17 November, 2003
© Beep Knowledge System and case owners, 2002-2003
Cases in Work and Skills
Timing of case
Started in 1997 this Commission project ran until 2000 and results are still in use.
Geographic setting
Brussels and surrounding areas
Type and use of ICT
DG-INFSO:· (Directorate General - Information Society)
- Docking station with Compaq Armada 7400 portable computer running
Windows NT4 and all applications for a normal desktop computer in the
DG.
- Additional peripherals for those requesting them (printers, full-size
screens, mouse, etc).
- Access to the Commission internal e-mail network using a free access
800 number for Brussels and Luxembourg, and from other countries through
the concert network of BT (Using free access numbers from most of the
major cities).
- Secure remote access to the Commission’s central data network
for 9 of the 90 teleworkers (via ISDN lines provided by the teleworkers
themselves) and using RAS technology. This allows access to:
1. the Commission's internal email network,
2. data stored on the DG's shared drives,
3. the Internet and the Commission's Intranet,
4. some but not all of the DG's software applications. - An automatic telephone forwarding system which allows calls to be
re-routed automatically from the teleworker's office to his home whilst
teleworking·
- Tailor-made back-up facilities for all data on Laptop Computers.
DG-EMPL:· (Directorate General - Employment and Social Affairs)
- A Toshiba Tecra 8000 portable computer running Windows NT4 and Microsoft
Office 97, with:
- Additional peripherals (printers, full-size screens, mice, numeric
keyboard pads etc) are available for those who request them
- Access to the Commissions central data services is provided via an
ISDN line installed at the Commission's expense. This allows full and
secure access to
1. the Commission's internal email network,
2. data stored on the DG's shared drives,
3. the internet and the Commission's intranet,
4. some but not all of the DG's software applications - A separate telephone line which allows teleworkers to make business
calls at the Commission's expense without tying up either the computer
line or the teleworker's private line;
- An automatic telephone forwarding system which allows calls to be re-routed automatically from the teleworker's office to his home whilst he is teleworking.
Main contributors
DG Information Society – European Commission: mainly the participants
of the pilot project
DG Employment and Social Affairs – European Commission: mainly the
participants of the pilot project
Main beneficiaries
DG Information Society – European Commission: mainly the participants
of the pilot project
DG Employment and Social Affairs – European Commission: mainly the
participants of the pilot
Background
This case is about a two-year Telework pilot launched in mid-1998 by DG
Employment and Social Affairs and DG Information Society of the European
Commission, in which telework has been implemented as a flexible set of
options for about 120 staff working up to 20% of their time at home, in
other Commission offices or on official travel.
The promotion of telework opportunities for many more employees and the
self- employed has been a constant element in the consultation and policy
harmonisation process – to increase the efficiency of both businesses
and the public sector by allowing a more effective use of skills where
and when required; and to improve the life/work balance by allowing people
to better combine work and family/social responsibilities.
Objectives
The project had four principal objectives :
1. to increase the efficiency of the Commission through more effective use of staff time and skills;
2. to enhance staff's well-being through assisting them to reconcile work and private life and reduce travel time and stress.
3. to establish good practice in the application of telework in public administration;
4. to contribute to environmental improvement in host countries.
Resources (apart from ICT)
Unknown
Activities
Volunteers for participating in the pilot were identified by sending information
to all staff in the two DGs involved, and by inviting those interested
to obtain their manager’s approval.
All have signed a management agreement with their respective manager and
Director which outlines the parameters within which their indicidual telework
takes place. In both DGs, a number of measures have been put in place
to monitor the pilot on anongoing basis (questionnaires, meetings, etc.)
Within DG EMPL, 32 teleworkers took part in the project. The number has been largely stable since the start of the pilot in January 1999. All teleworking is carried out from the teleworkers' homes. Participants work on average for 19% of their time, the maximum is 40% (ie 2 days a week).The pattern of telework varies and can be either for fixed or variable days, full days,half days or just a couple of hours to enable the teleworker to avoid travelling during the rush hours.
Within DG INFSO, 90 teleworkers took part in the pilot. This number has
increased significantly: From an initial number of 40 Teleworkers in January
1999, 10 have left the pilot, and 50 additional volunteers joined for
the second phase starting on the 1 February 2000. Considerably more man
than women participated in this pilot. Within DG INFSO, three models of
telework are explored: work part-time from their homes, work where-ever
they may be while on mission or work in Commission Offices away from the
normal place of work. Teleworking accounts for about 18% of total working
time, but the pattern of telework varies with the type of telework and
individual preference.
A panel of independent experts in the field has issued an external evaluation
report in August 2000. The specific issues evaluated are the effectiveness,
efficiency and impact of the pilot and the achievements of the pilot in
comparison with best practice in other comparable organisations. The panel
made recommendations regarding the introduction of telework options in
the Commission, on a larger scale, in the near future.
