Work by Remote

Summary:
Remote support technology is one of the most popular service and support automation tools for high-tech companies, with a well understood and easily documented return on investment story. Though basic remote control is available from many sources, including some freeware and shareware options, companies interested in improving both the economics of support and the customer experience should understand the risks involved with lower-end tools, and learn how leveraging a best-of-breed product will accelerate operational improvements and customer satisfaction ratings. In this report, find out 10 critical selection criteria to use when evaluating remote support platforms, and identify how moving beyond homegrown or freeware tools will accelerate the achievement of business goals for your service and support operation.Click here to launch the document.

Netbooks are the in thing today. They are small and handy, and so it’s no surprise that many people are now seen carrying netbooks wherever they go.

For remote or mobile workers,  netbooks or laptops are almost a must. They are convenient, you see. Though for programmers, these small gadgets may not be an ideal one to have. But they will do if they need to go out of their bedrooms for a while and into a cafeteria or park to work.

Remote workers or mobile workers need to get some air, too, you know.

Now we all know that the bane of netbooks or any other computer device is virus. Good thing Kapersky Antivirus has come up with an anti-virus for netbooks.

PC World shares:

Kaspersky Lab has announced an anti-malware product specifically designed for netbooks, the first to fill a potentially lucrative new software niche.

According to the company, Kaspersky Internet Security Special Edition for Ultra-Portables has been “optimized” for netbooks running the Intel Atom, Intel Celeron-M, or VIA C7-M processors that power the current generation of Windows XP-based small-screen wonders.

Continue reading…

Most IT projects involve geeks. I guess 99 percent of the team is geek.  All I can say is that geeks are just like you and me, only smarter, more skillful, and more serious with their craft. In other words, they’re a joy to work with.

About a couple of years ago, Chief Happiness Officer, Alexander Kjerulf, wrote an article titled how NOT to lead geeks. If you were to make each one positive, here’s how to handle your geek team.The inputs are mine based on my experience in working with them.

1. Give them the right training, and on a regular basis. Training in general is empowering. But for geeks, honing their skills is important to them. And they have the passion to learn new things or be updated on what’s the latest on their chosen field.
2. Give them recognition. Like any other worker, geeks too love to be given a pat on the back for a job well done. If you don’t know how or understand their work very well, Kjerulf suggests that you work with them so that you would know.
3. Give them reasonable work schedule. Geeks are humans, too, and although they can be workaholics, they can still be stressed out. What good is a geek if he’s overworked?
4. Talk to them in plain simple English minus management jargon. As Kjerulf said, geeks hate management-speak.
5. Do not try to outsmart or act smart with them. Admit it, if you’re not a geek or do not understand the stuff geeks do. It gets more work done and faster that way.
6. Be consistent. Probably because in IT, structure and consistency is critical, geeks also want consistent and clear directions, and policies. They hate it when they smell uncertainty and indecisiveness.
7. Connect with them. Often, because managers are not geek themselves, they tend to stay away from their geek team, and just concern themselves with the output or in the user interface, for example, of a website project. Talk to them and discuss with them tasks that are doable and not.
8. Involve them in decision making, especially when it comes to your project. For an IT project, who else understands it better than the geek team. Thus, get their ideas and suggestions and how to go about the project. There should be a collaborative effort.
9. Give them the right tools or equipment to do their tasks well. What can be most frustrating for a geek team are slow computers and lack of software. These may cost you a bit more, but just look at it as in investment where you can generate income too.
10. Recognize the creative side of geeks. Kjerulf puts it aptly, “Programming is a creative process, not an industrial one. Geeks must constantly come up with solutions to new problems and rarely ever solve the same problem twice. Therefore they need leeway and flexibility.”

[Source]

What saddens me as a project manager is to see good people go.

It’s true! Leaders or managers have closed minds or are set in their ways. If this is the general case, then no wonder conflicts arise in the organization, which they often term as politicking.

I’m just lucky that my Boss listens to me, and takes my suggestions well—oftentimes, too well. But for those who are not as lucky, I pity you. And I wish your Bosses could read this article on North Colorado Business Report.

The article likens project management to an endeavor which one must need an open mind. In Zen principles, have a “beginners mind” that displays openness, eagerness and a lack of preconception. It’s like learning a new skill, where you are eager to learn the ropes.

Shirley Esterly, the author, suggests ways on how to project manage using a philosophical approach. Read HERE.

