Out-of-Site Work Options.

In setting up flexible work programs, simplicity and pretesting can spell success.

The terms telecommuting and teleworking were coined in the early 1970s by Jack Nilles, while he directed the first telework demonstration project as a researcher for the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. The study was timely in that the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973 had spurred many workers to seek methods to save on daily commuting expenses. Since then, technology and a tight job market have pushed the trend well beyond the effort to reduce traffic, trim travel expenses, and cut commute time. In fact, off-site options and other flexible programs have resulted in the increased use of the term telework, the nomenclature adopted by the Telecommuting Advisory Council when it changed its name two years ago to the International Telework Association and Council (ITAC), Washington, D.C., to reflect the broader scope of the concept.

Regardless of terminology, telecommuting and telework seem here to stay. The Alternative Workplace Study, a survey produced in 1998 the International Facility Management Association, Houston, and LaSalle Partners, Inc., Chicago, projected that the number of telecommuters will more than double in the next three years, and that the number of people working out of virtual offices is expected to climb from the current level of 5 percent to 11 percent during that same time period. ITAC confirms the trend, announcing findings from the 1997 American Internet User Survey indicating that more than 11 million people reported working as telecommuters that year compared to 8 million in 1995.

Data collected in 1995 for ASAE's Policies and Procedures in Association Management (a study that's on a five-year cycle with data being collected again in 2000) indicated that 23 percent of the associations surveyed offered telecommuting programs at the time of the study, and another 12 percent were considering them. Given current trends, Tracy Casteuble, ASAE's associate director, Research and Information Central, projects that data from the 2000 survey should reflect big changes. But setting up programs can be complex depending on staff size, compatibility of job responsibilities with an off-site location, and the technicalities of setting up efficient off-site offices. Add in aspects like watercooler withdrawal and fear of losing face time with supervisors, and you come up with several considerations that must be factored into your plans.

To help sort it all out, the three-article section that follows describes examples of telecommuting and flexible work options that have been researched, adopted, and analyzed by associations--along with a review of the technology tools available to support the off-site worker.

Laura Bray, teleworker and communication manager, Meeting Expectations, Atlanta, currently assigned to Oracle Applications Users Group, a software association based in Atlanta, leads off with a description of how her own desire to be a teleworker inspired her employer to consider, plan, and adopt a telecommuting policy. If your organization is getting serious about offering similar opportunities, Bray's research in working with her organization (from her office in San Antonio, Texas) to put its program together reveals many positive results--and a few pitfalls to be sidestepped along the way. Bray's sidebar of resources fleshes Out many other aspects of what can be a complex undertaking.

In the second article, you'll find Catherine J. Weatherford, executive vice president and chief executive officer for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Kansas City, Missouri, an enthusiastic advocate not only of telecommuting but of a number of other flexible work options for NAIC's staff of nearly 360. She credits modified work schedules, business casual attire, and even infants in the workplace for the reduction in turnover from 30 percent to 15 percent in just three years.

And how do workers stay informed, motivated, and connected with the workplace? Richard Steranka, director, channel marketing for small and medium businesses, Cisco Systems, San Jose, California, summarizes the current state of the ever-evolving access technology that keeps off-site workers in the organizational loop.

Some caveats are in order when it comes to setting up telework programs. Jerald A. Jacobs, a partner in Jenner & Block, Washington, D.C., and ASAE's general counsel, cautions that telework programs can have insurance, labor law, benefits, payroll tax, and employee liability implications. Any formal policies you may develop for telework and other flexible work options should be reviewed by your association's legal counsel.

Carole Schweitzer is associate editor of ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT.