(The following article is based on Ms. Rubin's presentationat the AMS Users' Group National Conference, which was held inMarch in Orlando, Fla.) Since the dawn of the Information Age,few terms have been tossed about more than “virtual.” It's come tomean many things to many people, but the best definition I've readfor our context here is “… capability that eliminates the need forworkers to go to a central location to do their jobs.” Instead,virtual employees work from virtual “branch offices”: homes,hotels, buses, planes, trains, parks, zoos or the nearest coffeeshop.

An article I read at emarketer.com included a paragraph that Ithink really sums up our virtual world: “Article written in a Wi-Ficaf? in Paris, by an Australian working for an American company,edited by a manager working in New Jersey.” A large part of work iscommunication, and communication can take place anywhere. None ofthose people met face to face, yet they got the job done.
But how do you manage a virtual worker? For that matter, why wouldan agency allow its workers to go virtual in the first place? Whilethere are several reasons, let's briefly consider two bigones:
Flexibility: Flexibility is lettingpeople work where and when they need to work, to get the job done.Last December Chicago had a major snowstorm, and Gallagher closedthe office for the day–the first time in my 27 years with thebroker that weather closed the office. However, because oftechnology–VPN, Citrix, e-mail, Internet access, etc.–Gallagher'sclients weren't left out in the cold. Work continued; the clientswere taken care of.
So virtual doesn't have to mean, “I never have to come tothe office.” Rather, it can mean, “I have an option when I can'tget to the office.” A virtual workplace also is handy when notcoming to the office is the better choice. How often does anyonework an entire day without an interruption? How often do people saythat if they could just be left alone for a few hours, they couldreally get something done? If they had the option to work at homefor a day/week on that big project, think how much happier and moreproductive everyone–employees and management–might be.
Retention: Let's face it, the number ofvirtual workers–and the businesses accommodating them–is steadilygrowing. The virtual workplace is more than a trend; it's reality.If producers or other personnel want to work in a virtual branchoffice and an agency doesn't allow it, they may look for one thatdoes. Telecommuting on a part-time or full-time basis may become asmuch a part of employee benefit packages as hospitalization andpaid vacations.
Agencies must make a friend of the virtual workplace or riskfalling behind those that do. Suppose your agency moves its office.Your top employee isn't interested in the new 50-mile, one-waycommute. Under normal circumstances, will you lose him/her?Probably. If you set up a home office for him/her? Probablynot.
What, not where
To be sure, going virtual isn't feasible for every agency, nor forevery employee within an agency. Nonetheless, it's time to at leastexamine the idea, because–as many agencies have discovered–it justmight work.
Misperceptions are the biggest obstacles to going virtual, and theyhave to be corrected for a virtual system to work. Too manymanagers think, “If I can't see employees, they're not working.”Instead, we have to start looking at jobs as what we do,not where we do them. When bad weather closed Gallagher'sItasca office, no one's job changed. People did the same work theyalways did, just in a different place. Clients don't care if theirrenewal proposal is generated from a PC in someone's house or inthe office. What matters is that they receive their renewalproposal in the agreed time frame.
There are many other misperceptions that work against virtualworkplaces, including the following:
I have to have a laptop to be a virtual worker. No, youdon't. Before I got my Blackberry, I had a little PDA that had aportable keyboard. It had Word and Excel and PowerPoint. I couldattach it to a projector and show a PowerPoint presentation if Ihad to. If you want a laptop, great–but it's not a requiredexpense.
You have to work a regular eight-hour day. Really? We canno longer think of work as eight-to-four or nine-to-five. When wasthe last time you actually left the office at 5 p.m.? You do that,and someone jokes, “Working a half-day, huh?” Hours no longercount, because we don't work hours–we work jobs. We workactivities. If a renewal is due tomorrow, we work until it's done,period. And if a particular job allows for it, does it matter ifsomeone puts in his or her eight hours from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m.?
A virtual workplace goes against our culture. Maybe theculture should change.
