Virtual-employees - Now I'm just making stuff up!

Employed, un-employed, under-employed, over-employed, self-employed - these statuses have been about the "what" of employment and who is considered in these classifications. What about the "where" of employment?

Many years ago and certainly before it was named or vogue, I was a virtual-employee and also managed virtual-employees. I guess a common colloquialism might be employees that "wore fuzzy slippers" - connoting a person who needs only roll-out-of-bed to their home office/desk. I can honestly say that with very minor exception I was usually dressed in some form of "business casual or casual" every day I worked from home.

With this "fuzzy slipper" connotation often came ideas that employees working from home, watched TV, did laundry, ate bon-bons, etc. The thought was that there couldn't be real productivity or accountability from this scenario. But entrepreneurial folks will tell you that the ability to save on the overhead of an office might be the key to getting a business started and back in the 90s companies like IBM were exploring this model as a means to save on overhead, but also to avoid the constraints of geography.

Maynard Webb, CEO of LiveOps, a call-center services company http://www.liveops.com/ has built an entire profit model on the idea that creating a workforce that is completely flexible to the needs of its clients is key to growth and success. LiveOps employs more than 20,000 operators nationwide - these operators (call-center agents) are contractors that work from home, selecting their clients and work slots in blocks as small as 30 minutes. Now this may be more plausible in the call-center occupation as it is materially a job that can be done from anywhere as long as the skills of service match the needs of the clients. That said, there are any number of other occupations that this model might serve.

My own experience was a little different than the LiveOps example - I was an executive at a very large Fortune 500 company and also managed virtual (at home) employees across the country. We were all employees (W-2) and not contractors, but the premise of the way we worked was much the same. It didn't matter where we were, we were servicing clients everywhere and they didn't much care where we reported everyday as long as we were with them when they needed us.

Some similar companies that use a virtual service model - mostly in the IT space and often using freelancers are ODesk http://www.odesk.com/ and Elance http://www.elance.com/p/landing/buyerA5.html. These and LiveOps along with other models are based on a "supply-chain" model - a "just-in-time" concept of sorts. It makes sense.

So here's my question. Naysayers would probably suggest that there might be risks associated with the virtual-employee model - how do you ensure productivity, quality and such? The fact of the matter is that these are tangible/measurable aspects of work. It simply takes managing performance by results rather than by attendance and effort. What's the fear and is the world (and by world here I mean the U.S.) ready for a full-on virtual-employee model (where the work supports it)?

Give it some thought - what do you already think about virtual-employees and does what you've read here shift that thinking in some way?

I personally loved being a virtual-employee! It was hard at times to stay motivated and focused. There was an aspect of isolation I dealt with at times. Much to the contrary of the typical connotation of bon-bon eating, I often didn't stop for lunch and there were countless times that I lost complete track of time - ending my Fridays after 7:00pm. There were two true draw-backs for me: 1.) my work was ALWAYS there and it felt like I was being a slacker if I didn't attend to things immediately. (Maybe that's an over-responsibility factor of wanting others to KNOW I was "really” working) 2.) my family and friends often thought I had all the time in the world on my hands - wasn't I free to do as I pleased, when I pleased? Couldn't I just stop anytime to finish the chores, pick up the dry-cleaning and generally meet the needs of others?

If you are un or under-employed or maybe if you feel over-employed and are looking for an alternative way to do good work in the future, consider the "where" of your employment situation!

People want to help you, but you have to tell them how! Like the Yellow Brick Road, job search is scary, uncertain and long, but there are people along the way who can help!

You can do this!

Self-Employment - Real or Rationale?

I plan to explore the topic of self-employment in a variety of ways, but to get started I wanted to prod a bit about what is thought of self-employment as a status of employment today and maybe more importantly in the future. What values are associated with self-employment and how might they be changing and why?

I can recall years ago if I spotted the term self-employed on a resume I was immediately (and trained to be) suspicious. Based on the economy of that time (late 80s - early 90s) self-employment was mostly associated with those that had become un-employed and had now thought of labeling themselves self-employed to fill gaps on a resume. Honestly, I'm not sure this was statistically supported, but it was certainly the sentiment shared my many in Corporate America, more specifically with HR and hiring professionals.

