Information technologies play a key role in modern business, and they also affect the way organizations can manage their operations and the work of employees. As a result, telecommuting is used by leaders as an approach to maximize organizational effectiveness and increase the productivity of workers.
However, the problem is in the fact that the focus on telecommuting provides not only benefits for the organization; thus, this practice is also discussed as a challenging one for enhancing human communication within the organization (Harpaz 75). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the problem of using telecommuting in the organization in the context of the approach’s impact on communication and employees’ relations.
Problem Description
Telecommuting as the use of information technologies to connect supervisors in the main office and distant workers can be considered as an effective business solution because telecommuting contributes to saving operational costs; it increases the employees’ commitment and job satisfaction; and this practice reduces the levels of turnover and absenteeism significantly (Dahlstrom 439; Ye 23).
Although telecommuting is discussed as an effective approach in order to organize the work of employees, the problem is in the fact that telecommuting negatively affects the teamwork building in the organization. Furthermore, it negatively influences cooperation, decreases the effectiveness of negotiations, and provides challenges for managers within the company that is associated with organizing the effective collaboration between office workers and distant workers (Gajendran and Harrison 1528).
From this point, telecommuting negatively influences human communication that is related to work relations because this strategy reduces the quality of interactions between telecommuters, supervisors, and other employees.
It is possible to state that when managers choose to telecommute, they rely on the potential increase in the employees’ productivity and flexibility. However, the use of telecommuting in the organization provides significant challenges for distant workers and managers, and it negatively affects the quality of relations and communication among them (Harpaz 78).
If managers do not adequately address the problem of communication between telecommuters, office employees, and supervisors, the overall performance and productivity of the organization will decrease because of the inability to build effective teams, negotiate, cooperate, and achieve the common corporate goal in an efficient manner (Crandall and Gao 32).
From this point, it is necessary to improve the approach to using the telecommuting strategy in the organization in order to focus on telecommuting as a way to increase competitive advantage and improve the employees’ communication with the focus on advanced information technologies.
Data to Support the Existence of the Problem
The problem of impaired communication in the organization caused by the use of telecommuting is typical for many companies as it is presented in the literature. Researches in the field of using IT in organizations indicate that telecommuting is the main strategy that is used by employers in order to contribute to the principle of flexibility at the workplace (Crandall and Gao 32; Dahlstrom 439).
About 65% of manager-level employees and about 70% of professional-level employees choose to telecommute in comparison with flexible work hours and part-time employment.
Although employers focus on advantages connected with saving resources and increased flexibility, the risk of the limited communication between office and distant employees increases, Dahlstrom states that communication in the organization needs to serve such functions as information, control of employees, the motivation of employees, and emotional expression (Dahlstrom 442). While discussing telecommuting, it is possible to state that some functions mentioned by Dahlstrom can be performed in the organizations inadequately.
According to Crandall and Gao, the problem is in the fact that “supervising the telecommuting workforce transforms some traditional management practices” (Crandall and Gao 32). As a result, managers need to adapt the used practices in order to work with telecommuters because they are also afraid of losing direct control over their subordinates (Gajendran and Harrison 1527). From this point, communication between supervisors and telecommuters is not associated with the function of control in this context.
The other problem is in the fact that the process of sharing information with the help of technologies in the organization can be rather ineffective. Crandall and Gao note that “sensitive work information may be compromised in a telecommuter environment” (Crandall and Gao 32). Therefore, it is almost impossible to speak about effective communication in the context of the information function identified by Dahlstrom (Dahlstrom 442; Gajendran and Harrison 1527).
Telecommuting also affects such functions of communication as motivation and emotional expression. Thus, Crandall and Gao state that “the remote working locations chips away at the philosophy of close communication and teamwork that so many companies are striving for” (Crandall and Gao 32). As a result, telecommuters often suffer from the lack of motivation and satisfaction of their needs in the informal communication with coworkers that is necessary to build effective cooperative relations.
