Summer 2003
Issue 3.3
Article: Reflections on a Decade of Telework at AT&T;
ITAC News: Register for Sept Annual Conf.
Thank Our Sponsor
By Clicking Below
Looking back over the decade since AT&T; established our telework policy in 1992; there�s never been a better time to grow a remote work program. The pressure to do more with less has never been greater. The competitive environment has never been more global. And the need for enhanced business continuity has never been more compelling.
We�ve also been doing employee surveys for 10 years, and the latest shows that about 33% of AT&T; managers work at home at least once a week, including 17% who do so full time in a virtual office (no dedicated corporate real estate). And we�re pushing to make those numbers even higher � to make AT&T; even more �net-centric.�
Being net-centric means structuring organizations around networks instead of buildings. Telework is but one dimension of this transformation, but telework alone generates over $150 million annually in productivity increases, real estate savings and enhanced retention for AT&T.; Telework allows us to conduct business even when a location-based event (a snowstorm, for example) restricts access to the corporate offices. And it significantly increases job satisfaction and work/life balance while reducing air pollution from automobile exhausts.
How can your telework program achieve similar benefits? Here are a few tips from our experience that address issues frequently raised in conversations with enterprise customers:
- Quantify the benefits. It may be difficult to measure the economic impact of telework, but it�s well worth the time � especially when you gain an understanding of how to increase that impact. And there�s no better tool for helping managers see the light than something with a dollar sign in front of it.
- Be opportunistic. The best place to deploy a telework program might not be one of the usual suspects, like outside sales. It may be within a supportive executive�s organization, where there are high levels of informal telework, or where a corporate relocation project is underway. Seize opportunities to make telework contribute to the business.
- Get smarter. Last year�s best practice is this year�s outdated factoid. Keep up with current events and research in the telework industry. One of the best ways is through membership in ITAC.
- Learn to love informal telework. Informal teleworkers remove cultural barriers to telework. They lead by example, with higher productivity. And they serve as a feeder pool for formal programs aimed at (for example) reducing real estate.
- Don�t let them wear you down. Cultural barriers take time to change, so think long term. Don�t get depressed when organization X doesn�t seem to get it�. because technological and demographic change aren�t going away. What you do with telework has value to your company and society, so hang in there!
This year�s Annual Conference (September 4 & 5 in Baltimore, MD) celebrates the 10-year anniversary of the leading telework association, ITAC. The conference will analyze how telework has evolved this past decade from telecommuting to working from anywhere, and show how those experiences translate into practical benefits for the future. Other sessions will discuss business and organizational continuity, HR trends, and virtual collaboration. There will be structured opportunities to network with experienced telework professionals who can answer your questions, as well as with peers.
Register by August 8th to get the most favorable registration fee. Employees of ITAC member organizations (Users, Agencies, Vendors and Sole Proprietors) can register at the discounted member rate of $345. The conference is being held at the historic Radisson Lord Baltimore, where conference attendees can reserve a sleeping room for only $99, a daily rate that is below the normal government rate. But the room block is limited and the deadline for this rate is August 8th.
ITAC is making available only a few
sponsorship
opportunities. Sponsors will have opportunity to have a
display during the event, provide material to all attendees and to be highlighted
in all pre-conference and on-site announcements. Questions? Contact Bob Smith at
[email protected].
Keeping abreast of latest research, statistics and surveys
Americans Vacation Less�
Nearly half of 730 executives recently surveyed, for instance, said they would not use
all of the vacation time they were entitled to this year, according to Cleveland-based
search and recruitment firm Management Recruiters International (MRI). Of those executives,
58 percent said their workloads were responsible for the decision.
Not surprisingly, American workers take less vacation than do workers from other developed countries. The American vacation average is 10.2 days a year after three years on a job, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other countries surveyed include Japan at 17.5 days, Germany at 30 and Australia at 25. Further, SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) reports that 13% of companies now provide no paid leave, up from 5% 10 years ago.
So does more work mean we are more productive? Well, in Europe, where vacation time is more plentiful, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board found a higher productivity growth rate than the U.S. in 14 of the 19 years between 1981 and 2000.
�While ITAC Members Work During Vacation
Curious about the changing landscape between work and vacation, ITAC polled its members in July to
learn what they did during the July 4th holiday. What did we find out about our mobile workers?
