teleworking and what it can mean for your business
DESCRIPTION
Many businesses today are aware the world of work is changing, but don't know just how fast or how it will affect them. This presentation helped small and medium businesses come to grips with how to create successful remote work arrangements that deliver productivity and reduced costs back to the company.TRANSCRIPT
Teleworking and What it Can Mean for Your Business
Seizing the Opportunities, Handling the Challenges of Virtual and Distributed Work
Introductions
Noticed a lack of good advice about how to
realise the benefits of remote work
Leading role in the national conversation
My boss lets me work from home….
For Telstra employee Jenni Thorne, teleworking has
made her more productive
A Telstra Employee
Question
What do your friends and colleagues say about about work from home or flexible work?
Today’s Presentation
Australian and international companies demonstrate that
telework and ‘anywhere working’ can offer significant benefits to
business
Changes are needed in the overall business, at the management level
and in the workplace
The whole picture is complex, but there are some rules of
thumb
There are pitfalls to avoid
The Way We Work is Changing
By 2025, 5 billion People will have
access to the internet
Markets Rebalancing globally
Babies born in 2012, At least one in three will live
To the age of 100
Manufacturing Is falling
While the proportionproviding services is
rising
Rise in Remote Work
• In Australia 51% of employees now use the Internet to work away from the office, either
as teleworkers or working outside work hours -
• an estimated 5.6 million workers
• Global mobile worker population expected to reach
1.3 billion by 2015 • International Data Corporation
The Mobile Worker Population is Rising
Technologies are Revolutionising the Workplace
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Mobile devices
Secure access to data and applications
High speed networks
Unified communication systems
Group collaboration software
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• Mobile work• Work-shifting • Hot desking
• Telecommuting• Remote work• Virtual work • Agile Work• Flexi-work
• Distributed work• Activity-based work
• Telework• Work from home Work that breaks free of the traditional
model of ‘9-to-5 in the office’
The New Workstyle
The Benefits for Business
Competitive advantage
20% productivity gains
Improved attraction and retention
Reduced costs including real estate by 25-50%
Improved service outcomes
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Some businesses in Australia are already reaping the substantial rewards that are possible by bringing in a
telework program and making remote work the new norm
Leading Australian Businesses
Leading International Businesses
Aetna, Inc. is an American managed health care company
Nortel was a multinational telecommunications company
Cigna is a health insurance and health services company in the US
Xerox is a world-leader in document technology and
related services
Sun Microsystems reported a $71 million
reduction
The travel division of American Express has a large
telecommute workforce
At AT&T, telework director Joseph Roitz reports that the extra hour of work gained each day by telecommuters last
year translated into a $148 million operational benefit
In Practise - Video
That work won't get done
That the quality of interactions between remote workers and their colleagues will diminish
That workers could be unsafe
Fears
Complexity
There are so many variables at play:
leadership, management,
technology, work environment, skills,
innovation, flexibility and so on….
....that our approach to effective telework needs to recognize the complexity involved
Manager training
Willingness to innovate
Leadership
A suitable workforce
General flexibility
Capacity to measure performance on the basis of outcomes
Planning
Seven Critical Success Factors
Leadership - Macquarie Group
Willingness to Innovate - Westpac
A Suitable Workforce - Medibank
Manager Training - Stockland
Flexibility
As the Huffington Post noted recently, global businesses
today are faced with a whole new set of challenges when
competing in a volatile, highly digital age.
Call it ‘agility’ or ‘flexibility’, this critical success factor is
about an organisation’s capacity to respond to
changing circumstances efficiently and rapidly.
Outcomes-based performance - GAP
We have all heard the saying “you can’t manage what you don’t measure”. On the other hand, we know that management is more
than measurement.
Planning – GE Energy
In the case of telework, planning is important on a
number of levels, not least because an
employee needs access to the tools necessary for their work while away
from the office.
Managers
Keep the Ball Alive
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But are rewarded with a happier, more engaged team that delivers stronger results
Managers need to upskill
The manager's job becomes clearly articulating and monitoring the results
that are needed - rather than levels of activity
Written performance plans are an important tool, as are
weekly objectives and reports
Managers
• Provide certainty around the team's mission, goals and ground rules
• Use social networking tools, collaborative online tools, videoconferencing, webinars, phone calls
• Maintain social contact• Keep remote employees in the loop • Keep communication open and steady
between staff • Email should not be the primary means of
communication
Above all, Establish your Leadership Role Clearly
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Empower
ManagersSupport
Coach
Pitfalls – the Five Biggest Mistakes
Confusion about
‘success’ and ‘failure’
Failing to start small
Pitfalls
Pitfalls
Expecting more of the technology than it can
provide
Pitfalls
Failing to recognise the
impact on managers
Pitfalls
Thinking that telework is
either ‘an HR issue’ or
‘an IT issue’
Ground We’ve Covered
Australian and international companies demonstrate that
telework and ‘anywhere working’ can offer significant benefits to
business
Changes are needed in the overall business, at the management level
and in the workplace
The whole picture is complex, but there are some rules of
thumb
There are pitfalls to avoid
Nina SochonManaging Director
m 0406 500 474
‘Work’ is increasingly a thing you do, not a place you go