Outputs and results
Net benefits have been reported by both teleworkers and managers in terms
of the quality and quantity of work done and number of deadlines met.
There is, however, a difference in perception between these two groups
with more teleworkers than managers reporting benefits. Managers confirmed
the improved work output (although to a somewhat lesser extent) but some
expressed concerns about the impact of telework on communications within
their Unit. The pilot has provided a framework within which such impacts
can be monitored.
Teleworkers enjoy teleworking and are deriving real personal benefits
from it. Particular advantages that have been identified include a reduction
in commuting time; less stress; a better combination of work and social/family
life and better working conditions. These factors also benefit the Commission
in terms of motivation and retention of experienced staff and, in some
cases, their ability to work longer hours than would otherwise be the
case.
The costs of implementing an appropriate element of telework in an environment such as the Commission are not prohibitive and that the additional costs of equipment, communications, support and management supervision could potentially be more than compensated by the value of the benefit from increased productivity and quality of work.
Lessons and conclusions
The general conclusion of the pilot is that telework could make a valuable
contribution to the improvement of the efficiency of the Commission and
to the quality of working-life of staff. A further extension of this pilot
or a modest expansion of it is unlikely to change this conclusion.
Case description:
Background
This case is about a two-year Telework pilot launched in mid-1998 by DG
Employment and Social Affairs and DG Information Society of the European
Commission, in which telework has been implemented as a flexible set of
options for about 120 staff working up to 20% of their time at home, in
other Commission offices or on official travel.
The pilot was originally designed to put into action a 1997 commitment
to “study how telework can be promoted within the Commission”.
This commitment was included in the by the European Commission adopted
set of policy recommendations on the Labour Market and Social Dimension
of the Information Society, together with the recommendation to promote
telework in Europe. This set of policy recommendations followed extensive
consultation on changes to employment and management practices to enable
greater participation in work and more flexibility in work arrangements
in an information society. These consultations contributed to agreement
by Member States on the four common priorities for employment policies:
- the promotion of adaptability;
- employability;
- equal opportunities and entrepreneurship.
The promotion of telework opportunities for many more employees and the
self- employed has been a constant element in the consultation and policy
harmonisation process – to increase the efficiency of both businesses
and the public sector by allowing a more effective use of skills where
and when required; and to improve the life/work balance by allowing people
to better combine work and family/social responsibilities.
The pilot project has been managed as parallel initiatives in the two
General Directorates; closely co-ordinated, with a common framework and
evaluation procedures, but with co-ordination teams reporting to their
own management hierarchies. In each DG, the project manager liaises with
his counterpart in the other DG to ensure effective co-ordination and
the dissemination of good practices. For 2000-2001, the wider promotion
of telework opportunities remains a component of the Commission’s
proposal for a Strategy for Jobs in the Information Society. The Commission
is supporting the social partners in setting up framework conditions and
practical arrangements to enable telework to take place on a wider scale.
Inside the Commission, telework is being taken forward within the overall
Reform Process, both as part of new approaches to the management of the
Commission’s human resources and in the context of moves towards
the creation of an e-Commission.
Objectives
The project had four principal objectives:
- to increase the efficiency of the Commission through more effective
use of staff time and skills;
- to enhance staff's well-being through assisting them to reconcile
work and private life and reduce travel time and stress. This can bring
further benefits to the Commission in helping it to recruit, retain
and motivate high-quality staff;
- to establish good practice in the application of telework in public
administration. By successfully introducing teleworking the Commission
can become a good practice model for other administrations;
- to contribute to environmental improvement in host countries. By reducing the number of Commission staff commuting by car during peak hours the Commission can contribute to a reduction in congestion, pollution, accidents, fuel consumption etc.
Resources
Unknown
Activities
Starting up the pilot:
Volunteers for participating in the pilot were identified by sending information
to all staff in the two DGs involved, and by inviting those interested
to obtain their manager’s approval. All have signed a management
agreement with their respective manager and Director which outlines the
parameters within which their indicidual telework takes place.
In both DGs, a number of measures have been put in place to monitor the
pilot on anongoing basis. These include:
- periodic questionnaires to teleworkers, their managers and their colleagues;
- periodic meetings bringing together all teleworkers;
- informal meetings between pilot project management and individual
teleworkers;
In DG-EMPL, teleworkers were also required for an agreed period to keep
timesheet records in a standard format.
DG- Employment and Social Affairs
Within DG EMPL, 32 teleworkers took part in the project. The number has
been largely stable since the start of the pilot in January 1999 although
14 individuals have left the project since its start and have been replaced:
- 2 people found that telework was not appropriate for their particular
jobs/personal circumstances;
- 1 person stopped teleworking when she started to work part time;
- 1 person stopped teleworking when she was promoted to Head of Unit;
- 10 people left the project due to job moves taking them out of the DG.