Causes of the Problem
The inability of many managers to use telecommuting for developing the relations between telecommuters, employees, and supervisors and the inability to build effective teams and support the cooperative relations within the organization depends on several causes. The effective use of telecommuting as a strategy within the organization significantly depends on the proper use of information technologies (Crandall and Gao 32).
Thus, the management of distant employees’ work requires the effective use of e-mail, corporate websites, and the internal network. As a result, the lack of skills in online business communication often leads to decreasing the quality of communication between employees and supervisors (Harpaz 75). Improper skills in using information technologies for telecommuting can be discussed as the first cause of the communication problem associated with the use of telecommuting in organizations.
The second cause is the isolation of the telecommuter. As a result of working at home, distant workers have the limited opportunity to participate in scheduled and unscheduled meetings, and their participation in informal communication is also questionable (Dahlstrom 441). The consequence of this problem is the inability to guarantee cooperation and teamwork in the organization (Gajendran and Harrison 1528).
Telecommuters have limited access to the information shared in the organization, and they are dependent on information technologies significantly. Informal face-to-face communication of employees contributes to improving teamwork and decision-making in the organization, and isolation of telecommuters decreases the opportunities to build a collaborative team.
The third cause of communication problems associated with telecommuting is the inadequate exchange of formal and informal information. This cause is a direct consequence of isolation. Telecommuters are often deprived of the possibility to participate in the daily process of sharing formal and informal information.
Online communication with coworkers and supervisors can substitute the face-to-face contacts, but the quality of communication with managers and peer relationships decreases because of the unequal information shared during the informal and formal face-to-face communication in the office (Dahlstrom 441). Thus, telecommuting influences the principles of formal, informal, and interpersonal communication in the organization.
Possible Solutions
In order to resolve the communication problem associated with using information technologies in the organization for telecommuting, it is necessary to propose several solutions that address different aspects of the issue and the problem as the whole.
Thus, the approaches to improve the communication between telecommuters, office employees, and managers include the use of video conferencing programs and webinars that imitate the face-to-face communication; the use of screen-sharing programs; the use of e-mail and instant messaging programs; and discussion forums (Crandall and Gao 36; Gajendran and Harrison 1529; Ye 26). These solutions are based on the implementation of advanced technologies and tools to make communication between employees more effective.
In this context, video conferences and webinars are used in organizations for conducting scheduled and unscheduled meetings that involve managers, office employees, and telecommuters. These conferences are based on the principles of face-to-face communication because all the participants of the meeting can see and hear each other as well as share the necessary documents (Crandall and Gao 36).
Screen-sharing programs are important to organize the work of telecommuters with the help of the resources of the IT department in the organization. This approach can be discussed as supportive of the practice of telecommuting. E-mail and instant messaging programs are effective in supporting the daily communication between telecommuters and managers in a written form in order to share instructions and different types of information (Ye 22).
However, the use of e-mail and messages cannot compensate for the need for face-to-face communication that is required for effective collaboration. The other approach as discussion forums is used to exchange the information and discuss it by many employees in the organization when the materials are presented in a written form (Crandall and Gao 36; Gajendran and Harrison 1529; Ye 26). Discussion forums are effective when the employees use the internal network.
Recommended Solution
The choice of videoconferencing and webinars can be discussed as an effective solution to address the problem of the inappropriate communication between telecommuters, supervisors, and co-workers.
Videoconferencing and webinars are the appropriate tools because these technologies foster the teamwork, and they are important to share the presentations, written materials, and other resources to see them at the screen of the personal computer and discuss them immediately with managers in the office as well as with telecommuters (Crandall and Gao 36).
Telecommuting based on videoconferencing technologies is also a good choice for those companies where face-to-face contacts not only with co-workers but also with clients are important to support operations and contribute to the performance (Gajendran and Harrison 1528). In this context, web meetings are quite effective in supporting the teamwork and stimulate positive relations with customers.
