Re: Work remote -- MIDRANGE-L

In a message dated 11/16/98 2:01:13 AM Central Standard Time,
DAsmussen@aol.com writes:

<< What sort of "control issues" were you dealing with?  Sounds more like the
"we
 don't know how to control" issue that comes up with most companies that
 disregard this easy way to attract talent.  If the latter is true, I'd
suggest
 defining the "issues" and offering means by which they could be overcome.
 I've been working out of town every-other-week for the past two years (at an
 unfortunate 9,600 Baud via IPCS) with great success.  Over the past six
 months, I've done "moonlighting" work at 56K over a RAS line at another
 client.  You are correct in that Management flexibility is the big issue.  If
 "I'm agin' it" is the big problem, you have no recourse.  If "I don't know
how
 to measure it" is the big problem, present parameters and reporting criteria
 with which the customer should be comfortable.  Trust is the biggest issue,
 and I spent a year on site before achieving my every-other-week arrangement.
 Trust should be an acheivable goal inside that time-frame, and without a
 threat to quit as the basis for it... >>

With many of my clients, some of these very issues are at the forefront.
However, I think it would be helpful to look at this in the context of the
AS/400 community.  While more and more larger companies are seeing the
benefits of using the AS/400, I think that historically the largest segment of
the AS/400(and family) user community consists of smaller companies,
especially manufacturing.  While I have a broad diversity of clients, I would
say that the majority of them consist of 200-500 total employees and most are
making some type of product.

With that in mind, the "corporate culture" is just not normally equivalent to
the other users.  It sort of reminds me of one of MY former employers...a
manufacturing company of about $150MM, with a sole owner (a control freak).
This guy PERSONALLY reviewed time cards to make sure every employee put in
beyond 40 hours, and the staff better make 50.  It was clear that working
remotely would never be an option.  Employers like that don't understand
concepts like "flexibility" and "employee satisfaction" and "morale", and this
guy just couldn't live with the fact that he couldn't personally make sure
that 40 hours work = 40 hours pay equation balanced.

The trend towards allowing remote work is headed in a positive direction, I
think, but change will continue to be slow.  I'm seeing employers make the
programmers earn the right on an individual basis.  At this point, less than
5% of my clients (not involved in the consulting field) allow remote work to
occur, and the majority of this work is done 1)while "on-call", 2)an emergency
basis, or 3) for specific project work.

Dave Brown
Search Professionals, Inc.
888-917-1112
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