let's see if this works
Woody Leonhard says that work is something you do, not something you travel to. We are giving his idea a spin and try telecommuting in the next few months. Sieg will be letting a few high-performing, self-managing team members to work wherever they want, whenever they want.
We have the technology to carry it out. WiFi and other telecommunication links will replace the daily commute to the office. Our management style has always been based on results and not on close scrutiny of individual employees, anyway. We have always managed ‘by objective,’ never managed ‘by observation.’ Why not loosen the ties a bit and give highly-productive employees the freedom to work away from their cubicles? They can use their commuting time to work more, and therefore produce more. Hopefully, this new set up also lessens their stress, allows them to have a life outside of work, and ultimately become even better team members.
Ingrid got more done during her trial telecommuting day. We surprised her when she was telecommuting in her favorite Figaro outlet. She was hard at work, alright, and seemed pissed when we disturbed her. Sorry! Just checking if you're really working!
However, the telecommuting plan is not something we are ready to implement for all our team members right away. We are confident that some of our team members can handle the flexibility, but let’s face it – not everyone can work unsupervised. Quality of our software and content may suffer.
We may also try striking a balance. We may require our team to report in the office at least two times a week during critical days, and then telecommute the rest of the week. We will roll out the plan slowly but surely in the next few months and keep you posted. - JONAS
posted by Team Sieg at 11:05 AM
