Workshop 3
SELLING THE TELECOMMUTING DECISION
by Michael J. Dziak, President, InteleWorks, Inc.

CONTENTS

• Introduction
• Positioning your proposal
• Assessing your culture and identifying needs
• Preparing your business case
• Presenting your proposal to management
• Closing remarks

INTRODUCTION

Congratulations on embarking on an effort to convince management to establish a formalized telecommuting program within your organization. By now you have undoubtedly discovered a variety of reasons that the program shouldn’t be implemented, but you know better. You have also undoubtedly discovered that most of the telecommuting objections you have already heard are not based in reality. You may also have concluded that this is going to be a much bigger task than you thought.

Do not despair, however. With some careful planning, a system of allies, detailed documentation, the information provided here, and a great deal patience, you can accomplish your mission. Here’s what you will need to be successful:

1. Establish a clear plan to sell the decision
2. Assess your corporate culture and identify needs that can be met through telecommuting
3. Prepare a thorough, well documented business case
4. Present a professional proposal to executives that asks for more than you need

1. Positioning Your Proposal

Telecommuting Rule #1: Telecommuting will be resisted for reasons not based in reality

In order to assure success in your pursuit of a formalized telecommuting program, you must establish a clear telework philosophy that complements your organizational culture. Once the program is clearly characterized, you should develop three or four primary program drivers on which the entire program and its energy will be based. But don’t just stop there. Stretch way outside the box to identify a list of secondary program goals using a variety of tools available on the market. With these goals established, you should next identify key stakeholders, identify and neutralize their objections, gather a consensus of support, and develop your internal champions.

"The philosophy of one century is the common sense of the next." Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887)

  Develop a Clear Telework Philosophy

Every organization develops a personality and a culture, it establishes priorities, and, frankly, is successful or not based upon its "foundational business philosophy". This philosophy is normally traced to the company founders, and is modified with growth, changes in the market and/or environment, or by the changing of executive management. To assure long term success, your telecommuting program will require a "foundational business philosophy" as well.

The business philosophy is typically spelled out in the organization's mission statement. Your proposal to management should, at a minimum, show how a telecommuting program will complement and enhance your organization’s mission statement. Beyond that, telecommuting should be presented as a workplace alternative that is highly complementary to current strategic plans.

  Establish Your Program Personality

There are no cookie-cutter program templates for your telecommuting program. As your organization has its own personality or "culture," your telecommuting program will be unique, different from any other, and must be designed to complement and enhance that culture.

As you design your telecommuting program, it is important that you establish a proven program structure (policy, procedures, training, budget, documentation, competent management, etc.). There are, however, a variety of approaches you may take in developing your program personality. These "traits" should be carefully and purposely selected to reflect and enhance the overall program goals:

	Formal vs. Informal: Employees in one company we know had been informally "telecommuting" even before they had heard the term. Its entrepreneurial culture already provided the environment ideal for successful remote work, so no-one had a problem with a director disappearing for a day to finish a marketing plan. In more traditional organizations with industrial age management styles, a telecommuting program typically will require much more formality. In either situation, enforceable rules must be place to govern telecommuting activity and to protect the organization from undue risk.
	Fully-Funded vs. No-Budget: We’ve seen the extremes here, too. One client provides their employees a full complement of home office equipment plus discretionary funds to bring the remote environment up to corporate standards. Another told its employees that they were free to telecommute if they met the selection criteria and completed the training, but the telecommuter must provide all the equipment, furniture and services on their own. Your business case and program goals will determine where your program sits on this spectrum.
	Public vs. Private: Some organizations see telecommuting as a considerable competitive advantage, and release little or no public information about their program. Others go well out of their way to be featured in the national press and in conferences touting their telecommuting triumphs. Your telecommuting image can be carefully crafted to meet whatever goals you may have.
	Elite vs. Universal: In order to contain the proliferation of telecommuting, some organizations have chosen to allow only a narrow group of job titles to be eligible for remote work. This can cause resentment among those who legitimately could be successful remote workers. One of our clients, on the other hand, broadly defined telecommuting to include all qualified knowledge workers who complete a "certification" course. After just two years, 80% of the employees are now trained and able to work effectively wherever and whenever they need to get the job done, dramatically changing the culture AND organizational performance. We recommend the latter approach.
	Centralized vs. Decentralized: The design of your program management systems depends greatly upon the organization size and location of employees. Telecommuting coordinators in smaller, geographically contained organizations can provide regular hands-on attention and service to participants. In larger organizations with geographically disbursed divisions and departments, a decentralized approach may be more appropriate. In this situation, a corporate telecommuting coordinator may recruit location coordinators and issue foundational guidelines from which the local groups develop their own program.

