Telecommuting / Telework Saving Money and…..

Telecommuting / Telework What is telecommuting? A short definition of telecommuting : Telecommuting, often referred to as telework, occurs where paid workers work away from their normal place of work, usually from home. Organizations that have the greatest success with telework tend to integrate telework so that it fits within their existing legal, financial, administrative, human resources etc. infrastructure. Telework can save millions while helping to balance busy lifestyles, while reducing job related stress.

Telecommuting / Telework Telework organizations take full advantage of new technologies and new ways of working to focus on the work performed rather than on the location where it is performed. They discover first hand how it increases productivity while reducing accommodation costs, layoffs and absenteeism. As the information revolution reshapes our corporate and personal lives, moving us closer to a global society, telework also represents a major step towards working anywhere, anytime.

* 1999 TELEWORK AMERICA NATIONAL TELEWORK SURVEY Telecommuting / Telework Productivity Increases when Employees Telework Telework helps Recruit and Retain Employees Job Satisfaction Increases for Teleworking Employees Telework Saves Commuting Time Savings from Absenteeism Gains from Increased Productivity Gains from Increased Employee Retention The Incidence of Telework Continues to Rise

* 1999 TELEWORK AMERICA NATIONAL TELEWORK SURVEY Telecommuting / Telework – Productivity Increases when Employees Telework When working at home, 47% of teleworkers reported that they are more productive than when they work at their conventional location. 42% of teleworkers said their productivity is not impacted by working at home. Only 10% of teleworkers reported that their productivity is reduced by working at home, reflecting in part the need to spend occasional time dealing with personal or household needs, as highlighted earlier.

* 1999 TELEWORK AMERICA NATIONAL TELEWORK SURVEY Telecommuting / Telework – Telework helps Recruit and Retain Employees Telework is a proven employee retention tool, especially during the current full employment economy. 53% surveyed said it would be “important” or “extremely important” to have the ability to work at home some of the time. Only 14% of teleworkers indicated that the ability to work at home was “not at all” important to their employment consideration. 26% of employed workers surveyed who do not currently telework indicated they had jobs that would allow them to work at home, totaling 23 million workers. 60% of those who had work tasks that could be done from home were interested in teleworking.

* 1999 TELEWORK AMERICA NATIONAL TELEWORK SURVEY Telecommuting / Telework –Job Satisfaction Increases for Teleworking Employees  55% of teleworkers indicated they are more satisfied with their jobs after starting to work at home than they were before, while 33% said working at home had no impact on job satisfaction.  Only 7% of teleworkers said they were less satisfied with their jobs after beginning to work from home.

* 1999 TELEWORK AMERICA NATIONAL TELEWORK SURVEY Telecommuting / Telework – Telework Saves Commuting Time 87% of teleworkers drive to and from work alone, reflecting the typical American commuting pattern. Only 7% of teleworkers said they were less satisfied with their jobs after beginning to work from home. By working at home, teleworkers save 52.9 minutes each workday, or, in effect, one hour per day. This is the equivalent of 6 days/year, assuming one day of work-at-home per week, less two weeks’ vacation time. Annually, telecommuting decreases round trip commuting by roughly 1,800 miles per year per teleworker, representing a significant cost savings for individual telecommuters.

* 1999 TELEWORK AMERICA NATIONAL TELEWORK SURVEY Telecommuting / Telework – Savings from Absenteeism Without teleworking, absenteeism would cost $3,313 per year per employee, assuming each employee takes one full day at their current salary/wage rate for days on which they need to manage needs associated with absenteeism. With teleworking, employees surveyed were able to be absent at an equivalent rate of only $1,227 per year. Employers of teleworkers thus gain an average of $2,086 per teleworking employee per year saved from the amount of time those teleworkers would otherwise be absent, or 63% of the typical annual salary/wage cost of absenteeism for those teleworkers if they were not able to work from home. Teleworkers surveyed reported $44,000 average annual income, as previously noted, which is equivalent to $169/day based on working 261 days/year.

