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I guess my situation may be more unique than I thought.
Over the past five years (almost), I have hired 10-15 contractors for various
technical writing projects, most have stayed with me for several years. (The
ones
that were not a good fit were not given another project to do.) I have always
*required* the contractors to work at home since we do not have enough space
for them on-site. They have to send me biweekly status reports for as long as
they are on the project so I keep well informed of their progress. So far, all
the
contractors have lived within about a 100-mile radius, so it is possible for
them
to come in for important meetings (which are relatively rare). Most everything
can be done through email, faxes, etc.
I have not had any problems with efficiency; deadlines have been met to the best
of their abilities. Only on two or three occasions have I hired someone through
word-of-mouth, the rest I have hired solely based on their writing samples,
resumes,
and interview responses. I do also look in their resumes for experience with
self-directed work.
With all the new technology we have that encourage us to avoid face-to-face
contact
such as voice mail, email, teleconferencing, etc. (not that I think that is
good), why should
employers balk at telecommuting?