It was thought that un-employed individuals grappling with stints of joblessness would "create" a business - often "consulting" and just hang a shingle. The question in the minds of HR and hiring professionals was: "Is this legit or a rationale for someone who couldn't get hired?" - And if it was the latter, was there a good reason they couldn't get hired...hence the suspicion. There wasn't a set of values that placed autonomy, creativity, choice, financial freedom and entrepreneurship in a positive light.

Today - and I can attest to this anecdotally and personally, self-employment is not only happening (legitimately), but based on the recession, it has become not just a viable choice for many, but a necessity for some. I would be one of the "some".

In late 2008 I was part of a downsizing - I had contemplated starting a consulting firm in 2003, during a prior unemployment time, but didn't feel it was good timing. Facing a very different market in 2008, I pulled the trigger. I purchased an LLC, designed a brand/logo, printed business cards and launched a website. I began with a couple very small clients, but the market was very slow so I continued my full-fledged job search. While I still dabble with a consulting gig here and there, it became economically necessary for me to secure traditional employment.

Many others in our community were not only able to follow this path of self-employment but make it a meaningful stand-alone business or as a compliment to eventual traditional employment. About a year ago, a good friend of mine suggested she would "never go back" to working for someone else. She referenced the book "Free Agent Nation" by Daniel Pink - among other concepts, Pink suggests that in the past employers provided security while in exchange employees provided loyalty. Pink believes that this exchange is no longer at play today and is the catalyst for a shift to freelance workers, contractors, consultants or other various ways one might define the self-employed of today.

As an aside - this friend did eventually return to a more traditional employment situation, but out of complete necessity. She is very unhappy and plans to return to self-employment when she is financially able. (Most of her decision was based on assess and costs associated with health benefits – a reality of this status of employment.)

Self-employment is the only "employment" status I haven't discussed so far. Whether you start a business of your own or work as a consultant or contractor (1099 worker) for a company, you may or may not have some of the same benefits, risks and rewards that other "employment" status individuals do. This is more a matter of relevant value - what's important to you, what is worth a trade-off and what is your tolerance for risk.

Self-employed individuals work hard and put in long hours - we turn on the lights and we turn off the lights, but they're our lights. We choose the work we do...except when we have to accept work we need to pay that light bill. We can be more flexible with the fees we command...when the market will tolerate it. We can be loyal to ourselves and to our dreams. We may give up some security for those dreams, but it may be worth it. If we have a passion for something, we can give it our all. If we have the self-discipline to focus (when no one is watching) we might be successful. We could enjoy more freedom - spend more time with family...as long as we haven't committed to a deadline - one where we are the only person who can deliver.

If you are considering self-employment or are currently self-employed and thinking of abandoning your efforts, consider making a simple relevant values list. Make a list of what you value most - time, money, space, solitude, collaboration, flexibility, variety, autonomy, risk, transparency, etc. Prioritize your list. Then, overlay the reality of making a living as a self-employed individual and see what matches up. Is this for you? Is this for you today?

People want to help you, but you have to tell them how! Like the Yellow Brick Road, job search is scary, uncertain and long, but there are people along the way who can help!

You can do this!

Your job and your work - are they the same thing?

Several summers ago I was just starting a new job at a new company. I was discussing how excited I was with my uncle and he asked me about the “work” I would be doing. I responded by telling him my job title and rattling of the list of responsibilities I would have. He asked me a very simple but powerful question: "How do you define “work"”? I started to re-purpose some of what I had just said and he stopped me and asked "Does “work” have to result in compensation – what about all of the other valuable things you do"?

I eventually stopped talking and started listening. My uncle had been in Corporate America for his entire career. In later years he also bought and ran a farm and much later still, he taught classes in organic farming to weary farmers from all over the state – they had come to join him for a pasture walk on his 100 acre farm just south of La Cross, WI in a small town called Coon Valley, WI - population 200. That day he talked to me about work in a new way - a way I'd not conceived of before. This stuck with me and has become part of how I define "what I do for a living", today.

The distinction that I'm attempting here is between the value often assigned to where we go to work or our title and responsibilities, compared to the actual contribution or difference we make to people and organizations. The first I would define as a "job" and the second I would define as "work". This distinction is important because it's often how we self-identify, self-actualize and certainly how we derive value. If we see "job" and "work" as synonymous terms then we might be missing a way to encompass more in how we define and value ourselves and what we bring to society.

