Telecommuting boosts employee output - Flexible Ways to Work

Several companies experience productivity gains, better morale and lower business costs through telecommuting.

For some companies, telecommuting is a performance-enhancement tool with employees responding favorably to the freedom that comes with the responsibility. But in the past, fear of losing control over workers prevented line supervisors from exploring telecommuting.

"We learned to look at employee effectiveness," says Bell Atlantic's telecommuting manager, Ed Kirk.

Today, some three to six million white collar workers telecommute two to five days a week and the numbers are growing. And proponents estimate that in most companies, 5 percent to 40 percent of the workforce are able to join the work-at-home set.

The right candidate plus proper training equal higher output and lower costs fo companies, important concerns in this era of downsizing. Studies show that employees generally produce 20 percent to 30 percent more in quantifiable results when they telecommute.

Pacific Bell allows its sales force of more than 400 to avoid the conventional office setting by telecommuting. The company discovered its $1.5 million investment in state-of-the-art equipment was quickly returned by enormous productivity gains, on top of $400,000 in office space savings.

Storage Tek in Boulder, Colo., reported a 144 percent increase in productivity among engineers and other employees.

Bell Atlantic, the east coast telecommunications firm, conducted a pair of pilo programs in 1990. It concluded that 27 percent of 100 managers in one pilot had higher work ratings than before, and several were promoted at a time when promotions were not that common. Many recorded 200 percent increases in output, with others showing a 20 percent time reduction completing assignments. Formal telecommuting options will expand, and Bell Atlantic executives say a tenth of the corporation's 17,000 managers will become telecommuters.

Far fewer sick days are reported from telecommuters, say sources at J.C. Penney Hewlett-Packard, CitiCorp and American Express. James Kalach, a spokesman for Travelers Insurance Co., found absenteeism from sickness "drops way down." Many workers don't "peak" until late afternoon, so the standard 9 to 5 routine sacrifices considerable energy. Reduced turnover is another gain. Ann Heyden, a vice president at Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., calls telecommuting "a strategic staffing asset." Other companies have found that job satisfaction increases markedly.

State governments have had positive results from pilot programs. In the quest for greater productivity, the General Services Administration joined the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in 1992 to put 1,000 workers nationwide on telecommuter status. Job responsibilities varied, and participants included senior managers from several agencies. "Among even the minority of managers who weren't convened," says Wendell Joice at OPM, "most felt it could work well wit a few changes."

Candidate selection

There is a certain type of individual who works well with a telecommuting arrangement. This candidate works well independently, enjoys responsibility, responds to communications, and conforms to a trusting relationship.

How are these candidates picked? Having a history of reliability and a background in successfully discharging tasks are key criteria. Personal motivation, insist many who have managed programs, is a critical element. Of course, certain jobs are more likely to involve round-the-clock use of phones, research tools, databases, PCs, modems and fax machines. Research, communications, customer service, sales and publicity are obvious jobs whose functions mesh neatly with work from remote locations.

"We came to rely on detailed surveys to identify the best candidates," says Jeffrey Fink, chairman of CTS in Southern California. "There is a survey for managers as well," he adds. He and others believe that the real value of survey is that they help businesses focus on specific goals and devise a realistic scheme for use of equipment that is not readily transportable, such as sophisticated office xerox machines. A pilot program, beginning with a core group of committed believers--managers as well as staff--helps define objectives.

Telecommuting coordinators are chosen in most companies with well-grounded programs. An informal steering committee should consist of representatives from different departments. Development of a focus group is useful as, months later, feedback on issues and concerns (isolation, productivity, use of technologies a a home/office setting) can be explored. Successful projects reveal that telecommuting is a triangular decision between the employee, the manager and th job itself.

At the outset, it is important to recognize that programs should start slowly and evolve. However, guidelines must be established. Supervisors should emphasize planning. "We didn't distribute tasks effectively," says an employee relations manager for a New Jersey-based insurance company division. "We probably didn't explain anticipated quality and steps to complete all tasks," resulting in a program that did not let us achieve higher productivity."

The basics are

* Telecommuting is one work option.

* The arrangement is a partnership.

* The job must be suitable for remote sites.

* It can end when either party feels it should.

* Scheduling work is critical.

* Management by objective (MBO) prevails.

* Terms of employment and workload do not change.

* Justifications for any telecommuting agreement must be based on mutual benefit.

Employee-employer relationship

Employers should assure prospective telecommuters that communications will remain intact. They should know the glue that seals the close office bonds is not dissipating. To ensure a smooth-running program, whether managed in-house o by consultants, remember these guidelines:

* Retain standard managerial practices.

* The job title and responsibilities should remain intact.

* Cover questions on insurance, overtime and holidays in an agreement.

* Treat data security the same as in the office.

* Decide how to evaluate performance.

* Establish contact with unions at an early phase.

Jack Nilles at JALA International in Malibu, Calif., concludes "it just takes a couple of hours to identify telemanager pairs and telecommuters, but it could take a couple of months to work through a QC program."

After start-up, maintaining contact with the office is critical. Generally, two or three days of telecommuting per week allows for business and social interactions. One useful technique is to find rituals that replace arrival at the office--and others to signify the close of a business day. Work space at th home-office setting must be defined. Adherence to prescribed deadlines are a must; every day must be treated like a work day, and checklists are encouraged.

The training dimension

To properly train supervisors about the pros and cons of telecommuting, Robert Jud and Associates in New York City developed an eight-module course. The cours emphasizes eligibility criteria, a formal roll-out plan, assessment of equipmen needs, a means of setting objectives, and systematic tracking methods.

"Communicating objectives is essential," says Cynthia Petty, transportation manager at Apple Computer.

Others agree that team-based objectives are important, and that job expectation statements allow the work option to comply with results-oriented management. Communication among employees and between supervisors and employees has changed since the advent of E-Mail; tradition and habits change rapidly in today's modern office. Thus, a "go-slow" approach with partial (as opposed to a full workweek) telecommuting assures workers that this is not a "sink or swim" exercise.

Agreements, contracts and unions

Flexible contracts have emerged. They satisfy both sides of the employee-management equation. Views are mixed on whether salary trade-offs should be granted for participants, but variations of this approach have been tried.

One Midwestern executive recalls "when we calculated time lost in traffic, the stress, we went back to our people, including managers, convincing them equipment costs should be shared."

Different models exist for use of equipment and its ownership. Most policies do not cover expenses of utilities, while long distance calls are reimbursable. Generally, surplus equipment can be used, with businesses covering costs of modems, software, equipment maintenance, plus remote technical assistance, if required.

Many point to Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s principle that telecommuters are volunteering, as are the participating companies. Rights and responsibilities should be no different from those of conventional office workers. Safety, liability and workers' compensation (in case of accidents), are dealt with in a flexible way.

David Schartung with Telecommuters Inc., thinks union resistance is overcome in the same way leery managers can be persuaded. "Companies should start on a smal scale. Even if it's one person who begins the project on a pilot basis, that's fine. It can hedge-hop to other departments once a consensus on who uses what type of equipment for how many hours -- and those types of criteria--is reached."

Union resistance is subsiding, although organized labor is quick to point out that some concerns are raised with corporations. Foremost among them are attempts to place telecommuters in contractor status, as well as salary "exchanges" for the "privilege." The Communications Workers of America is exploring this quandary, prior to upcoming negotiations with the nation's telecommunications industry.

Julian M. Weiss is a Washington-based freelance writer.

COPYRIGHT 1994 Society for Human Resource Management
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