The minute I read Sylvia Dahlby’s amazing and insightful comment on Could telecommuting be a career mistake? I wanted to hear more of her thoughts as a teleworker. I found @SylvieDahl on Twitter and invited her to answer 10 questions about telecommuting.
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.
I’m a sales & marketing professional, currently working for Advanced Personnel Systems, Inc. the makers of SmartSearch, an industry leading software solution that automates workflow for staffing agencies, executive search firms, staff augmentation & consulting firms, and corporate human resources. I work from home, so I communicate with my customers and prospects via telephone, email and online communities; and I conduct online product demos either webinar-style or on the phone.
2. How long have you been a telecommuter?
Since 1995.
3. Why did you start?
I was already working at home for five years, struggling to make a home-based desktop publishing company profitable. One of my clients offered me a part-time, commission-only sales job. So I started working for him, selling exhibit space at a technical job fair. I wasn’t online at that time, we synched up an ACT database on a dial-up connection that took almost all night. Still, the work itself was less time consuming, more fun, and an easier way to make money. So I began working for him full time, and kept part of my business as a sideline.
4. How many people do you regularly work with?
I don’t know – a lot! I have about a hundred client companies, most with multiple points of contact, plus hundreds of prospects that I call & email regularly using my Sales/CRM database, dozens of new leads every week to qualify, and about a dozen or so people in my company headquarters that I speak with on a regular basis along with weekly sales meeting & monthly all-hands staff meetings via conference calls. I also work with several of our vendor partners, and I work on marketing projects with outside service providers as well. I’m tied into the company phone system that also has IM, and I’m well wired into my LinkedIn groups and online communities. I even get out once in a while or travel to trade shows and professional association meetings.
5. When was the last time you saw your coworkers face-to-face?
I saw one member of the sales team a few weeks ago when I went to an industry Expo. I go to a few conferences every year and see one or two of my colleagues. I also regard my clients as co-workers — since I work directly with them too — I probably saw about a half dozen of them at the last show, and went out to dinner with one of them. If you want to count vendor partners, a handful of them were also exhibiting. The last time I saw all of my company co-workers face-to-face was at the Christmas party; that’s probably the only time all of us are together since I’m not the only one who teleworks.
6. What is your desert island must-have telecommuting tool?
LOL, I happen to live on an island (albeit a tropical one) the Big Island of Hawaii. And oddly enough, I lived in the desert north of Phoenix, Arizona when I started. Anyway, I’d say the only thing I really can’t work without is my cell phone since it has text messaging, email and mobile web access; it’s a mini-office in the palm of my hand.
7. How many different ways did you communicate with your team today?
IP phone which means calls to HQ can be transferred to me & I can also route calls to tech support, billing, etc as needed. IM via the same phone system. Email. Cell phone with one team member who is traveling this week.
8. What is the one thing that really makes your home office officy?
It’s separate from the rest of the house, a large bedroom with its own half-bath that takes up the entire top floor of my house. It was built as a room addition, and it was a key factor in deciding to buy this particular house.
9. Do you ever miss cubicle livin’?
Never.
10. What are the best pajamas for long conference calls?
Technically, I don’t own any pajamas. I have a closet full of long & short comfy dresses that I call “every-wear” — loungewear or loose-fitting dresses that are wrinkle-free synthetics, warm crushed velvet or cozy velour for winter, cool crinkly cotton or light gauzy fabrics for summer — and I typically wear one of these dresses 24/7 because they are comfortable enough to sleep in and most of them are nice enough to wear outside with the right shoes. A few can even be dressed up and worn as office attire with the right accessories or jackets. Since I moved to Hawaii last year, I’ve started adding muumuus to my every-wear collection.
Sylvia Dahlby is a rainmaker and purveyor of software for the human resources, recruiting & staffing industry.
- Check out her company: http://www.smartsearchonline.com
- Follow @SylvieDahl on Twitter
- Connect with Sylvia on LinkedIn
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