I'm not intending to pass judgment in any way, merely establish a more thorough way of defining the broad range of activities we all engage in as part of how we thing about, talk about and value "work". If I go to work each day at ACME Company and doing my job gives me what I need, then there's no need to read any further. A good day’s wages for a good days work is a respectable perspective to have about one's "work". I would define this as more the notion of having a "job".

If like many of us, we define our worth by not only the wages we make, but also the value we transcribe in doing the "work" we do, then "job" is an insufficient concept and term. And what about the "work" we do outside the walls of our employer? We teach our children how to be adults, we teach our fellows how to be better spiritual beings, and we teach our aging parents how to use the Internet or an ATM machine. We volunteer time in schools, organizations and places of worship. We take care of our homes, we help our neighbors’ plant trees or build additions, and we give of our time, our minds and our might in an effort to be valued citizens. Is this all not part of the concept of "work"?

If we identify ourselves by the "work" we do rather than the "job" we have it seems possible to more aptly derive the kind of robust value that is reciprocal to the effort we contribute. This speaks to the idea that "everything counts" (paid positions, internships, temporary positions, volunteer roles, mentoring roles, etc.) rather than defining the "work" we do by the constrained walls and hours of a place of business or set of responsibilities.

From an employer’s perspective it’s important to me to know all of the experiences, talents and skills a prospective employee will contribute to my organization. Some of those might have been the result of non-job related activities that are no less valuable to the talent acquisition equation.

From a job seeker’s perspective it’s fair to include everything on your resume, your online profile or while discussing a potential position with an employer. That’s why outplacement experts coach job seekers to take a thorough inventory of ALL experiences, talents and skills they possess before they start writing a resume, networking or marketing themselves to potential employers.

What do you think? How do you define "work" and do you count every activity you engage in as part of that equation, whether you are compensated monetarily or not?

For those of you still looking for “work”, this might be a good exercise to embark on – you may discover things about yourself that you wouldn’t have considered relevant and valuable to an employer before.

People want to help you, but you have to tell them how! Like the Yellow Brick Road, job search is scary, uncertain and long, but there are people along the way who can help!

You can do this!

p.s. Two past blog posts you might also find useful when exploring this subject: "Non-Profit Jobs" http://bit.ly/9sxhXS and "Will you do what it takes to get the job you want?" http://bit.ly/aRxBxa

Can someone be over-employed?

I was reading an article by Mark Whitehouse titles "Unfilled Openings Frustrate the Jobless" (The Outlook, October 11, 2010) and got to thinking about the people left behind at my former employer. I wonder how they are feeling about all of the work they absorbed after the massive downsizing? Mark's article focused on the delays still being seen in hiring across the US. Do they see themselves as over-employed? Do their employers see them as over-employed people as well?

The reasoning for continued delays in creating openings and filling current openings is being pinned to a lack of confidence in consumer demand. In this same article, Jeff Joerres CEO of Manpower, Inc., says employers are taking a lot longer to fill positions even when presented with the right candidate and he expects to see this condition continue through 2011.

So here we are:

First, those still employed or possibly over-employed, are left taking on the work of their former colleagues. Once the market does start to shift, will those employees feel put-upon and tend to leave for a perceived greener pasture? It's hard to say, but it reasons out that there may be a mass exit of sorts once things shift in the economy. We already know that the employed are more sought after than the under or unemployed, so wouldn't it be fair to say that those employed when the market really shifts, will still be in the most competitive position for job change and employment?

Second, if this lack of confidence continues through 2011 as predicted then will the under and unemployed stay trapped in this status and is there a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy happening. The longer someone remains under or unemployed the less likely they will be seen as valuable to a prospective employer, or so the logic would suggest. Employers are fearful of over-hiring. Employers have, in some occupations and industries, been able to take longer, remain pickier and exclude potentially qualified candidates due to their current "employment status".

Whether you are over-employed, employed, under-employed or un-employed - What do you think about the situation?

For those of you under or unemployed...

People want to help you, but you have to tell them how! Like the Yellow Brick Road, job search is scary, uncertain and long, but there are people along the way who can help!

You can do this!