U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Ensuring the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce

Telecommuting Requires Topnotch Performance Management

New emphasis on telecommuting places added responsibility on supervisors and their performance management skills. Recent legislation requires each executive agency to establish a telecommuting policy. As the Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management, Steven R. Cohen, noted in his March 6, 2001, memorandum to agency heads: "The purpose of the law is to require that each agency take a fresh look at the barriers that currently inhibit the use of this flexibility and act to remove them and increase actual participation." The law further provides that agencies must ensure that eligible employees participate in telecommuting "without diminished employee performance." Maintaining performance levels and meeting improvement goals in a telecommuting environment requires excellent supervisory skills for

• planning the work,
• setting expectations,
• monitoring performance, and
• recognizing employees for their performance.

Plan the Work.  In any work situation, planning work is the first step to managing performance. Supervisors and employees should clearly define what the employee is to accomplish. Of course, employee assignments should align with and support organizational goals. Planning for successful results requires supervisors and employees to first determine work unit goals and objectives, and then determine employee accomplishments that support those goals. Supervisors and employees can use employee performance plans as the tools to establish required accomplishments.

Set Expectations.  Not only do employees need to know what they are supposed to do, they need to know how well they are supposed to do it. Supervisors should clearly communicate performance standards. Supervisors can use the standards written in employee performance plans to communicate expectations, but they also should communicate verbally, and often. If employees know what they are supposed to do, and how well they are supposed to do it, the supervisor has set the stage for successful performance-whether the employee works inside or outside the office.

Monitor Performance.  Monitoring performance includes measuring performance and providing feedback. In a telecommuting situation (as in any work situation), measuring the results of employee efforts rather than their activities is more efficient and effective. Quantity, quality, timeliness, and cost-effectiveness are four general measures that supervisors should review. Once supervisors and employees establish performance measures, communicating performance on those measures should be frequent. Employees need feedback on their performance in order to maintain good performance and to improve overall. In addition, employees need to keep supervisors informed about work progress. Good communications between supervisors and employees is essential for successfully completing work and is especially necessary in a telecommuting environment.

Recognize Performance.  Particularly in situations where telecommuting employees work off-site most of the time, supervisors need to take care that these employees still feel they are part of the office. Maintaining good communications is one important way to do this. Another way is to ensure that supervisors recognize the good performance of these telecommuters. Supervisors should not let telecommuters feel as if their performance doesn't matter or that no one ever notices their achievements. All employees want to feel that their work is appreciated. Recognition should always be part of the supervisor's performance management tool bag.

Clearly, telecommuting puts the spotlight on a supervisor's performance management skills. Poor performance management can lead to poor work results in any setting, but especially in a telecommuting environment. Visit the OPM telecommuting website for more information.

Originally published Winter 2001