Business benefits:
• Employee retention.
• Improved work/life balance.
• Increased productivity.

Statistics:
• 14% of employees telework at least occasionally.
• More than 50% of employees have a flexible start/stop time.

"Telework and flextime put more fuel in the engine of our business by allowing people to take care of personal issues."
– Bill Ross, President

Ross & Associates Environmental Consulting, Ltd. is a group of highly motivated professionals committed to helping environmental and natural resources agencies improve management programs and achieve better environmental results. As consultants that work nationally, Ross & Associates are already "remote" from their clients, and the majority of communication takes place via phone or email. This allows working from home to appear virtually seamless to the client as long as communication protocols are in place. As a small business with approximately 35 employees, the culture of the firm is generally informal and supportive of employee needs. But the ability for associates to work remotely was seen as a necessary part of the firm’s solution to serving clients.

Formalizing the telework policy
Some telework was already occurring when the Remote Work Plan was expanded and formalized in summer 2001. Previously, the firm had utilized several one-person satellite offices and some employees worked from home in special circumstances. The Remote Work Plan was created to formalize and create standard guidelines and expectations for those employees wishing to work either occasionally or regularly from home. The formalization of the telework policy was dictated by an impending office remodel, as the firm anticipated that disruptions caused by the construction might spark a wave of employee interest in working remotely.

"We put together a committee to draft a set of guidelines when we were undergoing construction and anticipated the disruption might cause people to need to work from home more often," says IT Manager Suzanne Walker. A team comprised of representatives from management, operations, and project staff gathered to transform the original set of guidelines into a cohesive procedure for remote workers. Their draft product was forwarded to the management team for review after which revisions were made and the plan was rolled out to all staff.

"The complexities of implementing the Remote Work Plan were resolved by the review team through careful consideration of multiple factors," says Walker. “Those factors included ensuring convenience for remote workers without creating a burden on their co-workers; providing seamless service to the clients; maintaining management comfort with people spontaneously working from home; and determining how to allow remote workers to have productive access to the company’s systems without posing a security threat.“

Implementing the Remote Work Plan
Project staff interested in working remotely, either occasionally or on a regular basis, work through a request form with their "coach" or mentor. The form lays out expectations for the remote worker and asks a series of questions about how staff will make their absence from the office seamless for both clients and their co-workers. Project managers, operations staff, and IT staff review the completed form for potential complications before a final review by the management team for approval.

Currently, four employees have plans in place for occasional telework and one remote worker is based in Olympia, WA. Walker says the preparation time required by IT staff ranges from approximately an hour to set up a remote connection for an ad hoc teleworker to 30 days for the complete setup of a satellite office. Ross & Associates pays for high-speed internet access for its employees working from satellite offices.

While there are more people working remotely on an occasional basis without a formal plan in place than regular teleworkers, the Remote Work Plan has been successful in that it has established a baseline of formalized expectations that did not previously exist. Vice President of Operations Dave Clayton believes that while, "Telework has not resulted in any directly quantifiable cost savings, it has demonstrated business benefits by allowing employees flexibility that lets them be more productive in circumstances that might otherwise prohibit this." Firm President Bill Ross concurs, concluding that "Telework and flextime put more fuel in the engine of our business by allowing people to take care of personal issues."

Tasks that fit telework
Senior Associate Lori Ahouse has been with Ross & Associates for almost 7 years and splits her time between consulting work on projects and supporting the firm’s operations and administration. She teleworks from home approximately one day per month. "In general, I think I am more productive at home, especially on tasks that require my undivided attention," says Ahouse. "For example, extensive reading and/or writing tasks are easier to do at home, as I avoid interruptions from co-workers dropping by my office, intercom messages, or people sending emails. I have a very open door at the office, and many staff come and go during the course of a day." However, some of her operations responsibilities are nearly impossible to do from home, as they require substantial staff interaction. "I must take into account what tasks I’ll be working on as part of my decision to work at home."

Flextime, another work option at Ross & Associates
Most Ross & Associates employees have work schedules that differ from the standard 8 to 5 work day in order to accommodate the needs of clients across multiple time zones. The range of flexible schedules is typically negotiated individually rather than via a firm-wide plan.

Ahouse says that she does not have a rigid start or stop time, and uses flextime depending on project or travel requirements. To provide some consistency in her family life, as well as some predictability for co-workers, she typically works from 9 am to 5:30 pm with a break for lunch. This may vary though, due to east coast client calls, work that requires staying late, or business trips that typically require putting in substantial extra hours.  "For me, our firm’s informal flextime option is very important for keeping me sane and on top of my responsibilities at home, especially as a full-time working mom with a 2-year old," Ahouse says. "It also helps my productivity by allowing me to find breaks after a period when my workload has been very high."

Increased productivity
Senior Associate Tim Larson is a consultant to public sector environmental agencies on policy and program development and analysis. A Ross & Associates employee since January 2001, he works a regular full-time schedule from 8 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday. At present, he teleworks from home only occasionally—primarily when he has a lot to write or when family needs arise—averaging about 2 days per month or approximately 10% of his time.

"Working from home often improves my productivity, particularly if I am doing writing, analytical work, or conference calls," says Larson. "But I typically prefer doing other activities, such as coaching and project management work, in the office since I often find face-to-face meetings to be more efficient and effective for these types of activities."

Larson has found it very useful to have a dedicated office work space at home as it helps him focus when teleworking and create healthy boundaries between work and home life. "I have everything I need in one place, which reduces transaction costs and time to start work at home," he says.

Tailored solution to a unique problem
From September 2003 through July 2004, Larson worked remotely from New York City while his wife had a visiting scholar position at a foundation there. He set up a home office in his apartment for the year. "The availability of work options at Ross & Associates has definitely influenced my decision to stay with the firm. Ross & Associates was particularly gracious and accommodating in enabling me to telework for the year my family was in New York," he says. "In addition, as a parent of a 2-year old daughter, it is very helpful to have the flexibility to work from home if my daughter is ill. I can typically get a lot of work done while she is sleeping."

Larson has found the technology necessary for working remotely to be quite user-friendly. He uses a cell phone for calls, and a laptop computer. While teleworking from New York, he had DSL service and now back in Seattle, has access to wireless internet connectivity. "It's pretty easy to set my Outlook calendar and office phone to indicate that I am working away from the office," he says. When asked about obstacles involved in teleworking from New York, Larson says that the biggest challenge was the 3-hour time zone difference. "Given the nature of my work, and since most of my clients are not located in Seattle, I don't think that they can typically tell whether or not I'm teleworking. I did find that it helped to schedule routine check-in meetings via phone with the staff whom I coach and work with to maintain connectivity and to address issues that I would otherwise discuss informally in the office or by the water cooler."

Work options embraced by employees
"I believe that these types of family-friendly policies can be good for employees, employers and clients, helping employees to balance multiple responsibilities without affecting productivity and client service," says Larson. "Having a remote workplan, coupled with clear expectations for communication when working remotely, help to reduce the mental and physical transaction costs for both the employee and the firm."

Ahouse agrees adding, "Having some degree of flexibility is very important. It sends a strong message to staff that they are trusted to manage their own time and meet their commitments without management tracking our every minute or looking over our shoulders. This is important given that we do have very dedicated and hard working professionals on staff and allowing some flexibility to accommodate life outside of work or downtime to balance extra hours provides motivation and keeps people happier."

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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