Do you really have to see people at their desks and know whatthey're doing every minute? Or can you think of yourself saying tosomeone on staff, “You're a good employee, and whether you'resitting in your office here or working at home, I know you're doingwhat you're supposed to be doing.”
It'll cost too much. Yes, there are costs. Virtual workersboth save and cost money. For example, an agency may save on officespace but spend on new equipment and remote access technology.However, agencies must consider the big picture and balanceout-of-pocket costs against the benefits of flexibility andemployee retention. Setting up that top producer to work from homemay not be cheap, but it won't be nearly as expensive as trying toreplace him/her when he/she leaves to work for someone else. Orinstead of losing entire days to inclement weather or otherdisruptions, you can tell employees they have the option of workingat home. You may be able to arrange some job sharing: two part-timepeople, no benefits. Each agency will have its own costs, but alsoopportunities for cutting costs.
Virtual employees won't feel like part of the agency. Thisis a legitimate concern. Most of us need social interaction. Whenpeople work virtually for long periods, they may miss the officecamaraderie and feel disassociated from the agency. A manager mustmaintain regular communication–possibly evenover-communicate–to ensure the virtual employee stillfeels a valuable part of the “family.”
Some managers contact virtual workers only when there's a problem.Employees quickly learn that a call or e-mail from such a manageris always bad news and become defensive. Therefore, communicationshould be ongoing to address important organizational happenings,business decisions, or any other issues that come up. When aproblem occurs, it's important for the manager to convey aspositive a tone as possible. Since most of the communicationbetween managers and virtual workers–particularly e-mailcommunication–lacks visual and vocal cues, there's always the riskthe employee will interpret the communication in the worst possiblelight. The manager must carefully consider what he/she says and howhe/she says it.
The right stuff
Virtual workplaces have been around for years in some form oranother, but it's the technology that's now making it a morefeasible alternative for business. However, even if you determinethat virtual work is right for your agency, you can't just tell thestaff to stay home starting Monday. Like any other managementinitiative, a virtual workplace takes lots of time and carefulplanning to implement. To even consider it, you must have all the“right stuff.”
You need the right management. Managers who are merely“adequate”–everyone knows those managers–aren't compatible with avirtual workplace. Even the best virtual workers will quit ifthey're poorly managed. If management wants staff available in theoffice during business hours, don't even try to go virtual.
Patience and flexibility are key. Developing a virtual workplacecan be a slow process that requires frequent adaptation on bothends. Managers uncomfortable with systems that aren't tied to the“here and now” will sooner or later force the experiment to fail.Going virtual requires a dedicated commitment by all parties.
You need the right employees. Not everyone can go virtual.Some people realize that about themselves, and some don't. Anemployee may be terribly excited by the prospect of working athome. Then when he or she tries it, suddenly it's 3 p.m. andnothing's been done and a deadline has been missed. It'smanagement's job to carefully identify the proper workers. Onecompany I know of requires two years of onsite work before anemployee can be considered for a virtual workplace–and then only ona part-time basis.
Understand, however, that even perfect virtual workers aren't goingto be perfect every day. They wouldn't be in the office, either.Just as standards shouldn't be lowered for employees working athome, neither should they be raised.
Self-starters aren't the only candidates for virtual workplaces,but not surprisingly they're the safest bets. There are also what Icall “minimum” self-starters, who will occasionally need guidancebut can still work largely on their own. And then there are peoplewho are effective workers, but who need direction. After theycomplete assigned tasks A through D, they'll always ask you whatthey should do next. They're solid workers, but they're not goingto head the list of potential virtual employees.
Once you've identified the workers who fit your agency's profile,dealing with those “left behind” can be a challenge. Some jobscan't leave the office, of course, but sometimes a manager canmotivate employees to develop additional skills or better workhabits by offering them the possibility of going virtual if theydo.
You need the right technology. You can't move youremployees to home offices overnight. No one could have worked athome that snowy day in December if the infrastructure hadn't beenin place. Setting up that infrastructure is not easy, and it maynot be cheap.