But going back to Zen, I’d like to develop that open mind. This should be the case for every team member, leader or member. That at every new project, they keep an openness to discover new things, to try out new things.

News has it that because of the swine flu, office attendance has dropped 40%. Just imagine the waste it has on productivity.

You can really appreciate telecommuting in times like this when an epedemic breaks out. You can work at the confines of your home, and spared from worrying about getting the virus. Although, staying in doesn’t give you a 100%  guarantee that you won’t catch it.

But it’s definitely a good option.

The article on PCWorld ends:

Telework is like a corporate insurance policy — but one you can use on a regular basis and benefit from daily, adds Wilsker. In addition to addressing business continuity plans, “employees are going to be happier, plus telework is good for the economy, it’s good for the environment, it’s good for all these wonderful things.” Read more…

As mobile workers are getting to be the norm, many companies have put their trust in these workers, too. Even if these workers are mobile, they are treated as part of the organization. In fact, many of them are integral parts of the organization.

So what is your business model for work-at-home workers?

Here’s a a reference, which I hope will help you.

View:  The Work-at-Home Model for Improved Customer Loyalty

a WEBCAST
Join us for this LIVE Event on:
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
2:00 PM ET / 11:00 AM PT / 6:00 PM GMT

Join this live BNET Webcast, hosted by James Hilliard and featuring special guest Lisa Phifer of Core Competence. Lisa will demonstrate why you should rethink your remote-access strategy to maximize the benefits that flexible, portable, personalized work environments can bring your company.

Attend this Webcast to learn:

• The business trends that demand change in today’s workforce policies
• How delivering the right kind of remote access can increase productivity and enhance profitability - the keys to staying ahead of your competition
• The differences between remote-access technologies and how to find the most cost-effective and efficient solution to meet each employee’s business needs

Register Today!

We hear about layoffs and closures left and right. The news is filled with these stories that we can’t help worrying about our job, too.

We might wake up one day and find that we’re out of job. *Knock on wood*

But not all jobs are vulnerable. As my father would always say, “There’s always room at the top. If you’re good at what you do, you will always find work in your hands.” Such reassuring words!

In any case, there’s nothing wrong if you do a little of self examination on where you are at your career. Are you in a crisis-proof industry? How would you  know which industry is crisis-proof in the first place?

PCWorld outlined the top 10 tech skills in a downturn. These are the skills that will have a slim chance of receiving the walking papers.

1. Business Process Modeling
2. Database
3. Messaging/Communications
4. IT architecture
5. IT security
6. Project management
7.  Data mining
8. Web Development
9. IT optimization
10. Networking

Read more…

So where are you now?

Photo: Stock.Xchng

There’s a saying that goes you cannot love someone you do not know. The same is true for employees. If you do not know them, then you cannot take care of them… well.

The big question now is how do you take care of your remote workforce? I’ve been thinking about that for months now. And here are my thoughts:

1. Establish a relationship with them. To do this is to reach out to them regularly through email, chat, or call. You ask them how they are, how they feel about their client, their tasks, their work.
2. Be there with/for them during the happy and sad occasions, and let them know that they can count on you.
3. Help them do a good job especially that they are working elsewhere. They may not get your instructions correctly, or they may hesitate to clarify things with you. Take the initiative to make things clear.

I believe that it’s important for them to feel part of the organization, a family, especially that they are not working in a usual office situation. They may have reasons to feel a bit left out, or may have the feeling that they’re in between–not really in, but not completely out.

If you really think about it, taking care of remote workers is not much different from taking care of employees in an office. It’s all about people. It’s about relationships.

Photo: Stock.Xchng

A common scenario today is that organizations are cutting cost left and right. Either they delay expansion or lay off employees, anything just to save up on more expenses and hold on to whatever savings that they may have.

Contact centers, by the very nature of their business, are viewed as costly—from logistics to operations, that is. However, there is a way to cut cost in this  industry, too.

Frost & Sullivan brings you this webinar where you will be given an option to use remote agent model. It is said that having remote agents will improve your contact center operations costs, reduce agent attrition while providing outstanding customer service.

Join this webinar and find out how to explore best practices in:

• Selecting the right on-demand solution
• Enabling effective performance management
• Optimizing training with distance learning
• Maximizing agent desktop security
• Aligning compensation with performance
• Creating a sense of community

Schedule: March 26, 2009, Thursday, 2pm ET / 11am PT

Register now!