Business benefits:
• Improved productivity.
• Employee retention.
• Employee satisfaction, work/life balance.
• Expanded coverage, complements worldwide network.
• Enhanced customer service.
• Employee satisfaction, work/life balance.
• Reduced office space needs.

Statistics:
• 48% of workforce telework regularly.
• 3% work a compressed workweek.

"Technology enables flexible work arrangements, and EDS is a technology company. It is natural for us to provide our employees with work options. Alternative work arrangements are the norm rather than the exception at EDS."
–Guyanna Young, Communications Director

Work options a good fit
EDS is a leading global technology services company delivering a broad portfolio of information technology and business process outsourcing services to clients in the manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, communications, energy, transportation, and consumer and retail industries and to governments in 60 countries around the world. EDS is a company particularly suited to work options. The remote support of geographically dispersed client operations is a natural for telework. The project-oriented focus provides a good fit for flextime, and for those workers without daily client contact, compressed workweeks allow projects to get done while giving employees a more flexible working schedule.

Work options support productivity
EDS has established Alternative Work Arrangement (AWA) guidelines to provide more flexibility for employees, managers, and the clients they serve. EDS believes that effectively managed AWA programs can maintain or even improve employee productivity and client satisfaction while, at the same time, meet the personal needs of employees.

"I am more productive when I work from home, because there are not as many interruptions," says Project Analyst Marlene Schubert. She has been with EDS for nine years, and teleworks about half of the time.

Tammy Dolan, Systems Administrator, teleworks three days per week. Dolan believes she is more productive working from homes due to fewer interruptions from phone calls or people who drop by. "I am more rested and less stressed on days I telework because I get an extra hour of sleep and don’t have to deal with the morning traffic. I also tend to put in extra hours when working from home."

Formal program
AWA guidelines are used by EDS managers to assist them in administering alternative work arrangements. Employees interested in participating in alternative work arrangements contact their supervisor with the understanding that participation is not a right or entitlement, but rather a work option approved by EDS leadership based on the needs of the client, the business, and the employee. Consideration for these options is open to all employees but participation is limited to those employees and positions that meet the applicable requirements. Authorization to participate in any AWA is made by the employee’s manager and is subject to ongoing review. Employees who are approved for participation in the program and employees currently participating in alternative work arrangements must sign an Alternative Work Arrangement Agreement or equivalent document that spells out the obligations and responsibilities of the employee and EDS.

Technical Delivery Manager Jim Buchmiller manages 43 engineers assigned to the Weyerhaeuser worldwide network. The entire team teleworks at least two days per week and nine employees from his group telework 100% of the time. Buchmiller has worked for EDS since May 1989 and recently began teleworking himself. He says teleworking from home on Mondays allows him to better balance family and work pressures.

Telework
IT Change Manager Paul Boatman, whose responsibilities include testing, notification and review of 100 or more IT changes per week, believes his job is particularly compatible with telework. When he started with EDS in 1994 he didn’t even think of telework, but improved technology has now made it a more viable option. Even when working from the office, most of his interactions with others are via phone and email. He notes that his team lead will soon be teleworking 100% of the time from Salt Lake City.

Dan Kelley is Region Manager for voice operations (i.e. phones, voice mail, and paging) of a territory that roughly covers the central time zone, supervises three direct reports and 40 vendor employees. Kelley started teleworking when he had some big projects that needed to be completed, and he quickly found that it allows him time to catch up and review all of the week’s projects without the normal interruptions of the office. Teleworking has also given Kelley back some much needed free time. "Teleworking one day a week gives me back two hours of free time I would normally spend burning up the road and reduces the amount of wear and tear on my car by 20%."

Business Analyst Jim Fowler has been with EDS for approximately four years, teleworks on a daily basis and utilizes a flexible work schedule. "Teleworking is great considering that my commute otherwise would be about 40 miles one-way and on roads with some of the worst traffic in the area," says Fowler. He finds he is far more productive working at home due to fewer interruptions and rarely has a need to go into the office. In fact, between November 2004 and May 2005, he estimates that he has only been into the office two or three times. Fowler’s interaction with clients continues to be exclusively via telephone and email. His group is now so adapted to teleworking that there are only two desks in the office for the entire five-person team.

Flextime
Using flextime every day, Boatman starts as early as 6:30 a.m., with core hours from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Kelley has a flexible start time between 6 and 7 a.m. which helps him avoid some of the worst traffic at both ends of the work day. Schubert says her flexible work schedule also starts between 6 and 7 a.m. and usually stops around 2 or 3 p.m. "I am a morning person so the hours not only work well with my personal body clock, but I think the flextime also benefits my co-workers and clients because I am at my best from a productivity standpoint in the morning also."

Compressed workweeks
System Analyst Mike Gramann works a compressed workweek schedule consisting of nine 9-hour days in a two-week period with every other Friday off. As part of a computer technical support team, he also teleworks full time unless there is a meeting in the office that requires his attendance. "The best thing about teleworking is there's no commute and I'm able to have lunch with my family every day," says Gramman. "Most of my teammates also telework or live in other states, including my manager, so telephone or email communication with them is the norm anyway."

Field Technician Terry Cleveland takes care of hardware problems of every kind at twelve buildings on the Federal Way campus. Cleveland has worked a 4/40 compressed workweek (four 10-hour workdays a week) for many of his 10 years with EDS and finds it helps him meet both his professional and personal needs. "I have worked a compressed workweek for many years now. I love it and would never want to go back to 5–8's," he says. "It saves me 52 miles and one day a week that I'm not out on the road."

The right technology
To work effectively from home Kelley utilizes a VPN (virtual private network) to connect to the EDS and client's networks. "I use a VPN client to connect to the network through my existing DSL connection. I also set up a wireless network at home to allow mobility," he says. "The only function I am missing is telephone conferencing capability, but I may even be able to do that through my calling card."

Work/life balance
When asked what they like best about work options at EDS, most employees site work/life balance as the biggest plus. Dolan says, "I am able to have more quality time with my daughter and she can ride the bus home from school instead of going to daycare on days I telework. I also see savings on gas, wear and tear on my vehicle, and daycare costs." Infrastructure Analyst and Employee Transportation Coordinator Kathe Hewitte teleworks 1-2 days a month and agrees that the ability to balance work and personal life through the use of work options is a great benefit. Hewitte uses her telework days to complete work on projects that can be done away from the job site and that will benefit from uninterrupted work time. When asked if the availability of work options at EDS has influenced her decision to stay with the company, her answer was emphatic: "Yes! Sometimes, you just don't know how good you have it."

Published October 2005 by Commuter Challenge. This publication contains material written and produced for public distribution. You may reprint this written material, provided you do not use it to endorse a commercial product. Please reference by title and credit Commuter Challenge.

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