ARE YOU PREPARED FOR WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT?
A Viable answer - Telecommuting

By Barry Allen
March 20, 2001

"Yikes - the corporate energy bill went from $13000 a day to $1,080,000 per day. What can be done to stay in business?" said the facilities manager of an aerospace company working on a fixed contract. Options that he explored were to cut overtime and to prohibit employees from being on campus during non-working hours. He had a mind-set against the obvious alternative.

The energy crises in California has provided an excellent example of how an unforeseen (some may argue that the energy crises was predictable) misfortune can and did wreak havoc on corporate profitability.

The crisis in energy availability has caused the re-thinking of how we do business. The best, most economical and feasible solution is to send workers home.to work.

This is not a new concept. In fact about 26,000 federal employees work from home or at offsite offices. IBM has been sending people home or to work centers for years, so the concept is not new.

Upsides: IBM was able to divest itself of costly office space. Employees feel better about their employers. (A home based worker told this writer that his wife was having a difficult pregnancy and he was able to help her while he was working from home and that he felt more productive as he wasn't restricted to working a set 8 hours each day, instead he could work his 8 hours on a more flexible schedule.) Workers indicate that they feel more independent and they are more productive. Studies show that workers who have more control of their lives are healthier. Reduction in vehicular traffic congestion, positive impact on the environment and better quality of life. According to CareerBuilder, Inc. 74% of workers like the option of working from home. There is a reduction in employee conflict and an increase in employee retention.

Downsides: Isolation from their co-workers, (socialization), in some cases the employee doesn't have the necessary equipment (phone, computer, printer, software and hi-speed Internet access)

Lets examine this opportunity and look at the process.

The Internet has provided the tools to work remotely. For years pcAnywhere has been available for remote access and with the advent of Wide Area Networks (WAN), high-speed access and bandwidth we now have available tools that make remote collaboration affordable and workable. Very Private Networks (VPN) and Microsoft Outlook are good examples.

So lets take technology as a given.

Certainly not every function in business can be operated from home or through telecommuting. For instance, manufacturing, shipping, distribution, retailing and reception duties are among those that must be centralized.

But what can be sent home. Before you say, "Nothing," lets look at services you may be getting from remote locations now. Call Centers, Health Benefits Administration, Marketing, various infrastructure support services, travel, accounting and legal.

One business in Southern California has been paying more than a million dollars a day for energy, (up from $13000.) much of which is being used to keep housed employees warmed and cooled, and powered for their lighting and work station use. These employees are software developers, engineers and others whom we would think of as back room and support people. They have interminable meetings, many at the water cooler and the coffee pot. They visit each other's cubicle to ask questions and then stay for discussions of a personal nature, reducing productivity.

According to John Adams, Ph. D. in OD Magazine not everyone will be successful. Here are some of the qualities that may predict success:

There is strategic and adequate direction
Good communicator
Reliable and trustworthy
Disciplined and results oriented work-style
Able to work independently, a self-starter
Problem solver and decision maker
Assertive and confident
Good time management skills

And here are some qualities that may predict failure:

Needs constant hand holding
Uncomfortable with ambiguity
Poor communicator
Unable to remain focused on results
Needs social inclusion
Inflexible approach to work
Doesn't 'push back'
Blames others - doesn't take responsibility
Lacks skills in using technology

Where it won't work

•  Technology is not available at workers home
•  Too many distractions in workers' home environment

Coincidentally, as this is being written, Nortel Networks is developing the telecommunications infrastructure for a new e-village in Madera County California near Fresno . The initial plan is for 500 homes with a target of 30,000 for all income levels. The program is designed to support the telecommuter who works for firms based in Los Angeles and the Silicon Valley . This would certainly tend to reduce the non-availability of technology at home.

Benefits

What is required of the manager?

Managers must be chosen who have the understanding that less is more (not being in constant visual contact with the employee), that they are accessible by phone or email and, most importantly, they understand the difference between best efforts and results.

Train supervisors to understand the measurement and monitoring of results rather than best efforts or time spent. Management orientation changes to a focus on results rather than the time clock. When looking at a results focus, management has to look at deliverables. Dr. Adams suggests the following as examples of deliverables when sending an employee home or off-site to work:

1. Here are your ten accounts

2. Here are the expected outcomes for each account

3. These are the decisions you can make on your own

4. There will be weekly team meetings and monthly one-on-ones to review progress and to solve problems

5. Here is how to contact me (the manager) at anytime

A perceived disadvantage noted by some telecommuters is that they feel disenfranchised being out of the socialization loop. That disadvantage can be overcome from periodic socialization immersion through the use of occasional company outings, a company newsletter targeted toward the telecommuters and awards banquets and luncheons. Additional immersion could be a requirement to network at Chambers of Commerce or Nations Business Network.

