Q: How can I make sure my telecommuting employees are working as effectively as they should be?
"Our thoughts concerning telecommuting are deeply ingrained from the Industrial Revolution, where everyone showed up at the same place at the same time [and] stood on factory floors to pull the lever and start the looms," says Katherine Dew, associate professor in Hodges University’s Kenneth Oscar Johnson School of Business.

Ideas about productivity have gone through a huge mental and cultural shift since then, and managers can both monitor and improve their telecommuting employees’ efficiency without actually seeing them.

First, managers should establish a rapport with telecommuting employees, Dew says. Connect with the people involved in a particular project or team, not just en masse, but as individuals. Greet employees by name, tell them you need an update, and ask about any obstacles they are facing that you can help resolve.

Effective communication techniques can boost telecommuter efficiency—and morale, Dew adds. Managers should convey objectives clearly and succinctly to the employee, group or team, and explain how those objectives link to the organization’s mission. "One of the real problems today is people not feeling connected to a mission. They don’t know what direction their company is going in and they need to be reminded," she says.

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