Introduction

The German Association for Personnel Management (DGFP) (www.dgfp.de) is a medium-sized enterprise which provides practical, research and  training support for personnel management. The approximately 60 employees offer various services for personnel management in business. These include publishing a specialist magazine and organising information exchanges, seminars, workshop, conferences and congresses.

Since March 2000 sixteen employees have been sharing a total of ten desks, telephones and computers. Although this appeared on paper to be difficult, the introduction of telework provided answers to the complications. Each of the employees has to work an average of 1 ½ days at home per week in order for the desk-sharing concept to be viable.  Connected with the introduction of desk-sharing and telework was the redesigning of several aspects of both the working environment and the organisation of work. The result of this re-structuring has led to a concept for work and the office at DGFP which have both improved the current way of working and will ensure that the company is fit to respond to the demands of a competitive market.

The New Office Environment

The introduction of this new, flexible work organisation was a result of purely practical considerations. A subsidiary company of the DGFP e. V., the DGFP mbh, which provides services specific to individual companies, expanded to such an extent that it became necessary either to extend the present building or to rent additional office space at a different location. The first solution would have meant high additional costs, the second solution would have led to disruptions and limitations to the internal communication flow.  Since the company did not wish to limit the expansion the decision was made to introduce teleworking. The initial enthusiasm of the directors was not automatically shared by the prospective teleworkers and support was needed in the introduction of telework and reorganisation of the office and the way it functioned. The outcome of advisory and training services, which were provided within the framework of  the TELESKOP-project (www.teleskop.de) at the Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln (www.iwkoeln.de) and are described below, was the development of a new concept (Office 2000⁺ ) for the introduction of telework and a reconstruction of the first floor as a modern office landscape with flexible and mobile work-stations.

This newly designed office floor had little to do with the concept of an open plan office.  The office furnishings include spacious desks in a light beech, elegant black desk chairs, a carpet in various shades of green, aluminium-colour cupboards and a lot of glass which give the room a pleasing, modern atmosphere.  The DGFP was sure that the acceptance of teleworking by the employees would be closely linked with the extent to which they felt comfortable in their new office surroundings. The endeavours in this direction have been highly successful because it has been possible to account for the requirements of the employees for both areas in which conceptual work could be performed and communicative zones for group meetings.  Not all of the ten desks have been placed in the open part of the office. Three of them are enclosed in glass which provides a quiet atmosphere while at the same time permitting eye contact.

There is a further area within the office landscape for the smokers of the group. Two different types of  meeting rooms have been designed and are used for project meetings or discussions with clients. One is more traditional with a table, chairs, flip chart and overhead projector, the other one is more related to a modern sitting room with a black leather sofa and low glass table.

These rooms can also be used for long telephone conversations which are more likely to disrupt the work in the open office or are of a private nature.

Whilst the three glassed-in offices can be booked individually it is only possible to book an undefined working space in the open area. The employees who are not working at home come into the office in Dusseldorf in the morning and see which of the seven working spaces is available. They then take their individual cabinet containing their files, papers, office utensils and personal  equipment and roll it to the working space they wish to occupy.

When they start the PC with their individual name and code their in-coming telephone calls and e-mails are directed to the working space.  At the end of the day they clear the desk, pack their things together into their cabinet and leave the working space as they found it in the morning.

(Further photographs can be seen in Appendix A2)

The Telework Stations

The workspaces of the teleworkers at home is as comfortable as that in the office. The company provides all of the teleworkers with the following equipment:

·         Work-Station or Notebook (according to requirements) with Microsoft Standard-Software including MS-Outlook

·         ISDN Card

·         ISDN connection (connecting costs are paid for by DGFP)

·         Telephone (DGFP pays for the cost of telephone calls upon proof of costs)

·         Software for data transmission via TCP/IP protocol.

A desk, chair and sideboard are provided by DGFP if requested by the teleworkers. It was agreed with the teleworkers that no lump sum would be paid to cover extra costs such as heating, lighting etc.

Realisation of the Project “Office 2000⁺ ” and Co-operation with TELESKOP

Before the project “Office 2000⁺ ” could be completed several difficulties had to be overcome. Most of them were related to reservations from the employees. It was the company directors who wished to introduce teleworking. One of the employees was extremely sceptical about working at home as she feared loosing the office fellowship and social contacts. Other employees were concerned about the organisation of meetings and the information flow in general.

