Today, telecommuting, which refers to work conducted electronically from wherever the executive wants, has found many takers abroad. Transnational companies such as IBM, AT&T and American Express have adopted this form of the alternative workplace for a host of reasons ranging from reducing overheads, increasing productivity and retaining qualified employees who may want to work from home. In India, the option is yet to make a noticeable beginning but that is because new concepts like new technology are usuallygreeted cautiously. It could just be a matter of who takes the lead.

Telecommuting could well be the path to take for a start-up which is not organisationally hide-bound or an existing company that wants to restructure for any of the above reasons and is willing to commit the changes that telecommuting would involve - re-examining incentives and performance-measurement tools, for one.

As one management consultant sees it, "The accent would have to be on results rather than effort if such a change was undertaken by a company." Also, telecommuting would have to redress fears on part of the employee that if they are not visible they are being overlooked. There is also a practical problem for organisations wanting to switch to telecommuting. A space crunch at home may make it impossible for employees, however willing, to make the necessary space at home.

Another section of organisations which would find it difficult to adopt telecommuting would be those where frequent personal interface between employeeand organisation was critical.

On the other hand, organisations which could be run through mechanisms that used voice and data communications were ideally suited for telecommuting. Such as sales and marketing as well as accounting offices for instance. However, telecommunication is suited not only to those who have to hit the road often but any job profile that is not dependant on fixed locations and types of facilities. A company where the location of office is not critical to output can consider telecommunting or any other version of the alternative workplace in some form.

Sorab Mistry, CEO, McCaan-Erickson once pointed out that in the age of information technology, it would be a waste for organisations not to streamline their organisations by taking advantage of new mindsets and tools available. Mistry who uses a palm-top to keep abreast of the happenings in the various branch offices says that all his employees have a simple email address and in future it should be eventually entirely possible thatpeople do not have to report physically to office everyday.

Indeed, to telecommute the executive should primarily be able to access the office network through remote access facilities set-up by the organisation. The employee would then have a dial-up connection using a modem and phone (the costs of which could be borne at least partially by the organisation) to get into the company network (or the local area network - LAN). An internet connection today costs just Rs 10,000 for five hours or Rs 3,000 for 100 hours. And a free or paid-for email address is cost-effective as many home office votaries have discovered. For senior executives, conferencing facilities over the phone could also be an added communication option.

Of course, telecommuting would entail users who are either educated/trained in technology to the extent that they can deal with it on an everyday basis and at least some cohesive teamwork that may be unconventionally executed but with a high level of responsibility. A study in America foundthat young entrants to the workforce were the most skilled as far ass telecommuting was concerned, the oldest were most intimidated and the middle-ranking who had to cope with a partial disappearance of the old ways were most oppposed to alternative workplaces such as through telecommuting. What must be kept in mind is that telecommuting is not about adopting computers but adopting strategy to boost productivity. A financial consultant points out that principle of diminishing returns would make cost-benefits a short-term advantage.

In order to make telecommuting work, clear-cut rules would have to be formed. These would include how often someone would have to visit the office (a pure telecommuting business may not be possible for any domestic organisation in the country), fixed times to check email or call in to check orders and take directions. Employees comforted by the regular social contact between colleagues and the territorial office space may also need a transitional period if telecommuting wasadopted by managers. The flip side of telecommuting is also that while work hours are flexible and in cities like Mumbai and Delhi would cut unproductive time spent on travel, work hours may extend indefinitely for employees who never seem to be able to get away from their workstation at home. Managers too may find it tempting to expect the executive to be on call all the time.