Telework programs are a smart addition to business continuity plans

“Telework is one tool in the bag that helps bridge the critical gap between response and recovery.”

—Ralph Newton, Washington Headquarters Services, Pentagon

Consider for a moment that your employees are unable to get to work next Monday morning due to a natural or man-made disaster. What would you do? How would you continue serving your customers? If you already have an employee telework program in place, the business outlook might not be so grim.

Telework has for many years been considered an “employee benefit” rather than a business tool. The reality of telework is that it has many implications for businesses that go far beyond an employee “perk.” Aside from improving productivity, reducing commute trips and boosting employee morale, one business benefit of a telework program is the role it can play as an integral part of an employer’s business continuity plan.

At a 2002 panel presentation hosted by the Association for Commuter Transportation (ACT) Telework Council, panelists discussed the role telework played in their business continuity planning following the 2001 terrorist attacks. Ralph Newton, deputy director of Real Estate and Facilities, Washington Headquarters Services at the Pentagon, said, “Telework is one tool in the bag that helps bridge the critical gap between response and recovery.”

Mr. Newton went on to say that in an emergency situation, a telework program can reduce and eliminate transportation needs; provide connectivity to networks; allow communication capability through phone systems; decrease potential for emergency exposure in a hazardous situation; and enable employees to remain close to family during a crisis.

As a component of a business continuity strategy, a telework program helps to ensure that a core group of employees is online and performing those tasks that are vital to keeping your business on track as quickly as possible. For example, regular teleworkers from the customer service and sales departments would already be set up to log in to the office server and take or make calls. Members of the management team could be in contact with their departments making sure everyone is online that needs to be online and key business systems are functioning properly. Supply chain personnel could be reviewing their records and contacting delivery companies to determine the best course of action.

And while your competitor is wringing their hands trying to figure out what to do and unable to address customer concerns, your employees would be in contact with the customers letting them know you are still able to meet their needs.

So how does an employer go about planning for business continuity in an emergency? Here are some key questions you’ll need to answer:

What are the vital business functions that need to be online first?
Determine which departments your business can not function without and make it a priority to ensure that at least a core group of those employees are equipped to telework.

Who is already set up to telework or can easily make that transition?
Are there employees within those vital departments who are already teleworking and could act as department leads for other ad hoc teleworkers?

Is there a way to connect to the company’s network remotely and is there a backup in case the primary system fails?
Work with your IS/IT staff to ensure teleworking employees are able to access the documents, files and records they need from their home computer. It is a good idea to have a secondary plan in place as well, such as using broadband and dial-up connections as backup should one or the other fail to work.

Develop a telework kit for regular and potential ad hoc teleworkers and make sure all employees are familiar with it.
Your telework kit should include basic guidelines, a list of important numbers and e-mail addresses, passwords and procedures for staying in communication and backing up key data.

For more information on how to integrate telework into your business continuity plan or daily operations, visit the Work Options/Telework and Emergency Management sections of Commuter Challenge's online Library.

If your organization has incorporated telework as a part of its business continuity plan or as a formal work option, Commuter Challenge would like to hear from you for possible future case studies or feature articles. Please contact Heather Engelbrecht at 206-389-8658.

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