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DURING the past month, my staff has been working with a small design company based in New York. Last week we were surprised to find out that each member of the company's team is located in a different state. Up until this point, the employees gave us the impression that they were all working in the same office space.

The design firm has set up a seamless process for virtual work by following the golden rule for work at a distance: Make it as easy as possible for the people who do business with you.

What this really means is that your business partners shouldn't have to work any harder to get things done just because your team isn't located in one place. Clients or collaborators should need to track only one phone number and e-mail address for the people they need to reach and should be able to get quick responses to questions.

Because the best jobs and talent aren't always right around the corner, home-based businesses often have to be flexible enough to work virtually. If you're in this position, it pays to set up processes to help remote work go as smoothly as possible.

Here are some steps you can take to maintain professionalism while working with clients or collaborators in separate offices or across the globe.

* Be ready to teleconference. Successful virtual work requires that you create the illusion of unity. This can be hard to do unless your team can be brought together easily via phone. If your phone system does not allow for multiparty conferencing, use dial-in conference centers to hold meetings.

* Share an e-mail domain. One tactic the design company used was to set up e-mail aliases using its business domain name for each remote team member. This meant that all the e-mail communications we received appeared as though they originated at the company's headquarters. To set up aliases for remote workers, talk to your Web host.

* Use a flexible faxing solution. New Web-based communication services make it easy to fax to and from an e-mail box. This removes the need for you to 'refax' incoming documents to the right virtual worker and ensures that remote team members receive information in a timely manner.

* Talk in terms of "we." The language used during phone calls and in written correspondence can subtlety reinforce the unity of a work group. When you need to give a client confidence in a sprawling team, underscore how well you work together with phrases such as "we look forward to reviewing the documents with you" and "the team enjoyed working on this project." Needless to say, these statements should not be used to deceive anyone about how your team operates, as it's important to be honest about your virtual setup when it comes up.

* Get to know your team members. Nothing illuminates a scattered and inefficient team more than a lack of personal rapport. Find out about major events that are happening in the lives of the people you work with, and keep track of important details like the names of their family members. Knowing these personal tidbits will underscore the cohesiveness of your work group to outsiders who take part in your conversations.

* Find face time. Even if you work in different locations, it's important to meet periodically with remote customers and workers face to-face. Use this time to discuss new work, to brainstorm new approaches to projects, and to reconnect personally.

Alice Bredin is author of the "Virtual Office Survival Handbook" (John Wiley & Sons) and a nationally syndicated columnist.

Working Effectively While Keeping Relaxed Summer Hours

A few weeks ago I decided to close our offices on Fridays during the summer as a way to thank my employees for their hard work over the past year. A few staff members were skeptical that we'd be able to run the business as effectively with the reduced schedule, but my instincts told me we could.

As I expected, we're handling close to the same volume of work in for days as we did in five. How? The enticement of an extra day off each week encouraged us to adjust our work habits so they're as efficient as possible. Remember the last time you went away for a vacation? Somehow, you managed to handle all your work priorities b fore you left. My team has taken the same approach to cutting the workweek by a day.

Here are some ideas for how to take advantage of the potential scheduling flexibility that home-based work affords.

* Take a day off. If you run a home-based business, moving to a four-day workweek may be a matter of managing time more efficiently. If your schedule is truly booked, consider working longer days during the rest of the week to account for the day you'll be gone. If you telecommute, you may need to discuss logistics with your manager to make sure that working four long days instead of five traditional ones won't make anyone else's job more difficult.

* Work a half-day. If taking a full day away is impossible, working one or two half days each week may be appealing. To figure out the best way to juggle this change, identify the hours that you receive the most contact from vendors, clients or co-workers, and make yourself available during this period. This may mean starting your day around 10:30 a.m. and ending it at 4 p.m.

# posted by Medical Information : 3:26 AM