What's your driver?

Telework is part of a broader workplace trend: flexible work practices.

Flexible work practices can ensure that the organisation is able to change quickly in response to changes around it and many of these changes are associated with trends in the environment we work in. These trends have been called the Drivers of Flexibility. These drivers have been present for many years but they are now becoming increasingly important.

It is easier to establish a telework initiative when the drivers of flexibility and their possible impacts are understood. Each of the drivers mentioned below could affect Australian business. It is up to each organisation to decide how severe the impact will be and, more importantly, how the organisation will prepare for the change.

For many organisations, the best form of preparation has been to develop truly flexible work places and, specifically, telework initiatives. How will you respond?

The pace of change: Not only is our environment changing fast but the rate of change is accelerating. New technologies are only part of the challenge: some companies are finding that their three-year business plans need refining, within months.

Productivity: Companies are under increasing pressure to deliver better quality products and services faster. Competition from Asian countries is already intense and it will not be long before similar competition is felt from other regions.

Office space and its cost: Office space has become a major expense for many organisations. One response has been to reduce the amount of space each employee occupies. Another is to increase the flexibility of the office’s layout and design. It’s not easy to make the most of these approaches and keep employees happy—unless flexible work practices are also used.

Demographic change: We are seeing more women in the workforce, more employees of other nationalities, increased participation from indigenous people and the average age of employees is increasing. These trends are forcing employers to rethink how they employ and manage staff and how they respond to employee interests and demands.

Changing aspirations: A major change in the workforce is an increase in the number of individual who place a higher priority on their lives outside of the office than on their work. As a result, employees are prepared to change job much sooner than they used to and loyalty to the employer is no longer as important.

Natural disasters: Floods, fires and droughts are having an affect on business. Flexible work locations are becoming important survival tools.

Unnatural disasters: Terrorism threats and events have made it essential for many businesses to reconsider how they manage expensive real estate and information infrastructure. Devolved organisations are becoming more common.

Legislation: In some settings, national, state and local governments have enacted new laws that have a direct impact on how a business works. Property zoning, tax rules, air quality ordinances and traffic constraints have all had an impact.

Fuel and energy costs: The costs of the energy we need to commute, live and work are increasing rapidly. Our urban forms could change as a result.

Changing corporate environments: The use of off-shore or off-site resources will continue to increase. Many back office tasks are being passed to other organisations to manage. Some companies are becoming little more than a tight-knit management team co-ordinating large numbers of suppliers. Others are finding that the traditional hierarchical structure is no longer an effective way to do business.

Common sense: And in some organisations, people are starting to recognise that work should be something that is performed, not a place that workers go. For many, that work is done has become more important than where work is done.

Telework can help organisations respond to all of these potential drivers. If your organisation is likely be affected by any of them, you ought to identify the real benefits that telework can deliver, find out how other organisations have used telework and implement your telework initiative using this site’s ‘better practice’ tools.