Training is especially important. Mobile/virtual workers who aren'tproperly trained generally cost five to eight times more to supportthan office workers. Virtual workers must not only master commonlyused programs but also develop the ability to handle connectivityissues. Troubleshooting may be even more important. Since therewill probably be little to no IT support, virtual workers have tobe able to rapidly resolve their own issues. When they can't, theyneed a clear support path to follow. Otherwise, they may spend allday on the phone with “customer service.”
Security is critical anywhere; it's even more critical with virtualworkplaces. Working from the neighborhood coffee shop is great, butit may not be secure. When employees access an agency's networkremotely, nine times out of 10 they connect to it via the Internet.Chances are they'll do a little browsing first, possibly pick up avirus, and then bring it into the network with them when theyconnect. Your mobile equipment needs to be up to date on allpatches: virus, operating system, etc.
You need the right plan. Planning should take up thelion's share of any project, and creating a virtual workplace is noexception. The ease of implementation is directly proportional tothe thoroughness of the planning.
When an agency is ready to go truly virtual, not just for thoseone-off weather or big-project days, here's the crucial questionfor the manager: What outcome do I want from this employee?Expectations on both ends must be clear, or the arrangement willfail.
Results are the key
Virtual workplaces rise or fall on measurable results. Themanager and the employee need to agree, in writing, on specificgoals and methods of assessing performance. In fact,everything should be agreed upon up front, including hoursworked, salary, overtime, who owns the equipment, what applicationscan be loaded on it, and how it will be supported/serviced. Thisagreement could even extend to the part of the house where workwill be done. If the employee has children at home and proposesusing the kitchen table as the “office,” you might not get anacceptable amount of work on a consistent basis. The agency has aright to expect the employee to use a dedicated, private workspaceduring business hours.
In some cases, objectives will be straightforward, making it easyto measure performance: Project X should be completed by July 17,or certain sales or customer satisfaction levels must bemaintained. Other cases will require more interaction betweenmanager and worker, which can often be troublesome in virtualenvironments. Extracting feedback can be like talking to yourkids:
“How was your day?”
“Fine.”
“Anything happen?”
“No.”
As noted earlier, since there is no body language or facialexpressions to read, managers must catch whatever they can fromtone of voice. That's far from foolproof, so usually periodicface-to-face meetings should be scheduled as part of theagreement.
The agreement is the glue that holds the virtual arrangementtogether. Management has identified the right person and workplace,explained expectations and designated channels of communication.When confusion arises, refer back to the agreement. Once the groundrules are established, you should be be prepared to enforce them.Just because employees aren't in the office doesn't mean that theycan't be put on performance improvement plans–or that working athome can't be rescinded.
The importance of measuring the results cannot be overemphasized.Working can be virtual, but the results must be real.
Test drive
Going virtual can take a lot of experimentation and, even moreimportant, patience. Designate a trial period: three days a weekfor three to six months. Make the period long enough to enable youto determine whether the arrangement will work. Inform the employeethat both parties will assess the arrangement at the conclusion ofthe trial period (but don't forget the critical feedback during thetrial). One or both may decide that it isn't working as well ashoped. Or it may work so well that it becomes permanent.
Expect failure. Virtual workplaces aren't for everybody. A lot hasto go right. Failure doesn't make you a bad manager or youremployees bad workers. If you've done your planning and put theright people in a virtual workplace with the right management andit still fails, that's just how it goes. The more you analyze yoursuccesses and your failures, however, the more likely youwill succeed. Marilyn Rubin is director of IT operations in thebrokerage services division of Arthur J. Gallagher Risk ManagementServices Inc. She has been with Gallagher for 27 years. Ms. Rubin'sresponsibilities include coordination and support for GallagherBSD's 60-plus branches. She holds a bachelor's degree in businessand a master's degree in technology management, both from theUniversity of Phoenix.