HOW DO YOU MANAGE AN OFF-SITE TEAM

Allison Scher is threatening to quit. Penny Ryan wants to run the team . The manager of these off-site workers, Craig Bedell, feels blindside d by their conflict. And the whole mess has Maggie Pinto, the head of HR, wondering if she should cancel the companywide rollout of the tele commuting program. How did the situation in this fictional case study get to the boiling point so quickly! Craig doesn't really know. From h is vantage point - inside the office - his department is doing the bes t work it has ever done before. And the flexible work arrangements, de signed on a case-by-case basis, have increased productivity and booste d morale at the same time. Or so Craig believed - until a few days ago , when the E-mail messages started to come. There was trouble between Penny and Allison. How serious was the situation? It was hard to tell. Craig responded with E-mail and voice-mail messages of his own. Could n't it all be put on hold until Monday, when the team would come toget her for its biweekly meeting? Then he got the final E-mail from Alliso n - the one in which she threatened ''to seek alternative employment.' ' And now he's shaking his head in bewilderment as he talks with Maggi e. Is the breakdown in communication irrevocable? Can Craig, who learn ed how to manage during a time when people showed up at the office eve ry day, adjust to the conditions of telecommuting? Four commentators o ffer their advice on how the company can patch up the short-term probl em and lay the foundation for a successful long-term program.