| 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:
|
|
| 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".
|
