While the implementation of teleworking programs have proven to be one of the key initiatives for reducing an organisation's carbon footprint, establishing a successful virtual office program requires careful planning to ensure employee support and allay lost-of-control fears, says research house, Gartner.
According to Gartner, 41.4 million corporate employees globally are expected to spend at least one day a week in 2008 working from home, which has the potential to increase productivity by reducing travel time while eliminating the emissions caused by transportation used to get to the office.
British Telecom, for example, has over 13,000 home-based employees, who work at home an average of 2.1 days per week, which help reduce the operator’s travel-related CO2 emissions by 3,663 tonnes per year, equivalent to 0.5% of its total emission for 2007.
“Once a company decides to transition from a traditional physical office environment to a virtual one, a business case should be prepared that presents potential benefits for both the enterprise and its employees,” said Andrew Walker, research director for Gartner CIO Research Group.
“Most enterprises don’t have a formal plan for virtual office environments and usually support the concept on an ad hoc basis, mostly at manager discretion. Such informal arrangements don’t realise the advantages of recruitment branding and a well-planned transition. A more formal approach demonstrates to new recruits that the enterprise is willing to make a long-term commitment to work/life balance, which is key to employee satisfaction and retention.”
Benefits
When conducted effectively, virtual working becomes a source of productivity benefits that can be passed along as returns to shareholders. More work gets done and savings occur because of reductions in office accommodation costs and other expenditures, Gartner says.
The research house recommends that enterprises looking to introduce a teleworking policy start with a pilot program backed by a business case, which should include a formal teleworking policy that clarifies expectations regarding conduct of teleworkers and the support that will be made available to them.
“The pilot helps reduce resistance to the virtual office. If the outcomes are positive, and there is no need to extend the pilot to prove the point further, the benefits can be shown to resistors in other parts of the enterprise,” said Walker.
“The end of the pilot and confirmation of the first stage of the virtual office plants the seed that the virtual office concept is here to stay. Thus, the virtual office concept can spread even under the most challenging circumstances.”
Source: Green Telecom
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