The homeworkers' website Enterprise Nation seeks to promote a sense of community among homeworkers and to combat the isolation that some people can feel when spending a lot of time workign from home. With the increasing number of people now working from home assessing the performance of staff from a variety of perspectives is becoming even more important.
I myself spent many years as a homeworker working for
BT. Contact from my line manager was sporadic at best and I often wondered how he knew what I was up to and how well I was doing it.
Homeworking demands a high degree of trust in both directions between the employee and hte employer. The employer's need for trust of the employee is well documented - but very little is said about the need for the employee to be able to trust the employer to make sure that he is not overlooked, that his achievements are taken into account just as much as the office based worker and that his development needs are properly taken into account.
Of course, out of sight out of mind is often the order of the day - but for homeworkers in particular it is important that this does not happen, hence the current trend towards using 360 degree feedback and appraisal is a welcome step for many homeworkers.
Labels: EnterPrise Nation, homeworkers, teleworking