The reason to use videoconferencing to enhance communication, cooperation, and teamwork is that face-to-face communication is important to overcome the hierarchical or communication gap between employees and managers. In this context, videoconferencing and webinars are effective to simulate face-to-face communication because of its obvious advantages for developing the corporate culture and improving performance (Crandall and Gao 36).
Telecommuters should have the opportunity to see supervisors and coworkers in order to participate in the decision-making process, discuss tasks and projects, and ask questions regarding instructions in a timely manner. Thus, the advantage of videoconferencing and webinars is the possibility to exchange different types of information and voice messages simultaneously. It is important to guarantee that all employees understand instructions, and they are able to communicate effectively online while working at the project.
Thus, videoconferencing as the online collaboration tool is most effective in this case (Ye 23). In addition, costly special training is not necessary when new information technologies are implemented in the organization to support videoconferencing. Furthermore, the use of videoconferencing and webinars significantly saves the company’s time and resources because the costs of these technologies have decreased, and the quality of software has improved.
Implementation of the Solution
In order to implement videoconferencing and webinars technologies in the organization, it is necessary to assess the costs of the project and to develop a detailed plan of the implementation with the focus on the project’s budget and steps in the implementation process.
The main stage is the decision-making regarding the purchase of the interactive telecommunication technologies that are necessary to implement and use videoconferencing and webinars in order to communicate with employees in the office and at a distance (Crandall and Gao 36; Gajendran and Harrison 1529; Ye 26).
While implementing technologies, it is also important to guarantee the presence of video and audio transmissions between the office and telecommuters’ locations. Telecommuters should be provided with personal computers or laptops, high-quality speakers, microphones, and headphones, and with the necessary software to guarantee a high-quality connection for videoconferencing.
The equipment necessary for the office should include the software for videoconferencing and webinars, videoconferencing systems, high-quality speakers and microphones, and large monitors that are placed in the meeting room.
Specialists in IT should provide telecommuters and employees in the office with clear instructions regarding the use of videoconferencing and webinars systems (Ye 22). The implemented systems should also support the ability to exchange electronic versions of documents and to switch among video and data sharing functions to enhance productivity and effective communication.
Conclusion
Telecommuting is discussed as a relatively new approach to organizing the work in the company by providing more flexibility to employees working from home. However, telecommuting is a challenge for the development of effective communication in the organization.
The problem is in the fact that distant workers are not able to participate effectively, and the teamwork, the opportunities for cooperation are limited, and managers experience significant problems with supervising the exchange of information between telecommuters and office employees. From this point, telecommuting can decrease the overall quality of communication in the organization, and many companies need to address this problem because they choose to telecommute to save money, time, and other resources.
In this context, the best possible solution is to use information technologies in order to combine the advantages of face-to-face communication and the advantages of the online interaction and sharing of the information. Thus, videoconferencing and webinars can be discussed as an effective response to the problem of communication in organizations that refer to telecommuting.
Works Cited
Crandall, William, and Longge Gao. “An Update on Telecommuting: Review and Prospects for Emerging Issues”. S.A.M. Advanced Management Journal 70.3 (2005): 30-37. Print.
Dahlstrom, Timothy. “Telecommuting and Leadership Style”. Public Personnel Management 42.3 (2013): 438-451. Print.
Gajendran, Ravi, and David Harrison. “The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown About Telecommuting: Meta-Analysis of Psychological Mediators and Individual Consequences”. Journal of Applied Psychology 92.6 (2007): 1524–1541. Print.
Harpaz, Itzhak. “Advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting for the individual, organization and society”. Work Study 51.2 (2002): 74-80. Print.
“SHRM: Percent of Companies in the United States that Provide Flexible Work Arrangements”. Web.
Ye, Richard. “Telecommuting: Implementation for Success”. International Journal of Business and Social Science 3.15 (2012): 20-29. Print.