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FACTORS IN DETERMINING FOR TELEWORK

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Within the EU 3.25 million people are already defined as Teleworking - working from home or telecottages using computers and telecomms to transmit their work.

Some predictions foresee as many as 40% of all salaried workers in teleworking arrangements of some kind within 10 years.

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If these predictions are to come true, companies and individuals will need to identify advantages to the arrangements. Research to date indicates the following as key factors to address in considering setting up Teleworking Projects.

In most countries, including UK, the take-up rate is far lower than estimated. The main factors cited as constraints are ;

• Management and monitoring 75% of all organisations sampled

• Organising communication 72% "

• Fear of social isolation 72% "

• Cost of hard/software 62% "

• Training 48% "

Reasons cited by organisations for investigating introduction of teleworking ;

• Maximising use of time 19%

• Productivity/efficiency 18%

• Allocating work load 16%

• Motivating employees 16%

• Retaining key personnel 13%

• Overtime work 8%

• Estate savings 4%

THE EDGE

Comprehensive studies have shown that three factors in particular are crucial indicators for successful implementation of teleworking initiatives ;

• Existing IT infrastructure

• Success decreases as the size of the organisation increases, significantly so as the organisations go over 1000 staff

• Teamworking organisations have a significantly greater chance of success

The following factors, maybe surprisingly, have no statistical impact either way ;

• Type of industry or process

• Level of salary or status

• Trade union representation

The key indicators suggest therefor that the statistically ideal companies for teleworking purposes will be Small to Medium Enterprises (SME), with existing IT infrastructure and a culture of team working.

Or, radically, that large organisations approach teleworking on a segmented basis, seeking to approximate the ideal as above.

THE NEED

Managers in SMEs have identified their key risks in this area as ;

• The risk of losing flexibility by investing in IT and the training required

• The risk of losing the rich, informal communications the perceive as a key business advantage of their present set up

• Loss of teamworking spirit

They similarly prioritise their needs as ;

• Control costs

• Control use of space ( office etc )

• Control time ( opening hours, contact time etc )

• Control staff

I suggest that managers in other organisations will share these fundamental needs. Though possibly also articulate some organisational and political ones too.

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Last Updated on 10 December 2002 by COLIN TIERNEY