|
Connecting
the travel industry, this company (Company C)
is an Internet-based, 24/7 telecommunications, publishing
and travel services company specializing in supplying
services to more than 15,000 travel agencies and distributors
worldwide.
"The
Company C Teleworking Program is a great success.
Our agents love it and our turnover rate has dropped
to close to zero. Productivity has climbed, our error
rates have dropped, and we have been able to add needed
staff to maintain our high level of service and to
increase our business."
-
Company C, President & COO
Background
and Implementation
Management
at Company C was faced with a dilemma: how could the
company expand without new workers? The State's tightening
labor market was making business difficult for growing
firms.
"With
less than a 3 percent unemployment rate, our main obstacle
was expanding our staff to meet the demands of our ever-growing
client base," reports Vice President of Operations.
How could Company C be more appealing than the competition?
What would give Company C the edge it needed to make
people want to work for the company?
During
a retreat, and determined to find solutions, management
discussed ways to attract new workers. "We came
up with several strategies including raising salaries
and offering more benefits, and even put in place a
$3,000 sign-on bonus. However, the most innovative strategy
we decided to pursue was teleworking, " said Operations
VP.
Teleworking
is a new concept for many employers and, as a result,
presents certain challenges. However, for Company C,
teleworking was a much greater endeavor. Company C management
was determined to hire more than 12 new employees in
the coming three months and set them up to work at home.
The
personnel, technology and policy issues were significant
for Company C. Questions such as how teleworkers would
submit their payroll hours and where would they be trained
were addressed. Others, such as who would set up the
equipment at home and how quality control would be done,
were posed as well.
These
issues needed to be addressed quickly to get the program
up and running in an accelerated time frame Company
C's management assigned both a technology specialist
and an operations specialist to coordinate the program.
They
worked carefully through each issue, developing a response.
Additionally, Company C brought in Telework Colorado
to help in developing policies and procedures, identifying
potential solutions and training new staff to work from
home. With persistence and strong commitment from management,
Company C met these challenges with success. Employees
were hired and the program was up and running on schedule.
Results
At
the three-month and six-month points, an outside evaluation
was conducted. The evaluation included two focus groups
with teleworkers, interviews with management and a survey.
Overall,
at the three-month point, participants were very pleased
to be given the opportunity to work from home. In fact,
many participants stated that the telework program was
the reason that they decided to work for Company C.
Many of the concerns expressed by the group had to do
with general corporate operations, not just the teleworking
arrangement. This was due, in part, to the fact that
most teleworkers were new employees of Company C. The
program continued to grow and management worked to make
the program more attuned to both the needs of the company
and the teleworkers.
At
the six-month point, nearly half of Company C's employees
worked from home. The employees love the program. "I
have never been so thrilled about a position as I am
with this job. This is a dream job for me. I love it!"
reports a Company C teleworker. Additionally, Company
C has been able to retain eight employees who relocated
to other states, a savings of nearly $240,000.
Senior
management reports improved recruitment, up 400 percent,
strengthened by having a telework program in place.
Likewise, employee turnover, normally upward of 50 percent
annually, was down to 3 percent. Currently, with 16
new hires, 15 are in training to telework within 4-6
months. Company C has set up a home-workspace environment
in the office that allows the employee to experience
the at-home technology prior to being away from the
office. Employees are happier, more cooperative and
more productive.
Some
additional benefits include the potential for reduced
overhead costs in the long-term as the demand for new
facility space is reduced. Additionally, employees save
over 65 minutes each day by not having to drive in to
the office. For many employees, this meant more time
with the family, sleeping in and more free time to have
fun.
When
asked what she would recommend to other employers considering
telework, an officer replied, "Make sure that all
the departments in your company buy into the program
100 percent. I won't lie to you by saying that implementing
a teleworking program is without difficulties. It's
new, it's different and adjustments must be made to
your current operating practices ...I encourage you
all to give teleworking a try. The benefits far outweigh
the detriments."
|