As the uncertainty about the specific realisation of the project was voiced by the employees the directors decided in August 1999 to work together with the Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln and use the consultancy and training services being provided by its ADAPT project TELESKOP. Right from the start there was agreement that structured and needs-oriented advice and training would increase the acceptance of the project “Office 2000⁺”.

TELESKOP and DGFP agreed upon an eight month period up until March 2000 for a successful completion of the project.

The TELESKOP Training Concept     

The TELESKOP advice and training concept consists of six modules:

·         Introductory module

·         Structural work organisation

·         Legislative aspects

·         Technical aspects

·         Self- and time-management

·         Management by Objectives (MbO)

The TELESKOP concept is based on tailor-made training. Prior to the modules the exact needs of the company and individuals are determined in order to ensure that the information provided is as close as possible to the requirements.

The introductory, structural work organisation and legislative modules were conducted within the company in order to account for the individual requirements of those concerned. The MbO and self- and time-management modules were performed for teleworkers, co-workers and management from several companies at once. The technical module was divided into two parts. A basic introduction was performed for several companies at once and detailed information was provided for each company individually in a second part of the module both at the tele-workstation and in the office.

Since the experiences made and information gained during the training modules were of vital importance to the successful completion of the Office 2000⁺ project they are described in more detail below.

Realisation of the Training and Advisory Services

A)     Introductory module

The co-operation between DGFP and TELESKOP started in August 1999 with the introductory module at which all those affected were present. This introductory module clarified immediately the essential components of the project:

·         As much clarity and openness as possible in the flow of information

·         Individual advice and training related to the specific needs

·         Voluntary participation in the project

·         Clear support for the project from the directors

As early as possible TELESKOP provided all the employees with extensive information about the various types of telework. Advantages and disadvantages both from the employer and the employee perspective were discussed in an open workshop which increased trust amongst those participating. The directors used the workshop to provide the employees with information about their intentions and the extent and length of the project. Within this workshop it was possible to provide all participants with comprehensive information at an early date and this proved to be an optimal introduction for a constructive and trusting co-operation within the project.

B)     Structural Work Organisation

This module proved to be the most important of all the training modules. The aims of the module can be summarised as:

1.      changing the work structures and implementing the changes

2.      optimising the information flow

3.      constructing and fulfilling measures to improve team integration

4.      institutionalising social contacts

5.      always considering the teleworker

These aims were fully achieved in several workshops. During these workshops

·         the present status of the work processes was assessed including:

·         organisational structures (hierarchies, responsibilities)

·         task descriptions

·         present task processes

·         information and communication flow

·         available technology,

·         the desired status was described

·         responsibilities

·         tasks and task processes

·         work techniques (planning and organisation)

·         use of new technologies and co-ordination instruments

·         use of new methods of communication;

·         and the required measures to achieve this status were compiled.

This module still presents the basis for the introduction of telework. Examples of this are provided in the rules for the information flow and the distribution and bookings of the resources (meeting rooms, workspaces etc.) which were compiled by all those involved. (An example of the planning for the workspaces can be found in the Appendix A1.)

In order to maintain the internal information flow there is a monthly meeting for all employees where aims, activities and questions are discussed. This is followed by a joint lunch which has become an integral part of the meeting and is intended to strengthen the personal contact in view of the diversity in the work location.

Eight rules were agreed upon which were intended to improve the contact and discussion with one another. These included for example: “ we will openly discuss conflicts” and “we are prepared to learn and adapt”. The teleworkers are considerate of the openness of the office and adjust their volume so as not to disturb their colleagues.

The communication over and beyond the immediate working groups has been improved. Although certain colleagues prefer to work at specific desks within the office they are no longer in closed working spaces and their neighbours often change. This has meant that individuals are better informed about projects with which they are not directly involved.

The TELESKOP trainer worked on the basis that the employees knew best what was necessary for their work organisation and therefore did not provide any initial information. The basis for the future work organisation was compiled together. This concept meant that the problems could be openly discussed and the joint solutions allowed the individuals to identify with the required measures. As a result of this many of the reservations about telework could be dispersed.

