In a cost-cutting move, many companies are selling real estate holdings, consolidating corporate campuses and encouraging employees to work from home....


Marketing, unlike a job in manufacturing, seems to be one function suitable for telework. Is this a positive or negative trend for marketers?

A recent Wall Street Journal article titled, "When Working at Home Doesn't Work: How Companies Comfort Telecommuters," (August 28, 2006) mentions full-time employees who work from home at least one day a month rose 30% to 9.9 million between 2004 and 2005.

While the benefits of working from home include flexible scheduling and drastically reduced commuting costs, some interviewed workers in the WSJ article complained of boredom, lack of social interaction, and the curse of decreased "visibility" among management–which in turn could affect future promotions.

In previous positions, I was a long time teleworker, having worked for two global consultancies. Many of my friends and colleagues in the corporate office were amazed a marketing professional could work remote and still get results. Other colleagues were brave enough to admit if they worked from home, they'd never get anything done.

Telework isn't for everyone, and certainly not for every position in marketing. However, if you are considering a marketing position that includes some or 100 percent telework, I've found 5 strategies (there may be more) that contribute to success:

1) Stay visible. A key challenge for any teleworker is to stay on the radar screen of your fellow employees and senior managers. It's important to attach yourself to high visibility projects whenever possible. The more you contribute to high profile work, and have your name attached to such work, the less chance you have of becoming an after thought.

2) Speak up. If your team is mostly at corporate headquarters and you are the lone ranger on the phone, it pays to be active in the conversation. Your colleagues and manager need to know you are contributing to the discussion.

3) Visit headquarters. Travel budget permitting, try and visit company headquarters every 4-6 weeks. Make the most of your time at HQ by setting up as many meetings as possible with colleagues and managers.

4) Keep distractions to a minimum. A home office should be more office than home. Having your own office where you can close the door and work is critical to success. Kids and spouses need to be respectful of noise levels and interruptions.

5) The phone is your friend. For teleworkers, it is easy to get caught up in using email as a primary communications vehicle. Use the phone to respond to requests that would require a long email response. Also use the phone to touch base weekly with your fellow colleagues and managers.

The Wall Street Journal article mentions other strategies to replace daily interactions of the office environment, including joining social and business networking groups to increase face-to-face interactions, and using instant messaging programs to facilitate near real-time conversations.

Telework can be an effective option for many marketers, and I've seen many more companies becoming comfortable with the idea of "virtual" employees.

Can marketing executives be successful in a telework environment? Is it possible to be promoted as a "virtual" worker? I'm interested in what you think!
tag: telecommuting