How remote users can be better noticed

Cisco has been at the forefront of making telecommuting work easier and more effective. While Cisco's own studies have shown a significant trend toward telecommuting, there's also a downside: According to a study published in the MIT Sloan Management Review (http://sloanreview.mit.edu/the-magazine/2012-summer/53407/why-showing-your-face-at-work-matters/), remote workers may miss out on raises and promotions, because of the subconscious positive evaluations managers make when they see people putting time in and working hard at the office.

The article noted some common strategies that remote workers may use to make up for this effect:

• Sending regular status reports
• Being more visible when at the office
• Responding to any messages immediately
• Getting to know many different people at the company and mentioning what one is working on
• Sending emails or phone messages outside of regular work hours

From a technological point of view, taking advantage of video conferencing technology and features such as Cisco Unified Presence may also help remote workers to be more successfully integrated with their organizations and better recognized for their achievements.