On premise meetings will be periodically necessary. The meetings would be scheduled during light vehicular traffic hours and workers who are not within commuting distance may be linked through desktop video so they may participate equally.

Other advantages:

1 The home energy charges are generally less than commercial or industrial rates. The change in usage of the home-based employee's energy bill can be an area for discussion as there will be tradeoffs such as less travel time and cost, less wear and tear on clothing, more leisure time.

2 More productive employees

3 Less on the job socialization

4 Reduced energy costs

5 Reduced ADA compliance issues

6 Using otherwise unemployable workers - seniors, shut-ins, new mothers

7 Reduced employee-to-employee conflict and the ensuing cost

Here are a few areas where telecommuting can work

Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor, said that telecommuting (working from home) allows a greater capacity toward keeping families intact and keeping the best available people for the jobs as telecommuting makes the choice between job and family moot.

The savings and greater productivity engendered through the facility of telecommuting make rewards and incentives a greater value for making the system work. Weekend retreats that include training and teaming are now more cost effective and justifiable.

Here is an example of two firms deeply involved with telecommuting:

The first located in Los Angeles , California , is a service organization - providing management consulting services.

The business is four years old and uses a virtual business model to compete with the large consulting firms. Each consultant used on a project is a subcontractor. As these consultants or resources may be based anywhere, as are clients, the company is able to operate from a central point rather than supporting a number of physical offices.

The outsourced and off premise services include billing, communications for the project consultants, sales and marketing support, client liaison and management of projects, also financial and tax planning services, web and IT maintenance, payroll and related compliance services, bookkeeping, and legal. Sales persons who are located in various parts of the Country have weekly teleconferences with management. There is a reference checker located in Houston and someone who writes proposals using a pcAnywhere connection. All the infrastructure has access to the company Intranet site that includes travel and event schedules.

A bi-monthly electronic newsletter shares information with the recipients including those in the infrastructure, sales and marketing, consultants, clients and prospects. For active recruiting, the corporate website includes a provision for new consultants to enter their information into the proprietary database.

The second business is an engineering, research and development firm and a manufacturing company located in Rochester , Michigan . The firm is over twenty years old. The principals manage a far-flung operation where, in many cases they have never met the people working for the firm. They have software developers in Russia , a purchasing office in Korea and business development in California . A strategically based sales force will be working from home offices and communicating with the company by telephone and Internet. The majority of the management for the manufacturing facilities is located off premise. This includes payroll, HR and purchasing.

Rolling blackouts notwithstanding, you can be prepared to save your employer from the devastating financial losses by migrating toward telecommuting. You won't be alone.

The one caveat is: it is essential that the business processes are redesigned prior to, and not subsequent to, embarking on this model. Help is available.

About the author:

Barry Allen is the C.E.O. of International FieldWorks, Inc. His specialties are in business management, law and technology. Barry's background includes the startup, turnaround and management of businesses in Michigan and California . For many years he was the Deputy Director of Civil Defense in Southfield , Michigan , while owning, operating and building a multi-million dollar Physical and Electronic Security corporation.

Mr. Allen was the youngest Private Investigator in the state of Michigan , built his company from a startup to an enterprise with over a thousand employees, and was the first to computerize and to sell to his competitors. He designed industry-wide training and education programs, set up legislation and designed both workers compensation and liability insurance programs. Elected to the Michigan Private Investigators trade association, Barry created the first national trade association and became a lobbyist for the industry.

Barry managed a Los Angeles business talk radio station, designing marketing programs that built sales by 300% over a six-month period. He located niche markets and methods to approach them for other media and is a sought after resource for editors and writers of the major news media in Southern California.

Barry has had many technical and business management articles published and has been included as a reference in several books on networking, law, training and security. In Michigan he was a Chairman of a Governors Task Force for Small Business and was a member of the Advisory Board of Los Angeles County Office of Small Business. He attended Wayne State University in Detroit and the Detroit College of Law.

Contact Information:

Barry Allen
International FieldWorks, Inc.
818 243 4864
www.fieldworks.net
ba@fieldworks.net