Directing a virtual workforce

Telecommuting isn't going away; if anything, it is expected to increase significantly over the next several years. That means CIOs must find good strategies to deal with telecommuting employees by developing policies, good support and security, and making sure IT managers are equipped to handle the situation. Communication often is the biggest problem, because most communication between people tends to be nonverbal. Telecommuters can easily lose touch with the feel of the organization and its institutional knowledge. To combat this, the leader of a virtual team must make extra efforts to ensure that communication among team members is of good quality. That means asking the right questions and refining your listening skills. Managers also must be proactive in keeping the virtual team members involved in matters relating to the organization.

Learn more about managing telecommuters:
- read the article at ITWorld

ALSO:
- read this on protecting data from insecure home networks