C)    Technical aspects

At an early stage DGFP contracted the support of a company for the realisation of a technical concept. TELESKOP’s task was  to provide the teleworkers with first information about self-help (installing cards, knowledge of hardware components, virus protection, data compression, data transfer concepts, changing printer cartridges, data back-up concepts etc.).  The technical connection of the teleworkers now functions without any problems. All of the teleworkers know the person to contact if they have problems and support is provided as far as possible with remote maintenance.

In order to realise all the requests of the teleworkers and the directors for information flow it was necessary to install a new telephone system, which allowed telephone numbers to be routed to various telephones. Furthermore the DGFP had to invest in a variety of hard- and software in order to ensure the connection of the teleworkers to the company network.

The communication between the company and the teleworker is maintained through telephone, fax and an online connection to the company network via call-back with a password.

D)    Legislative aspects

All of the teleworkers have received an appendix to their normal working contract. This was based on a standard contract which was agreed upon by all parties and dealt with

·         hours of work

·         status

·         extent of telework

·         utensils

·         expense allowance

·         data protection

·         access to workplace and

·         liability

E)     Self- and time-management for teleworkers

The choice of working at home or in the office requires self-discipline, organisation and time management from the teleworkers. The teleworker must decide in advance what can be done best where and which documents are required.

This seminar provided the teleworkers with basic information about and techniques for their personal work organisation. The aims of this seminar were:

1.      learning about priority management

2.      practising time planning techniques

3.      recognising typical “time-wasters”

4.      improving personal working techniques

5.      using self-motivation techniques

6.      performing individual case studies

The evaluation of this module showed that it provided the teleworkers with an aid in the transformation of their working plans from the office to the home-office.

F)     Management by Objectives

This module proved to be particularly helpful. Both the managers and the teleworkers found it difficult to consistently define objectives at different hierarchical levels. It is therefore necessary to practise these skills daily and reflect on the advantages and disadvantages. Management by objectives only functions when one does not control the working hours but places more importance on the results. This requires trust both from the management and from the employees. This management style was not however new to DGFP but was being practised before the introduction of the new work organisation.

The aims of this module were:

1.      Formulating tasks as objectives and defining the extent to which they had been reached

2.      Recognising the importance of these agreements for telework.

The contents included:

1.      The importance of objectives

2.      Types of objectives

3.      The difference between time orientation and result orientation

4.      Formulating tasks as objectives

5.      From the objectives planning to objective agreement

6.      Role play: discussion on objective agreement

Conclusions

The project “Office 2000⁺ ” was successfully completed in March 2000. The possibility of working at home has been one of the most positive experiences for most of the employees in “Office 2000⁺ ”. The original scepticism of the employees  could almost be completely dispersed in the training modules “structural work organisation” and “management by objectives”. This was because the precise analysis of the present state-of-affairs and the agreement on rules with clear responsibilities and times increased the trust in the feasibility of the project. The building measures could account for individual needs such as smoking  and communication areas and a generous provision of technical equipment created an additional motivation amongst all concerned.

The first experiences have shown a clear increase in productivity. Additionally the motivation of the employees has been improved with the reduction in travelling time and the increased compatibility between family and work.

DGFP has experienced that mutual trust between the management and the teleworkers is an essential pre-requisite for the success of telework. This mutual trust was present within DGFP from the start but could be increased during the training modules for structured work organisation. The introduction of telework has now been accepted by all  and has become highly successful. The last 6 months have shown that the new facilities and reorganisation associated with Office 2000⁺ have brought the following advantages in addition to the increase in trust within the enterprise:

·         The motivation of the teleworkers has been increased because they find it easier to cater for the demands of work and home.

·         Productivity has increased.

·         Knowledge management within the company has become more effective. The flow of information in particular between projects has improved.

·         The teleworkers have received extra qualifications in technical questions related to telework, in self- and time-management and in MbO.

·         The service to the customer has been improved because there are no longer fixed office hours. In-coming telephone calls are automatically transferred to the telephone at the home-base of the teleworker.

·         A quick response to e-mails is guaranteed by the teleworker searching their electronic postbox twice a day and if they are out on business they can have their e-mails re-routed to their mobile telephones.

·         The office environment has been re-designed to cater for the needs of the project work of the employees.

·         There is no longer any necessity for DGFP to build or to limit the extent to which they can expand.

The final judgement of the directors:

 the organisational demands arising from this project were high but the work required was completely worth it from the point of view of both our customers and our employees. This has of course also benefited the company as a whole.