Telecommuting: not technology, but psychology.

Telecommuting and remote work centers have been evaluated and implemented in a number of businesses and other organizations for several years now. The issues surrounding telecommuting have recently been thrust into the limelight, due to the local geological events which have rearranged our transportation system. For some time, the primary focus in the media has been on the technology necessary to implement these solutions. Contrary to what one might think, to implement telecommuting solutions we don't need the next Holy Grail of technology to be uncovered. The phone company's existing low-cost digital services such as ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) and Switch 56 services can act as the medium for information to travel on. Computer hardware made by companies such as DigiBoard have devices which plug into a computer and to the wall just like a telephone. The software used in many cases is familiar to most of us: for instance, the ubiquitous Microsoft Windows. The truly substantive issues are in the realm of management and human resources. Can the business organization reviewing telecommuting make the appropriate paradigm shifts? The most widely perceived problem is that most middle- and line-managers resist the concept of not being able to look in on their staff members like the might when they are close at hand.

Since the early part of this century, managers have focused on the time and motion studies of production rather than the quality and volume. If there is not enough motion from a employee during a giving amount of time, then that person isn't being productive. But the issue of quality has become the driving force for many companies implementing Total Quality Management (TQM) programs and other statistical production methods in order to address real quality issues. Still, overall there has not been a shift in the existing paradigm that suggests we need to maintain vigilant watch over each employee. An example, which if we were to adopt it might spawn a workable solution, is that of selecting candidates for a symphony orchestra. An expert panel is assembled (the managers) to listen as each musician enters the performance area and plays the selected piece of music. The element which sets this type of review apart is that each panelist has his back to the musician. Each musician is anonymous to the panel, and it is thus the net product of the effort that is evaluated: the (quality) of the music.

Not all employee positions can be as easily evaluated by management as can a musical performance, but most non-manufacturing tasks can (in whole or in part) be recast in a manner that allows at least part-time, if not full-time telecommuting. In order to accomplish the redefinition of some positions, human resource managers will need to work with line-management to establish new methods for evaluating a worker's performance, establishing procedures that will allow managers to effectively manage by results. Very few job positions cannot be modified to take advantage of this type of work environment. In a federal study under the President's Council on Management Improvement, called Flexiplace, a broad range of professional, clerical, and supervisory positions were able to participate in a telecommuting program. This program generated an overwhelming positive response by supervisors, of whom 80% rated the plan desirable. If employees telecommute two-to-three days a week, all that may be required in managing them is to define a regular progress reporting procedure for their activities. This could be implemented by using E-mail or other electronic tools. The simple addition of being able to track the progress of a given project in a greater detail will aid a company in developing principles that are consistent with TQM methods. Although management may not be able to visually oversee their staff, they will have a more accurate picture of day-to-day performance.

Employees are not without some reservations themselves. Many have concerns that if they are not constantly visible to management, then assignment or promotion opportunities they might have had will pass them by. It turns out that after employees have participated for a short time, they believe their job performance, quality of work life, elements of their personal lives and organizational performance are all significantly enhanced. The concerns that they had are alleviated as the organization as a whole adopts the new work paradigm.

In order for any company to embrace telecommuting or tele-work centers, there must be economic benefits. These benefits are seen in two primary areas: first, as a cost-effective method for conforming to elements of environmental regulations; and second, as an increase to a company's bottom line.

Briefly, the Los Angeles basin is required to implement plans to reduce the amount of air pollution created by commuter traffic by January 1995. The manner in which the environmental law is written makes clear that the adoption of telecommuting by companies is acceptable as part of their plans for reducing the average number of riders per vehicle. This practice, once established, will not only have a positive impact on air quality, but will also generate positive economic benefits.

Economic benefits can be significant both in terms of hard and soft dollars. The answer to the question of whether productivity increases is a resounding yes. In studies done so far the results have been extremely positive. The Telecommunication Department for the City of Los Angeles under Susan Herman has just completed a telecommuting study in which 242 individuals participated. Overall, the productivity of this group increased by 12%. Among the approximately 1000 persons in the federal Flexiplace study, individual productivity levels were either maintained or showed a marked increase. American Express Travel Services has arranged for over 100 of their travel counselors to conduct business from their homes. Productivity results have been exceptional, with the average agent handling 26% more calls than at the office. In a special issue of Fortune, it was also reported that the value of the bookings was up 46% per agent. A significant amount in cost reductions is also enjoyed in reduction of sick time, the ability to draw from a large, more geographically diverse human resource pool, and sustain reductions in turnover. All are factors which promote a work force that is healthier and hence able to be more productive.

Money is saved in additional areas of business as well. Staff members can be scheduled in such a manner that facility requirements are reduced, thus decreasing the per employee cost for space, heating and air conditioning, and electricity. The cost of contingency planning can be reduced significantly as well. Potentially, each employee's home or remote office center becomes an alternate base of operations.

All in all, for a company to effectively implement a telecommuting plan the effort must be initiated from senior management, which is able to create the momentum necessary to drive the change and bring in the necessary companies or consultants familiar with the elements involved. People who know the intricacies of working with telephone service providers, equipment and software can do much to smooth the changeover so that these things are not an undue burden on the company in the midst of establishing a new corporate mindset. This will allow business leaders to captain their companies onto this new channel of commerce called the information highway.

Michael Friedman is the general manager of YasCo, Inc. in Sherman Oaks, California, a Microsoft Solution Provider specializing in communications solutions.