Better Practice Guidelines

The proposed implementation steps and template documents provided on this site are designed to support a generic telework initiative and are based on many successful case studies. They provide an example of what can be covered when implementing telework within an organisation. However, there are many variables to consider. In the template documents, guidance and suggested responses to many issues are provided in italic or blue text. You and your organisation can personalise the templates and use language and terminology that you are comfortable with.

Successful telework takes many different forms. It responds to the organisation’s situation and the challenges it faces and it reflects the objectives that the initiative is set up to achieve.

As a result, there are as many forms of telework as there are organisations using it: there is no one-size-fits-all telework initiative. (If you are looking at ways to extend an existing telework initiative or gain more benefit from it, start here .)

But first…

Setting up a telework initiative is not something that you can do on your own—many people will need to be involved, particularly in larger organisations. It is advisable to set up a steering committee.

The steering committee may include representatives of each part of the organisation that will be involved. Typically, this should include staff from human resources, information technology, property management, public relations, finance and operations and legal sections of an organisation. You should also involve staff representatives, including any people who are already teleworking informally.

Smaller companies might not have specific people in all of these roles and a smaller committee could be suitable. The important thing is that the steering committee can access all the information needed. Successful telework initiatives are developed in consultation with all relevant people: the steering committee is often the top level of this consultation.

Once your organisation has introduced a telework initiative, the steering committee can become the initiative’s management board and help desk: to handle issues, advise potential teleworkers and sort out issues that may arise.

Whether your organisation is large or small, a steering committee should include one key person who will be the telework initiative’s ‘champion’.

The champion can present the telework initiative to senior management, chair committee meetings and is sometimes an organisation’s first formal teleworker. Regardless, he or she should have a strong interest in the subject of telework and if not already a senior manager, should have the trust and respect of senior management and be able to speak with them, when required.

Once a telework initiative is underway, the champion often becomes an organisation’s telework advocate: promoting the practice wherever possible, providing one-on-one assistance to new teleworkers and handling any monitoring or evaluation that might be required.

What should a telework policy cover?

Telework policies have taken many forms, from lever arch files full of paper to one or two A4 pages, but all have addressed a number of specific issues. They:

• Set out the organisation attitude to telework and the objectives of the initiative;
• Describe the form that telework will take and how the initiative will work;
• Provide a means of identifying who can and cannot telework;
• Detail when and where telework can take place and the performance criteria that will apply;
• Clearly state how telework can be initiated or terminated;
• Identify who is paying for what and who is responsible for providing and caring for work equipment; and
• Set out any implications for career planning.

These issues are best addressed through a set of five key documents. Preparing these documents should be a collaborative effort, involving staff representatives and core managers.

A typical set of key documents would include:

1. Policy Statement. This sets out the reasons for the telework initiative, the objectives and the approach to be taken in broad terms;
2. Telework Guidelines. This provides the detail behind the telework initiative: how it is to be implemented, who will be considered and how the initiative will work;
3. Self-Assessment Questionnaire. A self-administered teleworker questionnaire is a good way of raising issues that potential teleworkers need to think about and assessing how successful they could be as a teleworker;
4. Telework Agreement. The agreement sets out what is expected from the manager and the staff member and how the initiative will be administered and assessed. It is the basic control document and provides security for both parties.

Templates for these documents are provided on this website. Once a telework initiative has been formally launched, the first three documents are often made available to all employees.

Specific steps

Nine specific steps should be followed when starting a new initiative. (Again, templates and resources are provided to assist with each step.)

1. It is useful to establish an action plan that you will follow as you develop and implement your telework policy. This can keep you focussed on achieving your goals.
2. Before you can develop a budget for the initiative, you will need to identify the objectives you are working towards and the challenges you might have to overcome. These are your project’s parameters which also provide a base for any monitoring and evaluation your initiative will need.
3. Once you have thought about the parameters you will be able to create a‘telework model’ of what you think your telework initiative will look like in three years. This model is necessary for three reasons: it shows how you will overcome possible challenges, it makes your planning clearer (useful when you discuss the proposed initiative with senior management) and it provides a base for a cost-benefit analysis.
4. Based on the model, you can develop a detailed cost-benefit analysis and establish a budget for the telework initiative. Once the model and the budget have been approved by management, you can go on to developing a telework policy.
5. In the second step (establishing parameters) you set out the objectives your initiative will aim to meet. This is the start point for your telework policy. The telework policy can also spell out the core details of your model.
6. Once you start developing guidelines, you will be able to specify how your telework initiative will work, in general. This is where you can specify the organisation’s expectations and the rules that teleworkers and their managers should follow.
7. Armed with your telework policy and the guidelines, the next step is to prepare a staff selection questionnaire so that only appropriate individuals and roles are approved for telework.
8. In most telework initiatives, potential teleworkers initiate discussions with their manager. It is a good idea to schedule these discussions so that the important issues are covered.
9. Despite the existence of telework guidelines, it is advisable to set out a clear telework agreement between the organisation and the teleworker.