The number of teleworking men and women was evenly divided, all Directorates were represented and a wide range of job functions has been covered.All teleworking is carried out from the teleworkers' homes. Participants work on average for 19% of their time, the maximum is 40% (ie 2 days a week).The pattern of telework varies and can be either for fixed or variable days, full days,half days or just a couple of hours to enable the teleworker to avoid travelling during the rush hours.
DG- Information Society
Within DG INFSO, 90 teleworkers took part in the pilot. This number has
increased significantly: From an initial number of 40 Teleworkers in January
1999, 10 have left the pilot, and 50 additional volunteers joined for
the second phase starting on the 1 February 2000. Of those who left the
pilot:1 person found that telework was not appropriate for their particular
jobs/personal circumstances, and 9 people left due to job moves taking
them out of the DG INFSO.
Considerably more man than women participated in this pilot, all Directorates
and all job types in DG INFSO were represented.
Within DG INFSO, three models of telework are explored: Some teleworkers'
work part-time from their homes, as in DG EMPL. Others are equipped to
work where-ever they may be while on mission, both within the EU and in
other countries: Particular attention has been given to this mobile aspect
of telework because of the involvement of the DG with the development
of mobile communications. A third option of work in Commission Offices
away from the normal place of work (in Brussels for Staff normally based
in Luxembourg, and vice-versa) has little been used. Teleworking accounts
for about 18% of total working time, but the pattern of telework varies
with the type of telework and individual preference.
Evaluation
The two DGs issued a first interim report in Summer 1999. A second internal
evaluation report was issued in September 2000. This evaluation report
includes an analysis of a questionnaire-based self-evaluation by the teleworkers,
their colleagues and their managers in May 2000.
A panel of independent experts in the field has issued an external evaluation
report in August 2000. The specific issues evaluated are the effectiveness,
efficiency and impact of the pilot and the achievements of the pilot in
comparison with best practice in other comparable organisations. The panel
made recommendations regarding the introduction of telework options in
the Commission, on a larger scale, in the near future.
Output and Results
A common management agreement, implementation and evaluation framework
was established. A substantial number of members of Staff in both DGs
volunteered to participate, and had the support of their superiors and
Directors for their participation. Within this common framework, a wide
diversity of work arrangements has been explored by staff in all grades
and with a wide variety of responsibilities. A common evaluation of benefits
and impacts has been completed to schedule.
Net benefits have been reported by both teleworkers and managers in terms
of the quality and quantity of work done and number of deadlines met.
There is, however, a difference in perception between these two groups
with more teleworkers than managers reporting benefits. Managers confirmed
the improved work output (although to a somewhat lesser extent) but some
expressed concerns about the impact of telework on communications within
their Unit. The pilot has provided a framework within which such impacts
can be monitored.
Teleworkers enjoy teleworking and are deriving real personal benefits
from it. Particular advantages that have been identified include a reduction
in commuting time; less stress; a better combination of work and social/family
life and better working conditions. These factors also benefit the Commission
in terms of motivation and retention of experienced staff and, in some
cases, their ability to work longer hours than would otherwise be the
case. The pilot has identified a list of Commission activities which have
been found to be particularly suited to the telework environment (and
also some which are not suited). The former category includes tasks where
the ability to work undisturbed is important such as drafting reports,
preparing for missions, analytical work, sending and replying to emails
and background reading. Telework is therefore appropriate for most activities
associated with the management of files at the Commission.
The principal tasks which are not suited are those such as attending meetings
which require face to face contact with colleaguesMany initial problems
with informatics and telecommunications tools have been resolved. Effective
technological platforms have now been provided for the support of home-based
and mobile telework, with reliable remote access to e-mail. All teleworkers
in DG EMPL, and some in DG INFSO, have also experimented with remote access
to the Intranet, internet, shared files and some applications. However,
with fast-changing technologies, better systems will always become available,
and the technical infrastructure has been kept under constant review.
Opportunities for further enhancement are being implemented as quickly
as limited resources allow, but not yet at the pace of best practice in
other sectors.The pilot has attracted wide interest in many services of
the Commission, and in other European institutions. Articles have been
published in newspapers and magazines and presentations given at conferences,
allowing others to benefit from this experience.
