Is it strange for a company's CFO and CEO to telecommute?

[Anonymous]

I am contemplating taking a job with a tech company and the CFO and CEO both live in another state and telecommute/and commute to the office on a weekly basis. Is this strange or a red flag or has anyone heard of this? Thanks

[Anonymous]

In today's job market, this is not as unusual as it would have been in the past. For example, I work for a VERY small company (we have 6 employees) - I am the only one who doesn't work 100% from home. It cuts down on overhead a LOT, which actually allows us to pass along those savings to our customers. In this situation, I would definitely meet the people you will be working with so that you feel comfortable with this set up. But with computers and skype and smart phones, there is no reason this situation can't work - it just depends on the people involved. Our president lives here - our CFO is in the Midwest.

[Anonymous]

I think it all depends on the size of the company.
I tend to think that the larger the company, the more "ok" it is for the executives to live far from HQ.

But that said, I think one week in the office is essential.

[Anonymous]

I don't think it's a red flag. My dad (CEO) and his business partner (President) basically worked from home. They had a small office that they would go into sometimes and they were always available for meetings. But their main office was their home. It was a very successful company that they recently sold for an obscene amount of money.

[Anonymous]

Would you be able to telecommute too?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am contemplating taking a job with a tech company and the CFO and CEO both live in another state and telecommute/and commute to the office on a weekly basis. Is this strange or a red flag or has anyone heard of this? Thanks

I don't find it odd. I worked as a COO for a tech co totatally from home for 5 years. We had guys across the country at different client sites.

Shows me that management is flexible and the company is saving boatloads on overhead.

[Anonymous]

our COO lives in another state and our CEO travels constantly and is rarely in the office. so yes it does happen.

[Anonymous]

I think this is more and more common these days, especially for tech companies. My husband's former company had a similar arrangement.

[Anonymous]

It depends on the nature of the business. A remote mgmt team can be too detached. But some companies (esp. services) are so spread out that it doesn't matter.

I sometimes wonder though if a CEO is remote, is he really in it for the long haul?

[Anonymous]

If you could swing a deal to work from home or telecommute also and like that option it sounds super cool to me and not at all odd.

[Anonymous]

It's totally normal for a tech startup. I've worked exclusively at tech startups for the past 10 years, and many members of the leadership team at all companies have telecommuted to a certain extent -- some nearly 100%. It cuts down on the cost of an office lease, and it's a very nice benefit at smaller companies where you usually don't get as much in the way of benefits as you do at bigger places of employment.

[Anonymous]

No, I don't think it's strange these days at all.

[Anonymous]

At one point in my very large company both the president of the division and the strategy chief commuted every week. I have a friend who lives here and commutes to his CFO job in New York every week. It really doesnt seem that unusual. Plus in tech companies people move around a lot and are less likley to want to uproot their families.