Kathy Kadilak, President of Strategic Work/Life Solutions, answers questions about teleworking from The Teleworker readers.

Q: Do you have any suggestions for how to handle phone calls besides forwarding them from the main office to my home or cell phone?

A: As you'll see, I received another question about voice communication below. The method that many teleworkers use is twofold: establish a separate phone line in your home office for work calls and regularly check your primary office voicemail to ensure that you can respond in a timely manner to messages left there. The home office phone number should be provided to your supervisor, co-workers, and clients. Your agency may reimburse you for the phone line. The applicable legislative reference can be found at: www.telework.gov.

Q: I know some basic things about telework and, with gas costing me a fortune, I really want to give it a try. How can I find out about my agency's policy?

A: The best way is to talk with your agency Telework Coordinator. You can find that person's name and contact information by visiting www.telework.gov or contacting your human resources office. The telework.gov site also provides a range of information on telework policies, practices, research, and legislation for potential teleworkers and managers. To find out if you are eligible to telework, try the Telework Exchange Online Eligibility Gizmo, located at www.teleworkexchange.com.

Q: I work for an organization that requires employees to forward work calls to our home or cell phones when we telework. Although I appreciate the chance to telework, I end up getting work calls at night and sometimes on weekends. I also am concerned that when I return calls, my personal phone number is being disseminated. What's more, when teleworking, I cannot do simple things that I can do in my office, like transferring calls. Isn't there a better, more integrated solution for voice and data communication for teleworkers?

A: Yes, there is a better way and I'm glad you raised this concern. Not only is the call forwarding method you described in your question an inconvenience for you and other teleworkers, it presents a potential security risk for the government. Management of voice communications should be viewed with the same rigor as data communications.

Your question brings up several concerns. The first is the need to protect government employees from revealing personal information, such as home or cell phone numbers. Second, those who place calls to the government should feel secure that messages left in voicemail are controlled by the government, rather than being accessible on home and personal cell phones.

According to Cathy Benson of Avaya Unified Communications, "Systems exist today which provide tightly integrated voice and data solutions which cost effectively address a range of voice and data communication concerns. These solutions can be layered onto existing infrastructures, allowing agencies to protect their previous investment. These capabilities provide the security and flexibility needed for efficient and effective communications access regardless of physical location."

For individual teleworkers, I recommend you bring this up with you manager and your agency telework coordinator to determine how they would recommend you handle voice communications while working from any alternate site, including your home.

Q: Should I talk with my supervisor about my interest in telework before I submit a formal, written request?

A: In my opinion, no. I would advise taking the time to carefully explore the telework program at your agency, current telework practices, and how telework would fit with your current work assignment and work environment before approaching your supervisor.

Further, I believe it is best to prepare a written request documenting and justifying the specifics of your proposed telework arrangement as a precursor to an in-person meeting about telework. This demonstrates your level of commitment to planning an alternative work arrangement that satisfies the needs of management as well as your own. Importantly, a written request establishes documentation that you can track and follow up on. An informal talk, on the other hand, may cause miscommunication and confusion and result in closing the door to telework before you have developed a formal request for consideration. As mentioned above, to find out if you are eligible to telework, try the Telework Exchange Online Eligibility Gizmo, located at www.teleworkexchange.com.

Q: As a manager, I am interested in finding better and quicker ways to keep in touch with staff who are teleworking. Are there any new technologies to help with this?

A: Your question is a good one and I am certain that many management officials are interested in finding better ways to keep in touch with remote workers and know when they are "at work." The good news is that there are a number of emerging technologies that support managers' needs while helping remote workers remain connected with the primary office.

I am not an IT expert, so in order to provide you with a substantive response, I contacted Roseanne Cohen with Polycom. Ms. Cohen responded, "For managers looking for quick and efficient access to staff, I recommend incorporating presence-based solutions that enable users to determine the availability of colleagues, as well as the best way to contact them (mobile phone, video, IM)." She also made an important distinction between reaching employees and enabling work collaboration. "Tools such as videoconferencing and desktop collaboration improve access to people and information and streamline the decision-making process and the fulfillment of agency mission requirements."

For those interested in understanding this technology further, please visit www.polycom.com.