Here is a preview of some of the findings where everyone who responded did take July 4th as a holiday.
Our member survey found that:
- 66% did some work during part of the vacation
- 45% took additional vacation days around the holiday
- 30% worked 2-3 hours per day
- 20% dedicated specific time to each day for work related matters
- 80% of respondents were employed by an organization with more than 50 employees
Several responded that they worked during vacation to reduce the pile-up of e-mail and other work when they returned to the office.
We must note that we did not conduct a statistically significant survey, and that ITAC members are active practitioners of working from anywhere. Full results and more analysis of the survey will soon be posted on the ITAC site.
Global Survey Predicts Upsurge in Telework
Business will see a major growth in teleworking over the next two years,
according to a new AT&T survey conducted by
the Economist Intelligence Unit. According to this survey of senior
executives worldwide, the percentage of companies where almost no one works
from home on a regular basis is expected to drop from 46% today to just 20%
two years from now. Further, in Europe by 2005, the number of mobile workers
(defined as those who work more than 20% outside of home and office) is
expected to triple to 20.1 million and the number of telecommuters (those
who work more than 20% at home) to more than double, to 8.7 million.
Public Service Announcement:
Teleworkers Wanted for Survey
Employee teleworkers are invited to participate in research on
teleworkers' organizational commitment and job satisfaction. The Web-based
survey is located at
http://www.surveypro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=10118&responseCheck=false.
The researcher is Seunghae Lee, a doctoral candidate at Michigan State
University and an assistant professor at California State University,
Northridge. Please contact Seunghae Lee ([email protected]) for any
questions and comments.
What's new in policies and programs
U.S. Agency TIGTA Recognized for Telework Program
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) was awarded
the 2003 Commuter Connections Employer Recognition Award for its Telework
Program, called Virtual Resource Solution (VRS). Due to the success achieved
by the pilot program in August 2000, VRS was rolled out TIGTA-wide in
October 2001. Currently, 92% of TIGTA�s nationwide employees participate in
the program, with 35% of the total 950 employees teleworking two or more
days per week.
The Commuter Connections Employer Recognition Awards Program recognizes employers
who have voluntarily initiated alternative commuting programs that have made a
positive difference to the organization, its employees, and the region in the
form of increased productivity, less stressful commutes and improved air quality.
In the five TIGTA Washington-area locations, 227 employees are eligible to
participate in the Telework program. Of those eligible, 169 (74%) work remotely
at least one day per week, with over one-half teleworking two or more days per week.
Federal Guide to
Telework Available Online
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has just issued "Telework: A
Management Priority, A Guide for Managers, Supervisors, and Telework
Coordinators."
The new OPM guide provides guidance to managers and supervisors of
teleworkers in identifying eligible positions and employees, setting
performance expectations and parameters for telework arrangements, and
monitoring productivity. In addition to strategies and helpful hints, the
guide also includes sample checklists, surveys, safety checklists and
telework agreements.
The guide is available at www.telework.gov, as is OPM�s report to the U.S.
Congress on �The Status of Telework in the Federal Government.� OPM reported
that there were 625,313 eligible employees (35 percent of the Federal
workforce), which is a 20 percent increase from the 521,542 employees
eligible in 2001. In 2002, 14.4 percent of eligible employees teleworked.
Five percent of the Federal workforce is now teleworking, up from 4.2 in
2001.
September 4 & 5, 2003
ITAC 10th Anniversary Annual Conference
Radisson Lord Baltimore, Baltimore, MD.
"The Evolution of Telework: Lessons from the Past Empowering the Future"
Register at http://www.workingfromanywhere.org
Check the ITAC Web site for details on the
next Webinar, �The Do�s and Don�ts of Deploying Broadband for Your
Teleworkers.� Members are encouraged to submit speaker suggestions. Send them
to [email protected].
If you are having a public event in 2003 on a telework topic, please let us know by
sending an e-mail to [email protected].
with the date, name and organizer of the event, its cost and how to register.
THE FINE PRINT
Members can access past Telework News issues on the members-only website.
If you have difficulty viewing the HTML newsletter, copy this link into your Web browser and view the newsletter online: http://www.workingfromanywhere.org/news/currentnewsletter.htm
Send letters, suggestions and comments to: [email protected]
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