Return to FAQ 7. Telecommuting is about change. Many times training can facilitate a smooth transition for telecommuters that are changing the location of their work either part-time or full time. For example, a football team was in a huddle, or the baseball team had a game plan. In the sporting analogies all the players are together all the time in order to win the game.
Telecommuting lends itself to a different model of a team.
The analogy to an orchestra or medical team is more appropriate. Edward Demming introduced the orchestra as a team because each player needs to practice and periodically be brought together to make sure the music is in tune. Telecommuting teams, when managed as orchestras or a medical team, are productive because their expectations and roles on the team are viewed as a shifted paradigm. Return to FAQ 9. Co-workers generally accept a persons absence from the office if the reason is a meeting, a vacation, illness, etc.