Managing Teleworkers An Online Course for Employers

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Managing Teleworkers An Online Course for Employers

Course title:

Employer/Supervisor Training Guide of Teleworkers

Course number:

Non-Credit/Certificate Course

Course description:

We welcome you to this online course, designed and offered to provide you with a balanced and comprehensive approach to managing and supervising teleworkers. It is further intended for you to hone your management skills to ensure the success you would want with a telework program in your organization.

We have outlined the course, stated course objectives and provided a number of tools and communication options throughout the course. Please make a cursory review of these before immersing yourself in the course.

The course is the result of a partnership between Washington State University and The Telework Collaborative, a multi-state coalition of telework training experts. We have designed this course to ensure that telework works for you. It will . . .

• Clarify the terms and forms of telework and telecommuting
• Offer policy and guidelines for implementing a telework program
• Suggest rationale and criteria for judging what makes a good teleworker
• Explore quality communications among co-workers, clients, and teleworkers
• Encourage a management by results approach to telework
• Offer possibilities for evaluating job performance
• Suggest both topical and specific subjects to include in a telework agreement
• Address potential problems and solutions to telework issues

Primary Instructor Information

Name:

David Fleming

Office location:

California

Biography:

David Fleming is recognized as a pioneer of the telework - telecommuting work option by his peers, by the American Management Association, and in CIO Magazine for Chief Information Officers. In September 2001, he was inducted as the fourth member into the International Telework Association and Council (ITAC) Hall of Fame. He served as the Telework Program Consultant for the State of California, working with an array of state agencies in adapting and monitoring telework programs unique to individual cultures of each organization. Between 1992-1995 he managed the planning and development of 12 multi-employer neighborhood telecenters, a research project conducted at the University of California, Davis. From 1984-1992 he directed the planning and execution of the State of California telecommuting pilot program, resulting in 1990 legislation formally establishing the telecommute work option in California government and the "Innovations Award" from the Council of State Governments. He served as a founder and director of ITAC.

Secondary Instructor Information

Name:

Dee Christensen

Office location:

Washington

Biography:

Dee Christensen is Director of the Telework Program at the Washington State University Center to Bridge the Digital Divide, and is nationally recognized as an expert in telework research and program development. She has managed all WSU telework activities since 1989 including the Puget Sound Telecommuting Demonstration, The Washington State Telework Center, the Telework Technical Assistance Program, Long Term Telework Impacts Study, Washington State Telework Coalition and the Washington Rural Telework Project. Dee was a founding member of the Telework Collaborative, a group of five-states that have developed award-wining resources for employers interested in implementing telework. She is an active member of the International Telework Association & Council and serves on Senator Patty Murray s Rural Telecommunications Working Group.

Learning Objectives

Course goals:

• To understand the dynamics of telework with an emphasis on results-oriented management.
• Gain an appreciation for the ingredients of a successful telework program.
• Build telework success to create a win-win-win for you, your employees, and your organization.

Course Outline

Description:

This section provides a brief outline of the course. The following table provides a concise outline of the course topics and requirements by lesson. It also provides a recommended schedule.

:

Non-Credit/Certificate Course
Open-Enrollment

Lesson 1
Introduction

(recommended schedule: Week 1)

What You Have to Do:

• Review the lesson overview and the lesson objective
• Read the online material
• Watch the video clip
• Complete the assignment

Lesson 2
About Telework/Telecommuting

(recommended schedule: Weeks 2 3)

What You Have to Do:

• Review the lesson overview and the lesson objective
• Read the online material
• Watch the video clips
• Review the extra materials provided (pdf documents)
• Review the external Web resource links
• Complete the assignments

Lesson 3
Employer Policy Issues

(recommended schedule: Week 4)

What You Have to Do:

• Review the lesson overview and the lesson objective
• Read the online material
• Review the extra materials provided (pdf documents)
• Review the external Web resource links
• Complete the assignment

Lesson 4
Getting the Right People Involved

(recommended schedule: Weeks 5 6)

What You Have to Do:

• Review the lesson overview and the lesson objective
• Read the online material
• Review the extra materials provided (pdf documents)
• Review the external Web resource links
• Complete the exercise
• Complete the assignments

Lesson 5
Communication

(recommended schedule: Week 7)

What You Have to Do:

• Review the lesson overview and the lesson objective
• Read the online material
• Watch the video clip
• Review the extra materials provided (pdf documents)
• Complete the assignment

Lesson 6
Managing Work

(recommended schedule: Weeks 8 9)

What You Have to Do:

• Review the lesson overview and the lesson objective
• Read the online material
• Watch the video clips
• Review the extra materials provided (pdf documents)
• Review the external Web resource links
• Complete the exercises
• Complete the assignments

Lesson 7
Setting Up the Telework Arrangement

(recommended schedule: Weeks 10 11)

What You Have to Do:

• Review the lesson overview and the lesson objective
• Read the online material
• Watch the video clip
• Review the extra materials provided (pdf documents)
• Review the external Web resource links
• Complete the exercise
• Complete the assignment

Lesson 8
Addressing Telework Issues

(recommended schedule: Week 12)

What You Have to Do:

• Review the lesson overview and the lesson objective
• Read the online material
• Watch the video clip
• Complete the assignment

Closing Comments

(recommended schedule: Week 12)

What You Have to Do:

• Complete Course

Guidelines

Introduction:

Throughout the course, your encouraged to journal your activities, collect information and policies (i.e., print lessons or outside resources) that might apply to your situation and environment. Each Lesson will walk you through some history. Background and reference materials will assist you in completing the exercises (self-study) and assignments (submitted to the instructor for personalized feedback). If you have any questions, please use the Internal E-Mail tool, located to the left of your screen, to send a message to the instructor for clarification.

Grading

:

Each assignment will be evaluated on a pass/fail criteria.

Grade

Level

Pass

Satisfactory

Fail

Unsatisfactory

Submitting and Resubmitting Assignments

Guidelines:

Each assignment will be judged on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. Should the assignment not meet the minimum requirements, or a satisfactory level, it will be returned to you by your instructor. The instructor may provide additional instructions and notes for you to follow to help you complete your assignment. Once the assignment is completed you will be required to resubmit it until it is of acceptable quality.

Assignments

Description:

At the end of each lesson, you will find an assignment. This is an opportunity for you to take the knowledge you've learned, by doing the exercises/activities, and apply it to your own situation. The assignment is to be submitted to the instructor using the "Assignments" section.

Instructions:

Follow the instructions provided in the course space for assignment guidelines and for submitting assignments.

Non-Credit/Certificate Extension Policy

Policy:

You are allowed three months to complete the course. However, should you need more time, you will be granted one two-month extension with payment of a $25 extension fee.

Begin Lessons

Next:

When you are ready, select the "Lessons" link at the left and then select "Lesson 1: Introduction".