GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 4 - April 2008

GPWA TIMES | Remote Control 44 By John Ryott, Head of Affiliates, AffiliateClub.com A few months ago when I began assembling my staff at Affili- ate Club, I was faced with a quan- dary. And I knew full well that the manner in which I solved the di- lemma was going to shape how the company would operate in the years to come. Anybody who has ever had the re- sponsibility of hiring and firing knows that there is plenty of give and take involved. When I set out to put together our affiliate staff the philos- ophy was quite simple. My goal was to recruit the most qualified team in the business. Having gone through the short list of people I wanted on board, it quickly became clear that I was going to have to be flexible in terms of what I could offer. The people I eventually recruited all had vast experience in the field and were at the stage in their careers where they could pretty much pick and choose where they were going to go next. They also had one other thing in common: a desire to work from home. So, I needed to ask myself: Was I willing to sacrifice a great deal of control that I would normally have over my employees for the sake of attracting the kind of candidates who would help the company thrive? The answer was a resounding “yes,” and looking back, it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Currently, there are six of us at Affil- iate Club who are full-time employ- ees working remotely. We are spread Remote Control The use of remote workers can be a daunting challenge. But if administered pragmatically, it can be an effective tool that creates a working environment that is rewarding for employees and management alike. The Affiliate Club Remote Team