Telecommuting: Productivity Improvement? It’s All About Trust

Now that all of us have had several years under our belts with regard to telecommuting, how has it fared for you and your organization?
a)It has made our business more productive
b)Our bottom line is about the same
c)I can’t find my staff when I need them, therefore, they are probably spending too much time on their tans.
OK, so the “c” answer isn’t really valid – or is it?
In our office, we have three staff who telecommute: Melissa Bland, our Recruiting & Retention manager; Sam Corona, senior associate of Consulting Solutions; and Alison Muecke, CPA, senior manager in our Tax Division.
I happen to work very closely with Sam, who isn’t located in Houston … he’s in El Paso! Without a camera on him 24/7, I really have no idea where he really is during the workday; all I know is that the work is getting done (and yes, Sam goes the extra mile each time).
Having said that, I think the first rule of telecommuting is TRUST – without a doubt. How can you hold people responsible and accountable to you and your organization if you can’t trust them? With telecommuting comes a lot of pressure to perform, show up in person as often as you require and a host of other tasks.
Without trust, where are we?