"Our plans miscarry because they have no aim.
When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind."

(Seneca, 4 B.C. to A.D. 65)

Let’s say your CEO is attending an executive breakfast, and comments to a peer that the company now has a telecommuting program. Let’s say that afternoon your HR Director is attending a conference with HR peers and he/she announces the program among colleagues. And, that evening you go home to dinner with your spouse and family and announce this new telecommuting program.

In each of these situations, the individual will undoubtedly be asked to describe the program, and discuss why it was started. How different will each of the answers be?

As you develop your program, its definition and image should be characterized by three-to-four primary program drivers that everyone in the organization knows. These primary drivers will establish the personality, priorities, determine the budget, enthusiasm, acceptance, and overall success of your program.

Some human resources based programs "raise productivity at the cost of morale; others increase morale at the cost of productivity. We discovered telecommuting increases both."

(Ed Kirk, then Manager of Telecommuting Programs at Bell Atlantic, at the first ITAC Conference, Williamsburg, VA, September 23, 1993.)

Develop A List Of Unexpected Secondary Benefits

With Telecommuting, You Should Expect the Unexpected: Telecommuting organizations have discovered that benefits increase with more telecommuting activity. These "unexpected benefits" are simply icing on the telecommuting cake. Some unexpected benefits we’ve seen include decreased sick time, improved job satisfaction, stronger teamwork and internal communications, increased computer literacy, and improved customer service. A well designed program will have explored and capitalized on as many of these unexpected benefits as possible as the program is rolled out. Below are some examples of unexpected benefits:

	Improved supervisor/worker relationship: In a survey of the participants of the County of San Diego pilot program, 43 percent said telecommuting had helped them improve the relationship with their supervisor.
	Improved morale and job attitude: In a six month trial in Phoenix, AZ, "...telecommuters and supervisors reported that telecommuting increased employee productivity and efficiency, while also improving morale and job attitude."
	Eliminated employee turnover: G. Allan Hunter (SP) executive in charge of the Franchise Tax Board announced their program resulted in a reduction of employee turnover from 50% (virtually replaced everyone every two years) to no attrition at all.
	Maintained productivity while recovering from illness: A Baton Rouge attorney moved his family to Steamboat Springs, CO., while maintaining his practice, commuted 1-2 weeks a year while recovering from cancer.
	Increased employee productivity: Bell Atlantic Corporation cited that 25 hours spent working at home are the equivalent of 40 office hours.
	Increased worker output: A British Telecom Study reported by the Gartner Group indicated that the average telecommuter works 11% more hours than an office counterpart. They also found that reduced costs for office space and other overhead items save employers an additional amount equal to 17% of annual salary costs.

Identify and Win Over Stakeholders

Gathering Consensus: In order to gain consensus for telecommuting within any organization, it is critical to first determine the viewpoint of formal and informal leaders and organizational stakeholders toward remote work, identify any objections to implementation, significant resistance and any support. Organizational stakeholders are typically those individuals who will have responsibility for successful program implementation or whose scope of responsibility will be directly affected by telecommuting activity. Some of these areas may include the following:

 

Technical/Sales Support	Telemarketing	Product Management	Marketing
Environment Management	Strategic Planning	Operations	Engineering
Information Services	Training	Quality Management	Legal Staff
Communications/PR	Human Resources	Customer Service	Executive Staff

 "The obstacles are entirely human, not technological."

(Steve Coulter, once area vice president, Pacific Bell, PC World Magazine, October 1994)

Neutralizing Objections: Resistance to change is natural, so expect it and overcome it: As anything new or different is introduced in our lives, we typically resist it. It’s human nature.

