Notes from 48th International STC Conference
Chicago, Illinois, May 13-16, 2001

Building Telecommuting Writer/Editor Relationships

Christopher J. Morris and Pat J. Adams
Juniper Networks, Inc.

Chris Morris and Pat Adams both work for Juniper Networks, Inc., which has aggressively pursued telecommuting as a means of enhancing employee productivity and morale by providing schedule flexibility and reducing travel.

Session Description: In this demonstration, a telecommuting writer and an editor discussed strategies for defining and maintaining an effective writer/editor relationship when one or both parties telecommute.

Overview

• Topics: types of telecommuters, building the relationship, tools, editorial focus, writing focus, schedules, resources.
• Types of telecommuters.
   
• Distance: local (short driving distance), medium (2-4 hours drive), long distance (plane flight), urban vs rural (special challenges such as access to high-speed Internet, overnight mail drops, etc.), international (time zone issues can arise)
• Onsite and remote: One onsite, one remote; both working remotely
• Building the relationship.
   
• Set expectations. Communicate early and often. Define delivery of material. Determine each other's availability in time (including overcoming time zone challenges).
• Establish milestones and deadlines. This is extremely important in telecommuting where casual daily communication is not automatic.
• Educate managers and coworkers. Managerial buy-in is important to get needed support, identify and resolve specific telecommuting issues, specify resource and equipment needs, etc. With peers, a telecommuter loses critical face-to-face communication; it is important to compensate by having an onsite advocate, delivering materials early to allow time for feedback, etc.
• Tools include e-mail, teleconferencing, Web conferencing, and publishing software.
   
• E-mail: Provides a key communication convenience. Helps replace the face-to-face interface. PDF format allows documents to be transmitted as e-mail attachments. File compression utilities may be needed to zip large files.
• Teleconferencing: It's easy to set up, provides real-time communication that e-mail doesn't, and provides access for multiple workers at multiple sites. Services and equipment can be expensive. Agenda is important.
• Web conferencing: Video is possible. Offers real-time collaboration. Drawbacks are significant: cost, complexity, support requirements.
• Publishing software: HTML-enabled editors facilitate document access. Built-in revision tools exist in Acrobat and Word. Redline editing allows telecommuters to review and critique each other's work while maintaining a trail of changes.

Editing Focus

• Communication strategies for telecommuting editors.
   
• Communicate early and often. Schedule daily/weekly phone sessions as needed. Provide daily status reports via e-mail. For immediate questions, pick up the phone. If possible, meet face to face.
• Use all the tools at your disposal: E-mail, phone, fax (watch pen color and margins)
• Editing methods
   
• Sometimes the document determines the method. E-mail comments can work. Online editing depends on the functionality of the publishing tool. For documents requiring extensive changes, it may be best to use a conventional redline on paper with an overnight mailing or fax.
• Writer preferences. Be flexible. Accommodate your writers' likes and dislikes to the extent possible.
• Schedules and deadlines
   
• Identify how distance affects handoffs.
• Gain mutual agreement on schedule and milestone dates and definitions... be highly specific on time of day, etc.
• Take the initiative...be proactive...don't wait until there is a schedule problem.

Writing Focus

• Understand the job
   
• Be cautious. Writing lends itself to telecommuting, but to telecommute successfully you must first understand the material. First do the job locally (onsite) so you can understand how to do it remotely.
• Communicate to the team. Subject matter experts need to know and respect your situation. Be flexible with editors and production people--it might take a face-to-face visit. Acknowledge deeds that help you do your job remotely; be appreciative of your onsite advocate(s)! Make yourself accessible.
• Understand the process
   
• Define the workflow process: write it down and publish it, make certain the editor is in agreement, identify methods of communication, set working hours, mark deliverables in the schedule. Juniper, Inc., has Web sites that show telecommuters' schedule and availability.
• Communicate with your editor
   
• Find a comfortable communication method that works: e-mail, phone, fax.
• Match the document type with the editing type.
• Be flexible. Consider editor preferences.

Schedules

• Schedules must be usable. They must be measurable and attainable.
• Agree on terminology: e.g., what do cycles like "final edit" and "proof pass" mean to both parties?
• Make schedules easy to read and easy to understand.
• Schedules must be accessible to telecommuters: post on Web, easy to find.
• Schedules must be accurate, up-to-date. Telecommuters rely more on published schedules than do on-site personnel.
• Telecommuters should make scheduling a priority. Milestones should be realistic and meaningful.
• Schedule realism means allowing for events specific to telecommuting (e.g., overnight mail, travel). It's best to give yourself more time than you need. Don't agree to something you can't do. Understand how your schedule affects others. Know how other organizational schedules affect your own -- and count on change!

Sources

• Articles from Intercom
   
• "Telecommuting Across Borders"... 1999
• "Making a Case for Telecommuting" ... 1997
• "Real-Life Telecommuting" ... 1997
• "Virtual Office vs Telecommuting" ... 1997
• "Rural Telecommuting: Getting Ready" (Part 1 of 2) ... 1996
• "Rural Telecommuting: Making it Work for You" (Part 2 of 2) ... 1996
• "Taming a Telecommuting Team" ... 1996
• Articles in STC Conference Proceedings
   
• "Managing the Virtual Worker/Telecommuter" ... 2001
• "Go Home! An Introduction to Virtual Officing" ... 1999
• "The Virtual Classroom" ... 1999
• "Successful Telecommuting" ... 1997
• "Telecommuting Perspectives: Home Sweet Office?" ... 1997
• "Telecommuting: Facing Reality in the Virtual Office" ... 1997
• "Rural Telecommuting: Making it Work for You" ... 1996
• "Taming a Telecommuting Team" ... 1996
• "Telecommuting Workers and Policies: Managing Change in the 90s" ... 1994
• Web sites
   
• http://www.telework.org
• http://www.tjobs.com

Summary

• Identify how you want to telecommute
• Educate co-workers
• Know your tools
• Develop easy-to use schedules that are attainable
• Know where to go for help.