Research News

Is Your County Ready for Teleworking?

Teleworking is an umbrella term for a variety of alternative office arrangements, which include telecommuting, telework centers and satellite offices. Telecommuting is the partial or total substitution of telecommunications technology for the trip to and from the primary workplace, or more simply, "moving the work to the workers, instead of the workers to the work."

Telework centers are hubs that provide work space for employees of different companies in one location. Satellite offices are simply smaller versions of the office at a location that is closer to workers' homes.

In 1995, approximately 8 million U.S. workers telecommuted. In 1997, the number of telecommuters is estimated at 11 million, and this number is projected to rapidly increase as the 21st century approaches.

Successful County Programs
In 1995, Fairfax County, Va., located in the Metro-D.C. area, instituted a pilot telecommuting program with 50 employees. The program was marketed to both management and employees as a family friendly work option that took advantage of existing technology and made good business sense.

The county developed strategies to provide the necessary equipment for home-based telecommuters without having to use county funds. In addition to making older, surplus office equipment available, low interest credit union loans for home office equipment were offered to all telecommuters.

Since 1995, the number of telecommuters has grown to 300 (representing 3 percent of the county's work force) and includes individuals from several county departments, including police, fire and social services.

Fairfax County expects to increase the number of telecommuters to 2,000 (representing 20 percent of the county's work force) by the year 2000. Recently, the county earned the 1997 Outstanding Telecommuting/Telework Award for government given by the Telecommuting Advisory Council, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the economic, social and environmental benefits of teleworking.

Los Angeles County's (Calif.) Telecommuting-Telework Program has received numerous awards, most notably a 1993 Innovations in American Government Ford Foundation $100,000 grant.

The Telecommuting-Telework Program includes four options for eligible employees: home-based telecommuting, telework exchange program, telebusiness centers and emergency or short-term telecommuting.

The home-based telecommuting program allows eligible county employees to work from their homes, and currently accounts for 98 percent of the county's teleworkers. The telework exchange program option involves placing telecommuters at near-home work stations in other county or city offices. Facility exchange agreements allow participants to utilize stations at no cost. Telebusiness centers were developed through public-private partnerships. Currently, the two centers provide a total of 60 state-of-the-art work stations for use by public and private employees who live in the Antelope Valley and wish to eliminate the two-hour drive to downtown Los Angeles.

Since the centers opened in 1993, they have become self-funded through usage fees charged to client telecommuters or their employees. The county also allows for emergency or short-term telecommuting in the event of natural disasters or public transit strikes.

Between 1995 and 1996, more than 5,000 employees saved Los Angeles County approximately $17.7 million by participating in the program. The county has calculated that cost avoidance through sick leave reductions totaled $1.7 million and an average of a 10 percent increase in productivity was valued at $16 million.

Employees collectively saved more than $2 million in personal expenses, 300,000 hours of travel time, conserved 583,000 gallons of gasoline and eliminated 147 tons of air pollutants.

Developing a Telework Policy
As mentioned above, alternative work arrangements can be beneficial to both the county and the employee. Developing a comprehensive policy is a critical element in ensuring the success of a telework program. Many counties, like Fairfax and Los Angeles, opt to begin with pilot programs before county-wide implementation. Pilot programs provide an opportunity to discover potential problems and develop solutions for these problems. They also allow an opportunity to monitor and measure progress and productivity. Typically pilot programs are from three to nine months long.

Telework policies need to be comprehensive in nature and clearly state what telework is and is not. For example, Los Angeles County's policy clearly states that telecommuting is not a child care option. The policy also states that telecommuting is a management option, not a universal employee benefit. Skagit County's arrangements "shall be allowed at the discretion of the department head or elected official of each department."

An important part of any telework policy is an official teleworker's agreement. This agreement is official documentation of the alternative work arrangement made between the county and the employee. The agreement usually contains information such as the location where the telework will be done, the employee's telework schedule, and a statement that says the agreement may be canceled at any time by the employee or by the county.

(Does your county have a telework policy? If you would like to share your policy with other county governments nationwide, please send a copy to NACo's Research Division, 440 First Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001, or fax to the Research Division's attention, at 202/737-0480.)

(Research News was written by Peggy Beardslee, research assistant.)