Their challenge has been to recruit and retain well qualified individuals in today's competitive job market, especially given the long commute faced by many current employees and potential recruits. So LeadMasters considered telecommuting. According to Scott Brown, LeadMasters VP of Operations, "We felt that by expanding the geography we could recruit from, that would give us additional opportunities to find quality people. By providing a telecommuting option, it would allow us to retain people who are commuting from a long distance right now, as well as to recruit people outside a 30-mile radius from Stamford." Before jumping into telecommuting as an option, LeadMasters considered commuter shuttles to ease the commuting burden on their current employees. So they contacted Metropool of Fairfield County for help. When Brown explained his overall needs, Metropool referred him to Project Manager, Jim Lush, at Telecommute CT!, who then brought to bear all the resources of Telecommute CT! to help LeadMasters get started.

Telecommute CT! resources included HR specialist Laura Collins, telecommunications specialist Terry Roche, and computing consultant Rick Bassett. The team first helped LeadMasters clarify their goals and objectives. The technical experts then helped LeadMasters set up their telephony and computing systems so that selected employees could work from home as easily as from the office, and so that customers and prospects couldn't tell the difference. Collins helped LeadMasters with a broad range of HR issues, including how to communicate the telecommuting program needs and requirements properly to employees and how to specify -- in writing -- employer and employee responsibilities for working off site.

LeadMasters is piloting the program with 2 of its 55 employees telecommuting either 2 or 3 days a week. From the pilot program, they hope to learn how much they can expand the telecommuting option and how much supervision it will require. (Check our web site in the future to see how LeadMasters is doing).

Brown is delighted with the services provided by Telecommute CT!, which are free of charge, and he offers this advice: "When you're competing for today's workers, you have to be more flexible and should pay people for results, not on time spent in the office. Any company looking to hire or retain quality employees should at least investigate telecommuting as an option -- and should call Telecommute CT! to help them get started."

If you would like to share the success your company has had with telecommuting, please contact Telecommute CT!