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Aside from monitoring the performance and giving feedback to these IT and other remote staffers, you must outfit them with the right technology for their jobs, IT managers with remote staffs say. At the least, these workers need secure and reliable access to their corporate networks, typically through VPN (virtual private network) solutions using either dial-up or broadband connections, such as DSL and cable-modem services.

Today's remote work force comprises primarily branch-office and at-home workers in both IT and business departments, according to Cahners In-Stat. Others work at production facilities and customer sites or are business travelers and truck drivers, for instance.

Staying Connected

Wells Fargo's Herwig recommends dispatching "control" people to monitor the performance of staff stationed at remote sites. That means locating HR, risk management or IT representatives in remote sites that have more than 100 employees, he says. These strategically placed employees with their roots in headquarters can serve as remote agents for the IT manager. They have a better take on the technology and other support needs, Herwig says.

Telecommuters are another story. These staffers by nature must work independently and have the motivation to do their jobs alone, with usually only telephone or e-mail contact with their co-workers.

Meanwhile, providing remote workers with secure and reliable access to business-management and ERP (enterprise resource planning) applications can be difficult. Cahners In-Stat, for instance, redesigned its core business management application for use on the Web, mostly because remote workers, both at home and in branch offices, had performance problems accessing it as a client/server application. "The amount of bandwidth needed to use this application off-site in the conventional client/server architecture just wasn't cost-effective for such a small number of dispersed employees," says Steve Winkelman, business services manager of Cahners Business Information, parent company to Cahners In-Stat.

The company has 20 remote employees, two of whom are Web architects in a branch office, and four telecommuters. Now the application can run comfortably over a dial-up connection, and users at headquarters no longer have to run the sizable client portion of the application on their PCs, which saves on memory. Security is always an issue with Internet access, Winkelman says, but the company has beefed up its user-authentication controls and added intrusion detection as part of its Web-enabled application strategy.

Still, it's not easy keeping remote workers well-equipped technologywise and tuned in companywise. Although each organization has its own requirements and challenges, some key guidelines can help you manage remote staff.

• Be creative and energetic -- and selective.

  Be open to trying new ways of communicating with remote workers, such as traveling to them. And encourage remote IT or other staff members to keep in touch and share their project insights and ideas with one another. And most important, select only self-motivated, mature employees who can handle working far from the watchful eye of the boss. These are professionals who can do their jobs with little or no on-site guidance.

• Ensure that business drives a remote worker's use of technology.

  Remote employees can become isolated quickly, particularly if they don't have the right tools, such as fast Internet access. Their technology problems also typically require more time simply because equipment may need to be shipped to headquarters to be fixed or replaced, or because it's harder to troubleshoot from afar. Senior management must understand and help support the unique needs of remote staffers and give them good helpdesk support.

• Provide remote staff with preconfigured, out-of-the-box equipment.

  Remote workers should never buy their own systems or drastically reconfigure the company's systems. You should communicate policies on the purchase and use of equipment and supplies.

  Lock down systems and make them as identical as possible to simplify troubleshooting and replacement. This gets tricky for technology-savvy IT workers who need some customization or special tools. Set standards for what is -- and what is not -- an acceptable "enhancement" to a PC or other equipment. Letting a staffer install personal applications on his or her laptop can jeopardize the integrity of the machine as well as the security of the network.

• Offer a variety of connectivity alternatives, such as always-on or dial-up VPN access, and roaming dial-up access for mobile workers.

  Managing individual ISP connections is difficult. "Remote workers generally look to the IT department to troubleshoot issues they may be having with their local ISP. This is something completely out of our control," Cahners' Winkelman says. Instead, IT managers should help remote workers select the best local provider to avoid service problems.

  Set clear policies on what types of remote services these workers can get, and whether and how the company will pay for their installation. If you have an agreement with an on-site service provider, let remote workers know how to get and pay for these services.

• Keep lines of communication open.

  Make contact with remote workers using regular teleconference/team meetings and online chats and by sharing ideas and concerns. Ask remote staff to submit status reports to record progress on tasks, projects or issues. Remote workers sometimes feel segregated, especially when a technology problem cripples their productivity. Managers should respond to their issues in writing. This clarifies what software problem needs to be fixed and when, for instance.

• Pick up the phone.

  E-mail isn't always the best way to communicate with remote staff: Messages can be misconstrued, and they don't convey emotions very well. To prevent misunderstandings and to foster better relationships, managers should give remote staff an occasional call. An IT professional that loses touch with company and department goals can be susceptible to making costly mistakes, like failing to update virus software at the remote site.

  Some basic applications like instant messaging and Symantec Corp.'s pcAnywhere can help, too, as IT managers face an influx of more employees who don't commute to headquarters.