The Wall Street Journal published an interesting article discussing new trends in mobile work: For-Profit Coworking facilities. This new trend highlights an essential point to Remote Work. It’s never all or nothing.

Working in public locations such as coffee shops, bookstores, and cafes has largely been the life for those who work for themselves. Choosing to eliminate the costs of real estate, the self-employed are largely turning to these spaces for a due to a lack of office amenities the biggest one being- meeting space. However, with more and more people turning to self-employment and more companies allowing Remote Work, demand is growing for a more professional atmosphere; one that gives privacy and has a few more amenities similar to an office. Similar to the government subsidized Telework Centers in Washington DC, private companies are now launching “Coworking” facilities that offer cubicles, desks, private offices, conference rooms, phones, copiers, and even coffee machines and water coolers!

This article shows that people need a balance when working remotely. Too many organizations see Remote Work as an all or nothing scenario where employees are either working in their office or they are working from home in their pajamas and don’t need any support from the company. Nothing could be farther from the truth, employees still need access to many of the functions that an office performs. For this reason SuiteCommute has always advocated Part-Time remote work.

With Part-Time remote work employees still maintain an office or share an office with someone at the company’s location (a situation often referred to as hotelling). The employees report to an office 1-2 days a week to conduct meetings or utilize the office equipment and work remotely the rest. This provides the best of both worlds and truly is the best scenario for remote workers. Just because someone is remote doesn’t mean they don’t ever need an office, they just don’t need it as much or all of the space.

When setting up your remote work program consider the office needs people may have.

1. Don’t assume that since the employees are working remotely that they won’t ever need an office. Make sure that conference rooms, cubicles, and office equipment can still be accessible if employees have been used to using it.
2. Make sure employees understand it is “OK” to come back into the office. Some employees are hesitant to come into the office when working remotely, because they fear it will show that they can’t work remotely. Employees need to understand that the a formal office is still available to them should they need it.
3. Analyze what equipment can be purchased cheaply for employees to have at their home. A $50 printer makes a lot more sense than having an employee come into the office every time they need to print something. Consider what function the employee performs and what equipment could be supplied to them.
4. Set up a scheduling mechanism for employees. Remote Workers need some way to inform office staff that they will be in the office or reserving conference rooms. Some sort of scheduling tool should be used.
5. Stay focused on results of your workers and not just the time the y spend in locations. It’s vital that managers focus on the results of their remote employees and not just the time they spend in any one place.

For more information on how to set up or improve your Telecommuting or Remote Work program please feel free to contact me directly.

Brandon Dempsey
1-888-878-4832
Brandon@SuiteCommute.com

The worst snow storm in Washington DC in 70 years has just blanketed the Metorpolitan area with over 2 ft. of snow! This has forced all Federal Agencies to close http://bit.ly/7hcVEH
while the city digs out. And what about the Teleworkers? They are working hard to sustain operations.

A notice was sent out alerting Teleworkers that they are still expected to work and keep government functions operational. The last time the city was shut down do to weather was 2003, 6 years ago. No doubt, the explosion of home broadband access is allowing thousands of workers to access government networks securely and keep their vital tasks fully up and running.

The big question is, “How many more workers could be working if management was more supportive?” Telework has been a big battle in the Capitol City. There are many government mandates stating that a certain percentage of workers must be allowed to work remotely, largely for today’s example. But, many senior leaders are still mired in the work methods and measurements of the past, “I have to see you in order to know that you are working.” Today’s economy is demanding more than just face time, It’s demanding results. The more that organizations can focus on results and enabling employees to work their best from anywhere, the more productive they will be and prepared when disaster strikes.

I’m confident there are businesses losing revenue today in the DC area simply because they waited until today to test their Telework/Remote Work plan. The majority of organizations who test remote work in the middle of a crisis fail. Take time to create a formal Remote Work policy and test it on a regular basis. For more information on what it takes to test a Remote Work Policy, please contact me directly.

Brandon Dempsey
SuiteCommute
1-888-878-4832
Brandon@SuiteCommute.com

This week’s United Nations conference on climate change in Copenhagen is certainly going to have global implications for many developed countries. While the debate on the validity of climate change continues, the trend for Greener IT is headed in only one direction, UP. What does this mean for Global IT departments? It means more emphasis on laptops, Virtual machines, cleaner power supplies, and increased remote access.

