work at home
• Manage employees who work from home
• Your health and safety obligations towards homeworkers
• How technology can facilitate working from home
• Responsibilities of homeworkers
• Here's how I manage the performance of my homeworkers and keep them motivate

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