Telecommuting: A business solution that is here to stay

Whether you call it teleworking or telecommuting, it is a sure bet it is here to stay. Reducing traffic, curbing energy consumption, making neighborhoods safer, helping reduce stress, promoting better family balance … these are a few of the reasons smart employers are trying it.

In recent years, the need for managers to re-examine their attitudes toward employees working all or part of their time at home becomes increasingly compelling.

Telecommuting, or teleworking, is fast becoming a respected term that is being seen as the latest business solution. With companies such as IBM, AT&T, and Nortel Networks all implementing telework programs, public sector managers are also taking a second look.

Combats rush hour traffic
In transportation circles, it is being offered as an obvious solution to combating rush hour traffic. It also cuts down on road maintenance and vehicle accidents.

In the field of energy, it is being seen as an easy way to cut gas consumption.

Canada celebrates Telework Day, Nov. 22
To celebrate these and other benefits, Nov. 22, 2000 is being called Canadian Telework Day. It is an event sponsored by the Canadian Telework Association in order to raise awareness about the growing trend of teleworking.

Most recently, the Ucora Corporation, a manufacturer of custom software for businesses, implemented its own telework program.

Brought both challenges and advantages
According to a company report, it has been an interesting experience that has brought with it both challenges and some surprising advantages.

Teleworking, also called telecommuting, is the practice of allowing employees to work away from the office, generally from satellite offices or from their homes. It can take place once a month or every day, depending on the needs of the company. In 1999 there were an estimated 19.6 million teleworkers in the United States alone, and this number is continuing to grow.¹

Telework is thought to benefit not only employers and their staff, but entire communities as well.

Here are some of the advantages that teleworking brings:

• Benefits to Employees: Reduced stress, increased job satisfaction, allows better balance between work and family life.
• Benefits to Employers: Reduced absenteeism among employees, reduced business disruptions due to emergencies such as bad weather and power outages, fewer interruptions which leads to better performance—it is estimated that teleworkers are up to 20% more productive.²
• Benefits to Society: Fewer commuters means less traffic congestion and pollution as well as reduced accidents and road maintenance costs, reduces stress and health care costs, creates safer communities by having more people at home during the day.

Ucora made the decision to implement a telework program so that senior management and some accounting staff could work in an environment that allows greater focus, away from the interruptions that often accompany life at the office.

Members of Ucora's senior management team are encouraged to work outside of the office one or two days a week, in order to spend time focusing on long term planning and growing business opportunities.

In the months that the program has been underway there have been both benefits and challenges, according to Ucora. Two of the main challenges that Ucora has experienced, along with the methods used to overcome them follow:

1. Technology challenges overcome: Technology is a necessary ingredient to a successful teleworking program as it allows teleworkers to stay connected to the office even while working from home. Ucora immediately encountered some technology-related problems when it began its telework program.

For example, teleworkers could not easily access files on the company's main server, many of which were important to the projects they were working on. They also lacked access to Ucora's contact management, accounting, and production systems. As a software development company, Ucora found these challenges relatively easy to overcome. Lack of access to the files and applications at the office was solved through high speed TELUS ADSL or Rogers cable modems and Microsoft's Windows 2000 Advanced Server, which has terminal serving capabilities. This enables employees to securely access all of Ucora's files from home.

Also, by building company applications with a web interface and hosting them on a secure corporate website, employees can gain access to these programs from anywhere, whether from home, the library, or a laptop. Innovative software and technology definitely goes a long way towards creating a successful telework program.

2. Social challenges revealed underlying problem: While technological problems are easily solved, challenges that arise due to decreased staff interaction are a bit more difficult. Initially, Ucora was surprised to find that despite its well established procedures and information systems, important decision-making was often delayed due to decreased face-to-face contact. This was a real concern because it signaled weaknesses in the company's procedures and processes. Having some employees work from home, even on a part-time basis, quickly exposed how dependent organizations can become on ad hoc, informal interactions.

This was not a problem that was created by teleworking. Rather, it was an existing problem that was brought to light by the telework experience.

Ucora has since worked to firm up its policies and procedures, resulting in a stronger company. In this sense, the lesson that Ucora has learned from its teleworking experience has been an invaluable one.

Practice is here to stay
Teleworking offers a unique and viable solution to many of the problems that exist in today's fast-paced business world. With more and more companies adopting telework programs, there is no doubt that this practice is here to stay. The challenges that telework brings can be overcome if companies are flexible and creative enough to define the solutions that are right for them.

For business owners and managers, telework offers a great opportunity to evaluate the efficiency of your organization. By leaving your workplace, if only for a few days, you will gain a perspective that will enable you to view your business in a way that is often not possible when you're right in the middle of it.

References
¹ "US Telework Scene - stats and facts ". Canadian Telework Association. Retrieved November 13, 2000: http://www.ivc.ca/us.html
² "Advantages and disadvantages of telework for employers". Canadian Telework Association. Retrieved November 13, 2000: http://www.ivc.ca/proemployer.html

Copyright Ucora Corporation 2000
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Edited by Joyce Everhart
Managing Editor, Public Works Online