E-Commuting – Reducing Costs And Improving Productivity
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A recent review of surveys and course discussion
in the Association Management Education (AME) Program, suggests
more and more association staff are getting involved in e-commuting,
also known as telecommuting, teleworking and e-working. E-commuting
reduces travel to the office primarily through the use of telecommunication
tools and techniques. E-commuting is, in effect, working at home
on a full or part-time basis.
For many, e-commuting began with staying home to work on major
projects where disruptions were minimized. Advances in technology
have accelerated the pace of conversion. It has since grown to
meet the needs of those who don't want to spend up to two hours
in traffic during bad weather or want more work flexibility. There
are two types of e-commuters: those who go to the office occasionally,
and those who e-commute once or twice a week.
One AME student now stays at home with her new daughter and still
contributes to association publications and other key deliverables.
Even though she wanted to spend more time at home with her daughter,
she did not have to go on leave. The organization retained her
knowledge and involvement and did not incur recruitment or training
costs. Another, who e-commutes one day per week lives 45 minutes
from the office, saves 1.5 hours by not getting in the car and
20 percent of the weekly travel budget. This individual prefers
to drive a mouse rather than a car. Another is able to walk the
dog at lunch while a load of laundry is underway. These individuals
believe effective communication between the office and the employee
are not compromised by e-commuting, nor is the quality of member
service or administrative activity.
The biggest downside to e-commuting has been the issue and approach
to control. Some employees are unable to maintain the necessary
discipline and, therefore, work has to be converted into tasks
that can be measured with performance indicators such as deliverables
and timelines.
E-commuting can involve the use of complex technology arrangements
such as fax, computers, scanners or video cameras, or it may involve
a pen and a phone. I can visualize the number crunchers calculating
the number of people times the cost of a complex home computing
and communications set up. However, it doesn't have to require
the cost of extensive capital equipment. Some like the idea of
e-commuting so much they offer to use their own equipment. Why
would they do this? It's likely because they are capable of maintaining
the necessary work connection but want the benefits that e-commuting
can provide.
All work is not suitable for e-commuting. Jobs such as composing
minutes, preparing reports, reading, research or talking on the
phone fit well with e-commuting. A self-screening process with
the following type of questions will help individuals assess their
readiness to participate.
- Can you handle the technology required to access and transfer
information?
- Can you break work into tasks and assign performance requirements?
- Can you motivate yourself and apply self-discipline to achieve
targets on your own?
- Can you work well without supervision?
- Can you solve problems on your own?
- Do you have strong communication skills and the ability to
maintain team relationships?
- Can you minimize or eliminate distractions at home?
- Can you leave work at quitting time?
If you answered yes to the questions and you are not e-commuting
now, try one day a week for those special, analytical and future
focused tasks that require concentration. Try to stay away from
the day-to-day tasks that involve many others. Save those for
when you are in the office. Full time e-commuters can always attend
emergency or other required meetings.
Individual Benefits
- Better work and family balance
- Reduced stress and improved morale
- Greater job satisfaction
- Reduced commuting time and expense
- Fewer interruptions, greater focus and enhanced productivity
- More flexibility on residence location and times or days
worked
While e-commuters enjoy the benefits, they also talk about the
need to maintain discipline, to prevent excessive hours of work,
and maintaining the necessary separation between home and work.
Some individuals, depending on personality types, can get lonely
and feel they are being left out of the loop in the office action.
Association Benefits
- Helps with recruitment and retention and reduces related
costs
- Reduces space requirements and overhead costs
- Improves productivity
- Reduces sick leave
- Improves moral and job satisfaction
- Accesses expertise beyond the community
Another bonus? In addition to individual and association benefits,
the community also benefits from reduced traffic congestion and
pollution.
Computer ownership in 2000, according to an AC Nielsen survey,
is up to 69 percent of Canadian households. 55 percent of Canadians
have web access. Improved Internet speeds, costs and a general
shift to working with information will see more employees e-commuting
as well as more seeking similar arrangements. As associations
increase activity in this area, there are some issues they may
want to consider.
E-Commuting Considerations
- E-commuting policy/guidelines
- Readiness self-screening
- Letter of understanding or agreement
- Availability to calls and timing
- Off- site operating costs and office supplies
- Insurance
- Connections, data and security
- Confidentiality
- Dependent care arrangements
- Taxes
- Health and safety issues
- Planning and managing tasks
- Reporting and evaluation
- Trial runs
- Team development and maintenance
- Appropriate and necessary home office equipment
- Access to workplace resources
- Non e-commuter jealousy and suspicion
There can be challenges in implementing e-commuting in your association.
Check out telecommuting expert Gil Gordon's web site at http://www.gilgordon.com/telecommuting/downloads.html,
particularly if you are looking for responses to objections such
as:
- There's no way to know what employees are doing at home;
- This won't work for all employees;
- We just don't have the resources to manage telecommuting;
- Telecommuting just won't work around here; and
- Telecommuting costs too much.
The Canadian Society of Association Executives has a sample Telecommuter
policy which can be accessed by searching the site www.csae.com
for telecommuter. For more information on e-commuting, teleworking
or telecommuting, check out these sources:
Canadian Telework Association www.ivc.ca/cta/part3.html,
or the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/hsprograms/telework.html.
This column features innovation and practical solutions applied
to challenges, trends, issue and opportunities for the association
community. Column editor Jim Pealow, MBA, CMA, CAE is a consultant
and the Association Management Education Program Lead Instructor/Coach
for CSAE. He can be reached at jim@amces.com.
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