"If the expectations are clear and the work to be done is understood by both the managers and the employees, there shouldn’t be a problem just because you don’t physically see them eight hours a day. Our focus is output. If the work gets done on time and in a manner that the manager expects it to be done—that’s how you measure whether it’s working." Rich Brown, vice president of public affairs for Bank of America. Brown estimates the bank has at least 12 employees in Oregon who telecommute on a regular basis. (Telecommuting News, Oregon Office of Energy, January, 1997)

The Typical Obstacles That Must Be Addressed: You may dozens of reasons that telecommuting won’t work, but most of the common objections are summarized under the following:

• I Will Lose Control Over Employees Who Work From Home
• Telecommuting Is Simply Too Expensive
• There’s No Way Employees Can Be Productive At Home
• Our Group Simply Doesn’t Know Computers Well Enough
• Telecommuting Will Never Work in Our Office Culture

These and other obstacles can easily be overcome though solutions found elsewhere on this ITAC Web Page.

Developing Your Champions: In order for successful integration of your telecommuting program to occur, you must identify individuals within the organization who will act as a "lightning rod" for telecommuting, attracting and responding to extreme reactions that are critical to the process, and acting as the unshakable foundation for organizational commitment. Ideally, your champion(s) will be in an executive leadership position having with the respect of the employee base and having budgetary responsibilities.

Summary: As you develop your plan, it is critical that you establish a clear program philosophy, identify three or four primary program drivers, develop a list of secondary benefits and identify and win-over your stakeholders. And, since telecommuting can influence and improve so many different areas of your organization, don’t be conservative as you develop your list of program goals.

2. Assessing Your Culture and Identifying Needs

Telecommuting Rule #2: Telecommuting will amplify many of  your existing organizational weaknesses

In order to properly assimilate telecommuting into your organization, an honest assessment must be made of your current organization culture. In what ways will telecommuting fit? In what ways will telecommuting conflict? How do employees currently view telecommuting? Are there preconceived notions, fears or objections among management? Which of the current strategic initiatives are complementary to the telecommuting philosophy? These and other questions must be asked to develop a plan that will be more readily accepted by management and employees.

Telecommuting and Your Corporate Culture: Have you read your mission statement lately? A successful telecommuting effort often conflicts with an organization’s culture and may require a radical shift in management techniques. It may even shake the very foundation on which the organization is built. Use the organizational mission statement in building your business case, identifying ways which a formalized remote work program will complement and/or enhance efforts to achieve the organizational mission.

Telecommuter is a "no collar worker," one who is independent, autonomous but always accountable

(Alternative Officing Strategies Publication, HOK Facilities Consulting, 1994)

Take Advantage of Telecommuting "Compatibility Reality Check Tools"

There are a variety of sources for what I call telecommuting "compatibility reality check tools." These tools help determine the amount and location of any resistance in the organization, helps identify unexpected concerns, and helps the telecommuting program developer to set implementation priorities. Consider the following:

	Complete a Profile Questionnaire: Employer Profile Questionnaires are available that help an organization summarize current conditions in the community, in the marketplace, as an employer, and for employees that can be affected by a telecommuting program. Such profile questionnaires can help isolate those areas within the organization that should be addressed by the telecommuting program and for establishing program priorities.
	Conduct an Employee Attitude Survey: Employee Attitude Surveys are available to help you ascertain general employee knowledge of and support for of telecommuting concepts (and in some cases identify current activity), to identify pockets of telecommuting resistance and/or support, to establish the interest of certain individuals in participating, and to determine if current management styles are compatible with remote work. These paper surveys are often validated through focus groups with employees, managers, and potential telecommuters.
	Conduct Leadership Queries: A thorough assessment of employee attitudes may include interviews with formal and informal leaders within the organization to identify any pockets of resistance of objections not revealed in the surveys. These queries can be especially useful in determining attitudes of employees after the potential for a telecommuting program is made common knowledge by the original surveys and through the "rumor mill."

Complement Existing Strategic Initiatives: Where are energies in your organization focused today? Every organization has certain high profile strategic initiatives on which employees invests significant energies. Some of these may include process re-engineering, increasing computer literacy, updating management effectiveness, improving customer service, improving internal communications, balancing work and family life, and any other initiative that affects the entire organization.

