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Subject:Re: Offsite Management From:Jean Weber <jhweber -at- WHITSUNDAY -dot- NET -dot- AU> Date:Wed, 24 Jun 1998 22:23:35 +1000
In response to the question,
> I would be interested to know if anyone has, or feels it is possible to
> manage a pubs department while working off-site either part time or full
> time. Does the size of the department affect one's ability to do this?
> Or do you think it just is not a good idea?
Kelley Shrock comments,
> I'd say offsite management CAN work - but only under certain conditions
> and with hard work from the manager.
Kelley also noted a lot of the conditions, which I think are all very
pertinent, and Robin Mc2 makes some excellent points. To all of which I
add:
(a) If the members of your publications team are scattered around the
country or the world, it hardly matters whether the manager is "in the
office" or not.
(b) I think most of us are used to the model where everyone on the team
works in the same location, but consulting firms frequently have staff at
different sites, reporting back to a manager who may or may not be located
in the office. Support staff and trainers are others who often work away
from a central office. And of course salespeople typically aren't in the
office -- they're out talking to customers! Why should managing technical
writers be so different from managing another group of people who travel a
lot?
(c) Several _managers_ I've worked for have been "on the road" a lot,
selling the company's or the department's services, so they weren't in the
office anyway. It didn't seem to make any difference as long as the workers
were empowered to get on with their jobs.