* 1999 TELEWORK AMERICA NATIONAL TELEWORK SURVEY Telecommuting / Telework – Gains from Increased Productivity The average productivity increase reported by telecommuters is 22% per day worked at home. Using the estimate of $169 in daily salary/wages per teleworker, 22% represents a $37 gain in value per teleworker per day for organizations that facilitate telework. Annualized, this equals $1,850 in productivity gains for 50 days of telework, or if employees worked 150 days at home, $5,550 per year. Prorated for just those 47% of teleworkers who reported productivity gains less the 10% who said their productivity decreased (42% saw no change), the net daily benefit is $685 per teleworker who averages just one day per week at home or $13 billion for 19.6 million teleworkers.

* 1999 TELEWORK AMERICA NATIONAL TELEWORK SURVEY Telecommuting / Telework – Gains from Increased Employee Retention For every teleworker who is retained, the employer avoids a cost of replacing that employee of $7,920 per teleworker. – The estimate reflects an assumption that organizations spend, on average, one-third of an employee’s salary to recruit that employee. Based on survey findings, this equals $14,667, on average, per active teleworker. – These estimates also reflect the finding that 54% of teleworkers surveyed said that the ability to work at home was important or extremely important to them in considering a new job. Retention of just these teleworkers would amount to a cost avoidance of $7,920 per teleworker, prorated over all teleworkers.

* 1999 TELEWORK AMERICA NATIONAL TELEWORK SURVEY Telecommuting / Telework – The Incidence of Telework Continues to Rise The estimate reflects an assumption that organizations spend, on average, one-third of an employee’s salary to recruit that employee. Based on survey findings, this equals $14,667, on average, per active teleworker. These estimates also reflect the finding that 54% of teleworkers surveyed said that the ability to work at home was important or extremely important to them in considering a new job. Retention of just these teleworkers would amount to a cost avoidance of $7,920 per teleworker, prorated over all teleworkers, as indicated.

Telecommuting / Telework – The bottom line…… As Labor Secretary Alexis Herman recently put it, “We need to rework the workplace so that there is room for family responsibilities and commitments as well as a strong work ethic.”

Telecommuting / Telework Dallas Morning News published an article announcing that employers can save more than $10,000 annually for each worker telecommuting or working from home. The savings are attributable to lower turnover costs, reduced absenteeism, and increased productivity, according to a national study conducted by the International Telework Association & Council. Meridian HomeOffice II - Extends the reach of the Meridian 1 digital PBX and the agency's WAN to the home for the remote knowledge worker or call center agent using the latest in Voice over IP technology. Remote Office - Extends the reach of the agency's WAN to a small office of up to 32 workers. PI Telecommuter - Allows casual telecommuters to extend their desktop to a remote site. Using a single dial-up connection, they can access their data services as well as have their office telephone follow them to a remote location.

Telecommuting / Telework The i2004 Internet telephone connects directly to the LAN and has the look, feel and functionality of a traditional telephone. This allows agencies to capitalize on the economies of a simplified wiring system within the enterprise. And the M10 will allow agencies with significant investments in IP/Data networks to incrementally add Nortel's world-class telephony to their data networks Other Manufactures such as Cisco and Lucent also have specific products to address remote office and teleworking arrraingments.

Meridian HomeOffice II Has set a new teleworking standard in the industry Public Network ISDN PRI,T1,E1 Remote Access Switch Ethernet Corporate LAN Corporate Office HomeOffice Line Card Small or Home Office ISDN PRI or BRI ISDN BRI Meridian HomeOffice II

iRemote 9110(foot stand) & 9115(external) One Technology Solution for multiple network access options VoIP Public Network Corporate WAN ISDN PRI,T1,E1 WAN Access Unit Ethernet Corporate LAN VoIP Corporate Office Meridian Internet Gateway Reach Line Card Small or Home Office Analog Line iRemote 9110 & 9115 Data Access Unit

Remote Solutions - host side integration

Teleworkers/Telecommuters (Anywhere & Everywhere ) Telecommuters who work from home several days per week. Increase Productivity Reduce Office Space Reduce Traffic/Pollution Increase recruiting options and minimize relocation costs Create virtual teams where members are located anywhere Increased Employee Satisfaction Flexible Schedule Family needs Lifestyle options

Telecommuting / Telework US Telework Scene - stats and facts Oct '99 Telecommute America research study. This study indicates that the number of American teleworkers jumped to 10% of U.S. adults in the last year. This growth chart should put the growth rate in perspective. Year No. of teleworkers Oct '97 11 million Oct ' million Oct ' million

Telecommute / Telework Rural Emphasis Project More information at