Oracle America of Bellevue is honored with the “Innovative New Program for Telework” award. This company became involved in commute trip reduction in 2008. Oracle implemented a telework program to reduce costs as the company combined offices and looked for ways to reduce overhead costs. By implementing a telework option, the cost of leasing space dropped as an expense.

The program is offered to all those who are able to work from home with incentives and encouragement by management. Oracle America worked with employees to arrange shared office spaces, rather than having assigned desks. Cubicles are kept stocked with supplies for rotating use. One of the key results is that many employees now come to the office in Bellevue between 3 and 15 times a month. Oracle provided a subsidized ORCA pass to encourage alternative transportation for employees. The result is that employees can accomplish their work rather than be stalled in traffic. A key result for Oracle is that it has reduced its current building needs from 86,000 square feet to 34,582 rented square feet at the end of last year. The 375 employees are in just 14,000 square feet. The creative process worked to increase the bottom line for Oracle America and reduce pollutants in the Puget Sound region.

 

*Some definitions: An "ETC" is the staff-level employee transportation coordinator responsible for the daily administration of the transportation program. "SOV" stands for single-occupant vehicle, and "CTR" for commute trip reduction.