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In episode 7 of “The JoyPowered™ Workspace Podcast,” JoDee and Susan discuss technology that makes working remotely easier. Special guest Bob Knauf from communication technology company Polycom explains some of the products available, their capabilities, and the best way to get your boss to let you work from home.

If you or your employees are working remotely, you want to be able to connect. Bob discusses several technology solutions that can make working from home easier, including audio technology that filters out background noise, applications that run on tablets and phones, virtual meeting rooms, VPNs, and virtual time clocks. Just make sure your team is comfortable with the technology, otherwise they won’t use it and your program will be unsuccessful.

If you want to start working remotely, you can search out companies specifically for their work from home policies. If you want to stay with your current company, start slow; work a few days from home, gradually adding more over time, instead of immediately moving to another state and working from home full-time. Show you’re equally as good at home as you are at the office, and always be available during business hours, even if that just means checking your cell phone when you take your kid to the doctor.

In this episode’s listener mail, Edith wants to know how to address her boss about his long meetings about every issue (big and small) that rarely end in decisions. JoDee and Susan discuss a recent pay equity legislation in Massachusetts that will bar employers from asking candidates about their salary history.

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Purple Ink, the HR consulting firm JoDee owns
• Susan Tinder White Consulting, the HR consulting firm Susan owns
• JoyPowered, JoDee’s book
• Polycom, the communication technology company where guest Bob works
• Facetime, a video call solution available on Apple products
• Skype, a video call solution
• Remote.co, a resource for finding remote jobs
• Microsoft Office 365, a system that (among other things) will allow administrators to track what the users are doing with it
• Carlson Wagonlit Travel, a company that’s successful at allowing their employees to work from home from all over the US
• Zoom, a video conferencing solution
• BlueJeans, a video conferencing solution
• WebEx, a web conferencing solution
• PGi, a web conferencing solution