A recent Info-Tech study of over 800 IT practitioners reveals that up to 56% of organizations have adopted or are currently adopting telework for some staff. While IT is responsible for the technology and support that enables telework, the business as a whole must ensure the pillars of manager and employee training and policy and performance management are in place.

This research note focuses on the components of telework policy and performance management, including:

• Benefits of teleworking.
• Building blocks for a successful teleworking strategy.
• Essential elements of a policy and performance framework: the employee telework proposal, employee telework agreement, and telework-specific evaluation template.
• Recommendations for successful telework policy and performance management.

Managers need tools for assessing employee suitability for telework, setting expectations, conducting performance-based evaluations, and resolving performance issues. Employees need to understand what is expected of them. Use this note to develop a performance and policy framework that meets these needs.