Effective implementation of a telecommuting initiative will include the integration of remote work into as many of these strategic initiatives as applicable. Nearly six years ago, a Hewlett-Packard strategic initiative included the improvement of customer support. Upon implementation of a telecommuting program, the organization had found that work-at-home employees of its Response Center, which offers technical support to customers over the phone, handled 20% more calls. (BusinessWeek December 27, 1993)

Creating Your Wish List: To make it successful, an effective telecommuting program must go far beyond simply publishing a set of rules. Telecommuting can become a catalyst for improving an organization, maximizing the use of technology, recruiting quality employees, improving management effectiveness, and dozens of other documented benefits of establishing a telecommuting program. The exact areas where telecommuting can improve an organization will emerge through effective analysis of current workplace conditions and overall organizational goals. We recommend that a thorough analysis be made of organizational needs, telecommuting program possibilities, and an ambitious wish list be developed that will result from a telecommuting program.

3. Preparing Your Business Case

Telecommuting Rule #3: Telecommuting can help accelerate many of your current strategic initiatives

• Budget Timing: Every organization has a budget cycle. In order to secure funding for your effort, you must determine when such funds would be available and the process by which such funds are obtained.

• Securing Champion Support: Your champion must be aware of the plans, should be sought for advice, should be willing to neutralize significant sources of resistance, and should be willing to authorize the necessary budget for your program.

"Unless the employer can find some selfish reasons to use telecommuting, I don’t really care how it might help the employees or the environment. I don’t think employers base their decisions about new methods on whether or not employees or regulators will like it. Instead, they are applying some very simple tests: can the new method help us reduce expenses, increase revenues, do more with less, compete better, or improve quality?"

(Gil Gordon, Telecommuting Review, June 1994)

Establishing Business Goals: A significant part of the case for establishing a telecommuting program must complement and enhance your organization’s current business goals. This is done first by identifying business priorities that can be met or accelerated through telecommuting. A short list of telecommuting benefits is shown below. And, in these times of dramatic organizational change, telecommuting can become a cushion or even a catalyst to allow the organization to more easily adapt to many of these changes. The table below offers details on this for your consideration.

• Identifying Telecommuting Benefits: Reducing overhead and demand for office space, hiring quality employees in a competitive market, enhancing employee performance measurement techniques, reducing absenteeism and turnover, improving work and family balance, and many other documented telecommuting benefits.
• Business Trends and How they Relate to Telecommuting: Studies show that a variety of significant changes are occurring in the workplace of the twenty-first century employer. Telework can act as a catalyst for advancing change, often becoming a major component of these changes. Consider the following trends:*

 Business Trends and How They Relate to Telecommuting

*Study results and details are available on request by contacting [email protected]

Designing an Effective, Complete Program: More than fifteen years of highly successful telecommuting programs across the nation and around the world have resulted in the development of standard, proven program implementation steps that can be found in a variety of places. One such place is www.matac.org/rocket.htm and elsewhere in this article for your consideration:

Summary: There are a variety of key elements that must be taken into consideration when designing a business case for telecommuting. Your strategy must include budget considerations, champion support, plans that are highly complementary to current business initiatives, consideration of major organization changes, and an effective program design. Once the business case is completed and confirmed, it’s time for presenting your proposal to management.

4. Presenting Your Proposal to Management

Telecommuting Rule #4: Once telecommuting reaches critical mass acceptance, proliferation will take off like a rocket

Now it’s time to finish your proposal and present it to management. An effective way to design your "pitch" is to put yourself in the position of each member of your audience. What is their position on telecommuting? Will they provide supportive input at the meeting? Do you know what their primary concerns are? Are they willing to participate in a pilot program? Are they in a position to offer staff to assist in the development and implementation of the program? What other business priorities could delay or enhance your program?