A financial analysis of the cost of implementing telework within the Commission
is provided. In considering such figures one must borne in mind that a
financial analysis is not the only basis on which teleworking should be
judged and that many of the figures are estimates which are subject to
a significant margin of error. In addition no quantification is available
(or possible) of the cost savings and efficiency benefits which could
be realised from a wider implementation of telework and modern office-design
concepts. Costs relating to the management of telework could be expected
to fall once it was established as a permanent practice rather than a
pilot project. Nevertheless, the figures do provide evidence that the
costs of implementing an appropriate element of telework in an environment
such as the Commission are not prohibitive and that the additional costs
of equipment, communications, support and management supervision could
potentially be more than compensated by the value of the benefit from
increased productivity and quality of work.
Output and Results - Key Factor: improved business
processes
Net benefits have been reported by both teleworkers and managers in terms
of the quality and quantity of work done and number of deadlines met.
There is, however, a difference in perception between these two groups
with more teleworkers than managers reporting benefits. Managers confirmed
the improved work output (although to a somewhat lesser extent) but some
expressed concerns about the impact of telework on communications within
their Unit. The pilot has provided a framework within which such impacts
can be monitored.
Output and Results - Key Factor: Improved worker involvement and autonomy
Teleworkers enjoy teleworking and are deriving real personal benefits
from it. Particular advantages that have been identified include a reduction
in commuting time; less stress; a better combination of work and social/family
life and better working conditions.
Output and Results - Key Factor: increased flexibility of work patterns
In total 122 employees started teleworking due to the pilot.
Lessons and conclusions
The general conclusion of the pilot is that telework could make a valuable
contribution to the improvement of the efficiency of the Commission and
to the quality of working-life of staff. A further extension of this pilot
or a modest expansion of it is unlikely to change this conclusion.
Outstanding issues which require attention:
- There will be a need for a more general negotiated framework within
which telework options could be made available more widely to Commission
Staff, to the benefit of the organisation and its staff; This framework
will need to address a number of regulatory and administrative issues
concerning the conditions under which staff may telework, and the rights
and responsibilities of both staff and the Commission concerning telework;
- Better technology support, particularly communications facilities,
is needed. The provision of improved telecommunications and IT support
to telework for most staff will require a review of funding and technical
support, and for offsetting higher costs against improvements in productivity
and work-quality, as well as against possible savings in office accommodation
costs;
- Improvements are still needed for management, staff assessment, and
communications arrangements to allow more decentralised management-by-objective,
and better networked co-operation within distributed teams within the
Commission.
The external panel concludes that the success and momentum that the Pilot
has built up must not be lost and that immediate action should be taken
in order to extend telework options as widely and as rapidly as possible
throughout the Commission. In addition, it is imperative that telework
becomes an integral part of the Commission’s Reform Process, particularly
the planned E-Commission developments, but that it needs to be given specific
attention within these if its full benefits, as amply illustrated by the
Pilot, are to be exploited.
The External Panel’s recommendations focus upon a full roll-out programme
for telework over the next eighteen months, closely coupled to the Reform
Process. Such a wholesale introduction of telework across the Commission,
where it is appropriate, requires a quantum leap in changes to organisational
structures, management styles and work processes. It will also require
advanced and adaptable technical platforms and services for roaming work
of all kinds. However, it will in addition be desirable to implement within
six months a telework option as a quick win strategy, designed to offer
the same telework opportunities now available to teleworkers in DG EMPL
and DG INFSO to as many other departments as possible, and which is not
dependent upon progress in the Reform Process.
In order to implement telework throughout the Commission, a robust, flexible
and effective organisational framework is recommended consisting of three
main elements:
- a Telework Task Force with an overall mandate to promote and coordinate
telework within the Commission.
- a full-time Telework Supremo to lead and represent the Task Force
and become the Commission’s internal telework champion.
- a mechanism for external benchmarking of the Commission’s telework
programme.
In addition, and in parallel with the full roll-out of telework across the whole Commission, it will still be necessary for the Task Force to undertake more focussed and smaller scale telework experiments which can test new ideas, technologies and work arrangements before decisions about wider implementation are made.
Lessons and conclusions - Key Factor: Improved worker involvement and
autonomy
Improvements are still needed for management, staff assessment, and communications
arrangements to allow more decentralised management-by-objective, and
better networked co-operation within distributed teams within the Commission.
References and links
Internal Evaluation of the Telework Pilot in the Information Society and
Employment Directorates General of the European Commission (September
2001). Telework Pilot Project in the European Commission, External Evaluation
Report (August 2000)
Investments and Costs
Cost Expenditure for case Actual components, plus comments and timing
(in months) if known
Cost amount (in thousand Euro)
Expenses for end user hardware Examples: PCs, laptops, mobiles, PDAs,
local printers, etc. Initial costs
DG INFSO: € 278237
DG EMPL: € 119195 397
Costs Total Total Annual costs DG INFSO (€ 2140 per person) €
195
Total Annual costs DG EMP (€ 3150 per person) € 105