Q. Aren’t off-site employees just working at home?
While OSEPs often involve working at home, successful OSEPs focus on people and work, not the location where work is performed. OSEPs can also be based in ‘telecentres’, shared offices, and other options: sales reps can work from their vehicles, or cafes and motels, if they have the necessary technology.

Q. Do OSEPs involve expensive telecommunications and computer technology?
An off-site employee will need the ‘tools of their trade’ and appropriate communication solutions. Some off-site employees might need documents and a briefcase to carry them in. Others might need a laptop computer, high-speed Internet and continuous access to the corporate network.

Q. Aren’t OSEPs a bit different and abnormal?
When did spending hours driving to work in crammed office buildings get to be regarded as ‘normal’? Before the changing nature of employment made it essential that employees worked in offices and crowded into cities, most people worked in their homes. OSEPs are evolutionary, building on changes in society and advances in technology and management.

Q. If there are two offices doesn’t that just double the costs?
In many cases the productivity increase and lower recruitment and retention costs normally cover any extra expenses involved with setting up an employee in an off-site office. Who pays for what should be agreed between employers and employees – there are many options.

Q. Are OSEPs just a Human Resources issue?
Although successful OSEPs are often based on a company’s HR policies, they have implications for many areas of the company, including strategy, finance, legal risk, property management, IT, productivity, and PR. OSEPs are about efficiency, families, flexibility and lifestyles. They also affect traffic, pollution, local services, employee stress and occupational health. It might take a simple HR decision to start the ball rolling but many issues will need to be considered.

Q. Do managers lose touch with off-site employees?
Off-site employees are seldom out of the office all day, every day. OSEPs can work even if employees are out of the office only one day a week. Good managers will put in place communication processes that overcome their staff’s physical absence.

Q. How can a business manager know employees are working?
How many managers know when their employees are working productively? Off-site employees generally continue to produce the work that is expected of them, wherever they are. If managers measure the work produced they will always know whether the off-site employee is working. Sound performance management systems won’t be affected by the location where the work is done.

Q. Are OSEPs right for every company and every employee?
Every organisation and individual is different. Consequently, there is no ‘one size fits all’ OSEP. Businesses have to work out how an OSEP can match their particular needs. They have to be aware they can’t force staff to work off-site and still expect to gain all the benefits an OSEP delivers.