The quest for telecommuting

Hi all!

So I've gone from in the office 5 days a week at Bank of America from 2000 to 2002.  Then we went to telecommuting 1 day a week until about 2006.  During this time there was a study done to determine what kinds of cost savings could be had if there was mas-telecommuting.  Between 2006 and 2008 I was a full time telecommuter...which I loved!  I love it for so many reasons, not the least of which is saving money.  After I left the bank I went to do professional services for Crossbeam...overall it was a difficult experience.  I was able to telecommute for the most part but unfortunately there was too much traveling for my taste.

After about 6 months of travel and pro-serv work I was approached to join a new team to build a strong group of firewall engineers for an MSSP for Fujitsu America.  I had to go back to an office environment for a short period of time before I began telecommuting again...unfortunately, not long after I joined FAI the company began to decline in a hurry.  The group had gone from 10+ engineers on the team to 3 and there were still talks from senior leaders of layoffs coming in the future.  I saw the writing on the wall and fortunately I was approached by a former co-worker about a position at Experian.  I interview and got the job with a slight bump in pay...unfortunately I am now having to drive to work 5 days a week :-(....  I did however express my expectations of being a full time telecommuter at some point in the near future...which I was told would happen at some point after we brought the team up to speed on getting things done.  Initially I am telecommuting 1 day a week.

As you can imagine, when you take out all of the emotions on both sides of the argument, the good far out weighs the bad with regards to telecommuting.  There are soooo many aspects to this topic that there is no way I will be able to cover it effectively but here are a few if I remember correctly.

• Electricity
• Floor space
• Network connectivity
• Cubicles
• Coffee
• Maintenance (cleaning crews, etc)

I will have the task of creating a process to enable all the guys on the team to telecommute if they choose and at the same time putting senior leaders at ease with the idea of telecommuting.

Thank you for reading!

Brandon