If you have prepared a telecommuting program personality that complements the organization and meets specific legitimate needs, have developed a sound business case, been in contact with all your stakeholders and gained their consensus, and outlined a concise program implementation plan, you are ready to develop your presentation. Following are some ideas that you may wish to use in crafting your approach:

Set Your Program Expectations High: Telecommuting can be so rewarding that after a program is installed, many executives wonder why they resisted in the first place. Be sure to establish high expectations for your program. Even if management decides to enter into telecommuting conservatively, they will likely relax once the program starts and is shown to be a success. Below are some additional ideas:

• Be Sure To Look at the Big Picture: According to Ed Weiner, then senior policy analyst with the US Department of Transportation and the department’s leading expert on telecommuting, "it will cascade into other parts of life. It may even get them to change their style of life." If people don’t have to go to the office every day, that could change the way they structure their lives, where they decide to live, and where the community develops. (PC World Magazine, October 1994)
• Have the Guts To Make Waves: People known to rock the boat at the office could be the best employees, according to research being published by a center studying leadership and the workplace. A study by Valerie Sessa, who spent hours with 171 hospital employees between 1988 and 1993 while earning her doctorate at New York University, concluded that conflict can breed creativity, productivity and motivation. Sessa found that employees who had argued about job issues such as ethical dilemmas, scheduling problems and administrative questions were more likely to be productive. "A little bit of conflict shakes a team up," said Sessa. "It gives them energy. It gets them to question their own assertion." (Atlanta Journal & Constitution, May 10, 1996)

Ask For More Than You Think You’ll Need: Once a program has begun, organizations discover "unexpected benefits" as described above. And, given proper program development, a typical return on a telecommuting program investment is 18 to 24 months. If you are too conservative in your program planning, you may end up underestimating the results, and quickly realizing you could have asked for more. So make ambitious predictions for program results and ask for a bigger budget than you think you will get. Remember, too, that "Telecommuting should not be looked upon as a cost, but as a competitive advantage." (origin unknown)

Find Testimonials From Competitors/Similar Organizations: Let’s face it, if you had trail blazers in the executive suite, chances are that telecommuting would already be a part of your culture. Many executives, however, prefer to be first to be second. Therefore, telecommuting testimonials and success stories from organizations in your industry and/or community will go a long way in easing many fears and overcoming many objections.

Bring Your Champions In: On the day you make your presentation, the room should be filled with people with whom you have already spoken. These are your champions. Now is the time to have them each sell your proposal for you. You cannot afford any surprises at this point, so be sure that you are aware of any changes of opinion, new concerns, or input from someone with whom you had not yet spoken.

Paint a Clear Picture of the Future: In order for your decisionmakers to fully understand the impact of their telecommuting decision, it is important for them to be able to visualize the organization in the future as affected by remote work. You may wish to consider developing a snapshot summary of the program activity and results in one year, in three years and then in seven years. This snapshot may include a day in the life of a typical telecommuter, how telecommuting will have affected some of the key challenges facing the organization today, and a prediction of some of the net effects on the organization, profitability, efficiency and the bottom line.

Remember the Four Telecommuting Rules:  

1. Telecommuting will amplify many of your existing organizational weaknesses

2. Telecommuting will be resisted for reasons not based in reality

3. Telecommuting can help accelerate many of your current strategic initiatives

4. Once telecommuting reaches critical mass acceptance, proliferation will take off like a rocket

Ask For The Order: In your final presentation to decisionmakers, it will not be enough for the group to simply say yes to telecommuting in principle. You must develop a detailed enough plan that shows implementation phases, including time frames, costs, process steps, resources required, and expected results. Typically an organization goes through a business case phase, a program development phase, pilot program phase, and a program implementation phase. Depending upon the organization size, there may also be deliberate implementation and assimilation phases based which are prioritized by need and the goals established

Summary: I hope this has helped you in your plans to convince management to establish a formalized telecommuting program within your organization. There are indeed a variety of reasons that skeptics will tell you the program shouldn’t be implemented, but you know better. Hopefully you will have neutralized or eliminated most of the objections to telecommuting. Although this may well be a much bigger task than you thought, it can be done. With some careful planning, a system of allies, detailed documentation, use of the information provided here, and a great deal patience, you can be successful at convincing management to invest in telecommuting!

Michael J. Dziak, president of InteleWorks, Inc., has been a telecommuting consultant, educator, author and advocate since 1991. Georgia-based InteleWorks, Inc. (www.inteleworks.com) provides solutions-oriented training and consulting to help large employers establish successful teleworking programs. Michael may be reached at 770-979-9459.

Closing Remarks

We hope this Workshop in the TELEWORK AMERICA series is a resource to you as you take the step toward implementing a telecommuting program. Each month we will raise challenging issues and share the expertise of our members with you.

Revisit this session as often as needed.