What type of reports and recommendations can IT departments expect from Copenhagen? Probably something similar to a report released by Denmark with recommendations to IT departments in the private sector: titled “Action Plan for Green IT in Denmark” In this report it outlines 2 Focus Areas and 8 Main initiatives:

1. Focus Area 1: Greener IT use
   1. Corporate IT use must become greener
   2. Green IT information Campaign
   3. Guidelines for Green IT for public authorities
   4. Knowledge base for energy and CO2 calculation
2. Focus Area 2: IT solutions for a sustainable Future
   1. Green IT research funding
   2. Export of Green IT know-how and technology
   3. International conference on Green IT
   4. Green IT in the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation

Throughout the report there is a good amount of discussion on remote access and Telework. This supports current trends in IT for increased mobility and secure Remote Access.

Employees are already demanding increased remote access as the proliferation of Blackberry’s and enterprise IPhone’s continues. In addition, more and more organizations are turning to Telecommuting and Remote Work to cut down on office space and CO2 emissions. This remote access further helps employee’s from having to come into the office to retrieve documents, make calls, and connect with their teams. Remote access increases efficiency and productivity by giving employees quicker access to the information they and their customers need.

As Remote Access grows, the perception of needing people in a building to complete work, changes. Organizations begin to see how having a Remote Workforce makes them more productive, efficient, Green, and prepared. For more information on how you can help your organization move toward increased Remote Access, please feel free to contact me directly.

Brandon Dempsey
President/ SuiteCommute
1-888-878-4832
Brandon@SuiteCommute.com

Obviously, if you aren’t paying rent you are saving money, but can you not pay rent and still run a company? Of course, allow your employees to telecommute and you can save a ton of money.

This belief has been around for years now, but for many reasons hasn’t been implemented in many companies, until now. The economy is forcing a lot of companies to reconsider every expense, from coffee in the office to leased corporate headquarters, many companies are looking for every way possible to save money. A recent article released by the Associated Press http://bit.ly/31bxmA highlights how many small businesses are using Telecommuting to help save money.

Let’s look at a few of the major reasons, companies save money when they utilize telecommuters:

1. Office space costs: For many companies leasing office space can be quite costly and while many companies can’t completely get rid of their office space, they can reduce their footprint and have employees rotate on who works in the office on given days.
2. Utility costs: Many employees are willing to pick up the tab on utility costs such as power, HVAC, and even Internet costs! Statistically, offices consume 7-8 times more energy to run equipment than corresponding homes. The trade off most employees make is, “I’m saving money by not driving, dry cleaning, eating out at lunch, etc; so therefore I’m willing to pick up the additional utility costs of working from home. (Note: special consideration needs to be paid when employees are using their own routers and internet connections. Many security protocols and help desks are not fully equipped for home user equipment.)
3. Parking/Maintenance expenses: Many employers either pay for parking lot usage, or subsidize employee parking costs, when located in urban settings. Having less people park reduces those expenses. Additionally, there is less for cleaning crews to clean and less building space to maintain.
4. Furniture Costs: Employees working from home can often supply their own furniture for working, this helps to reduce the companies costs of leasing or purchasing furniture.
5. Real Estate Taxes: Employers are NOT required to pay real estate taxes on employees’ home offices and with the Federal Government increasing Corporate Real Estate taxes, this is just one more way for businesses to reduce their overhead expenses.

For more Telecommuting Savings Statistics, click here.  If you are considering allowing employees to work Remotely or Telecommute and need help with where to start. Please feel free to contact me directly.

Brandon Dempsey
President: SuiteCommute
Brandon@SuiteCommute.com
888-878-4832

Last week, the House of Representatives and the Senate introduced the Telework Improvements Act of 2009 – a bill aimed at improving Telework in the Federal government. Representatives Sarbanes (D-MD), Connolly (D-VA), and Wolf (R-VA) introduced the Telework Improvements Act of 2009 in the House of Representatives. Senators Akaka (D-HI) and Voinovich (R-OH) introduced the companion bill in the Senate. This marks the first time that both the Senate and House have introduced simultaneous bills. This will be huge for those who work in the Federal Government and are looking to Telework.

Most interesting is that the legislation calls on agencies to create Telework programs that allow employees to telecommute at least 20% of their hours worked every 2 administrative work weeks. This further supports the overall mandate that allows for all inclusive measures regarding Telework instead of “exclusive” benefits.

Many within the Federal government understand the benefits and need for Telecommuting and Remote Work. It will be interesting to see how they go about developing and training on the program. That is going to be the key. If the bill goes through, but implementation fails, it is going to give Telework a very bad name. That can’t happen as there are already too many managers who feel, “Telework is just simply not for us.” I hope the decision makers work with Telecommuting Program Expert Consultants to determine the best course forward.

We’ll see what happens, but be certain to check back here for more updates!

Brandon Dempsey
SuiteCommute
1-888-878-4832
Brandon@suitecommute.com