In The Hot Seat

Lesley Marshall, BT

What was the trigger that got you interested in teleworking and
teleworking technologies?

BT is interested in teleworking for many reasons, but with 3,200 home
based employees and 18,000 flexible workers, key drivers are staff retention and cost reduction. We also sell teleworking solutions

Has this affected you personally in the way you work and, if so, how?

We work in virtual project teams across the world. We can bring teams
together faster and work across geographical regions more effectively

What are the unique dynamics that drive teleworking in your country?

Staff retention, and desire for flexibility among employees with increasingly complex lifestyles

What are your predictions for new ways of working in the next millennium?

We believe by 2002 there will be 4 m teleworkers in UK, currently
0.8m, and that road traffic will reduce by 6% due to teleworking by 2006

How do you see the Internet changing in the next five years and what will be the impact on teleworking.

As the WWW is less than five years old it is difficult to predict how it
will effect life over 5 years. It is certianly the most important drive behind teleworking. Our web site, wfh.co.uk, is already getting over 500,000 hits a month

From a socio-political point of view, how important is teleworking in your country?

It is not revolutionary, but evolutionary, althougth still lacks government incentives and real support

Do you see adoption of new ways of working and telework is being
primarily technology driven or commercially driven?

Commercially - although technology is key enabler

How important is cross border working and co-operation, or do you see teleworking as primarily an insular philosophy?

Both - geography is history - teleworking creates geo-nations both local and global

Will the financial side effects of EMU assist or hinder adoption of multi-country teleworking?

Sitting in the UK difficult to tell/predict. I would suggest it can only help

Bullet point five key reasons why companies should adopt teleworking technologies and practises.

• Staff retention
• Cost reduction
• Improved productivity
• Family friendly policies
• Equal opportunities

 This page was last modified on: June 09, 1999

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