President’s Corner

The Telework Coalition (TelCoa), America’s leading nonprofit telework education and advocacy organization, based in Washington DC, was established in 2002 by a group of professionals with experience in addressing the benefits, adoption, and implementation of telework and telecommuting programs. This was in response to a growing need for a single, reliable source of reference material about technology’s impact on our economy, environment, energy usage, and our society in general. TelCoa focuses on how this technology is changing our lifestyles, organizational structures and workplace management, along with the policies, processes and procedures that support them.

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Guest Columnist

Telecommuting Catches On at the Council of Better Business Bureaus

Matthew Scandale

The Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) is a national nonprofit headquartered in the Washington, DC area. They generate $20 million a year with 114 employees, leading a network of 115 independent BBB's generating $165 million in revenue with 2,300 employees. So they probably land in the middle of mid-sized organizations. We work hard to make the world a better place, helping consumers to avoid getting ripped off. We were a random collection of about 100 white-collar workers bustling about the halls and cubicles of a random high-rise in DC. Or at least that's the way it was until this year.

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Telework Facts & Stats

 

Many of these Facts & Stats came from our old site.

We think they are interesting and show both how things have changed and yet remain the same.

More to come!

 

British Telecom, which has 80,000 employees, found productivity rose 31 per cent among its 9,000 teleworkers, due to lack of disruptions, stress and commuting time.

 

Telecommuting can also save recruitment and training costs because it builds loyalty. The “old” AT&T found two-thirds of workers offered jobs by competitors remained with the company, citing telework as a major factor in their decision.

 

The number of employed Americans who performed any kind of work from home, with a frequency range from as little as 1 day a year to full time, grew from 41.3 million in 2003 to 44.4 million in 2004, a 7.5% growth rate.

2004 American Interactive Consumer Survey conducted by The Dieringer Research Group

 

Teleworkers who worked at home during business hours at least one day per month increased in the past year from 23.5 million to 24.1 million, a 2.6% increase.  Of that 24.1 million, 16.5 million are self employed, a 4.4% increase over 2003. This 24.1 million represents 18.3 percent of employed adult Americans, nearly one-fifth of the workforce.

2004 American Interactive Consumer Survey conducted by The Dieringer Research Group

 

In 2003 there were 4.4 million teleworkers working at home with broadband. By 2004 the number soared to 8.1 million, an 84% increase.

2004 American Interactive Consumer Survey conducted by The Dieringer Research Group

 

According to a compensation survey of 1,400 CFOs conducted by Robert Half International, 46% said telecommuting is second only to salary as the best way to attract top talent. However, 33% said telecommuting was the top draw. CFOs were asked, “In your opinion, which one of the following incentives is most effective in attracting top accounting candidates?” Their responses:

* Offering higher starting salaries than competitors – 46%

* Allowing telecommuting and/or flexible work schedules – 33%

* Offering signing bonuses – 5%

* Offering extra vacation days – 3%

* Benefits/benefit package/insurance – 2%

* Other – 3%

* Don’t know/no answer – 8%

 

According to NORTEL, the cost to relocate an employee to another city can run as high as $100,000.  It can cost $2,500 just to move an employee from one cube to another.

 

More from NORTEL, the entire cost to outfit and equip an employee to telework is made up in the first year if only 3.5 days away from work can be saved, i.e. time lost due to a doctor’s appointment, ill child, employee illness, other personal situation that requires time away from an office. That number drops to 1.5 days in subsequent years.

 

The more than 100 MDOT (Maryland Department of Transportation) employees who telework represent a 27% increase in productivity in teleworking employees.

 

The bottom line, thanks to teleworking, according to Dow Chemical: Administrative costs have dropped 50% annually (15% of which was attributed to commercial real estate costs.) Productivity increased by 32.5% (10% through decreased absenteeism, 16% by working at home and 6.5% by avoiding the commute.)

 

CCH Inc., an Illinois-based human resource consultant, estimates that businesses lose $789 in payroll per employee per year because of emergency time off. That means employers with as few as 20 employees lose nearly $16,000 per year, while large employers with more than 2,000 workers suffer losses in excess of $1.5 million. And those figures don’t take into account the cost of lost productivity or the overtime pay needed to pay others to pick up the slack.

 

There were 4 million teleworkers in the US in 1995.

FIND/SVP

 

The number of teleworkers in the US increased from 19.6 MM in 1999 to 23.6MM in 2000 to 28.8 in 2001.

Source, ITAC

 

39% of US workers would like to telework, but only 31% feel their employers will let them.

U. of Connecticut Study

 

17% or the workers in Finland telework.

Eustats

 

JD Edwards teleworkers are from 20 to 25% more productive than their office workers.

Chicago Sun Times, 10/99

 

A 40 minute commute equates to 8 working weeks per year.

Colorado Telework Coalition

 

20% of teleworkers are supervised from out of state.

ITAC, 2000

 

Office space for the average worker costs $10,000 per year.

 

Telework can cut corporate real estate costs from 25 to 90%.

PC World

 

The manager/staff ratio in a virtual organization is 1:40.  It’s 1:4 in a traditional office.

Ft. Lauderdale Sentinel

 

American Express teleworkers produce 43% more business than their office workers.

Colorado Telework Coalition

 

63% of absentee related costs can be saved per teleworker.

American Management Association

 

Compaq teleworkers are from 15-45% more productive.

Colorado Telework Coalition

 

IBM reduced real estate costs in the US by from 40-60%.

Telecommuting Review

 

More than 65 % of teleworkers are employed by companies with fewer than 100 employees.

IDC/LINKFLASH

 

Approximately 22% of teleworkers are employed by companies with more than 1000 employees.

IDC/LINKFLASH

 

53% of teleworkers say the ability to work at home is important to their employment choice.

ITAC, 1999

 

65% of home teleworkers are males vs. 44% of non-teleworkers.

ITAC, 2000

 

The average commute of a teleworker when not teleworking is 18 miles.

ITAC, 1999

 

Teleworkers save an average 53 minutes of commuting each day they don’t drive to work.

ITAC, 1999

 

Employers can save 63% of absenteeism costs per teleworker per year.

ITAC, 1999

 

Teleworkers typically work 1-2 days per week (5.5days/month) from home.

ITAC 1999

 

The potential US employer annual savings through telework from reduced absenteeism, recruiting costs, and from increased productivity could be as high as $441 billion.

ITAC, 1999

 

67% of teleworkers are married or from couple households.

ITAC, 1999

 

40% of teleworkers can schedule multiple personal tasks and errands on the same day that they work from home.

ITAC, 1999

 

26% of teleworkers work before or after hours so they can meet personal tasks and errands.

ITAC, 1999

 

Commuters, when adding errands to the commute, drive 7.9 additional miles.

ITAC, 1999

 

US Regions w/highest per capita densities of teleworkers are  New England,  Mountain & Pacific.

ITAC, 2000

 

33% of Canadians would prefer to telework over a 10% wage increase.

Ekos Research

 

Fewer than 1% of telecommuters want to stop once they have started to telecommute.

Nortel Networks

 

Industry Canada reports productivity gains of up to 50% by teleworkers.

Trade-Marks Branch

 

Unisys Outsourcing, with 100% of employees teleworking, reduced office space by 90%, saving $1 million annually.

MWCOG, 1999

 

Teleworkers work 39% from a spare bedroom, followed by 10.5% from the dining room.

ITAC, 2000

 

Of home-based teleworkers, 38% desired more home teleworking.

ITAC, 2000

 

43% of Canadians would change jobs to an employer allowing telework.

Ekos Research

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