TELEWORK
The COVID-19 crisis has provided us with an unprecedented long-term experiment on the benefits of telework.
Telework and Flexible work schedules: Building on our experience
As organizations quickly shifted to a work-from-home environment in early 2020, many businesses found that telework was not only efficient but also provided benefits through reduced costs for facilities and parking along with greater employee flexibility and satisfaction.
Telework can also have a positive impact on the environment. An International Energy Agency analysis shows that energy savings from transportation far outweigh any additional energy costs from working remotely. As companies consider their carbon footprint, one of the most immediate and impactful changes is to extend telework options after offices reopen post-COVID.
Creative companies are using telework and compressed work weeks to allow their employees more flexibility and time for their workday. With Front Range population growth and commuting times increasing every year, businesses are encouraging employees to shift their schedules from standard hours to improve job satisfaction and reduce highway congestion. Flexible work schedules also allow employees to balance responsibilities with home and children.
Best Practices: Telework and Flexible work schedules
Invest in the best technology and training to help employees to be successful working remotely.
Subsidize home office furniture and computer equipment to maximize employee effectiveness.
For employees who cannot work remotely, offer flex times and staggered work hours to accommodate employee needs, reduce commuting time and alleviate highway congestion at peak hours.
Consider a compressed work week (working longer hours on some days and fewer hours or no work on other days), which can improve efficiency and work-life balance.
Reduce work travel and replace remote meetings with video conferencing when possible.
Implement incentive programs and events for employees to bike, walk, carpool or take public transit.
Colorado Front Range surveys indicate that employers and employees have embraced the telework experience and expect to continue some versions of telework.
Telework FACT
According to Brookings, the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the trend toward telecommuting, possibly for the long term. Nearly one in five chief financial officers surveyed in the spring of 2020 said they planned to keep at least 20% of their workforce working remotely to cut costs.
Source: Brookings
Telework Adoption Looking Forward:
COLORADO'S Champions of Change
“Our employees have proven that we can make this new normal work for us and our clients.” - GBSM
Denver management consulting and strategic communications firm GBSM had an office centric culture prior to 2020, according to CEO Andy Mountain. Telework was allowed but only under unique circumstances. Based on his team’s effectiveness working remotely during COVID and changing norms with clients, the firm will be updating its telework policy to embrace more flexible work policies.
The firm’s previous lease expired in November 2020 and GBSM has opted to hold off on signing a new lease until later in 2021 or early 2022, avoiding a variety of office expenses. The firm expects that its new office will likely have less space as employees will be encouraged to mix their work location between home and office based primarily on the location of internal and external meetings.
GBSM believes in the importance of formal and informal face-to-face interaction among its staff and with its clients. Between all-hands meetings, client team meetings and more, the firm expects most staff will be in the office 40-60% of workdays. Staff will be encouraged to schedule in-person meetings during mid-day so that employees can avoid traffic congestion during peak commuting hours. “Our employees have proven that we can make this new normal work for us and our clients,” maintains CEO Andy Mountain.
“We found that productivity was actually greater with remote work and our employees’ quality of life was better as well.” - Children’s Hospital Colorado
Children’s Hospital Colorado was working on a plan for increasing telework before the pandemic began. Employees value the flexibility of telework and real estate near the Anschutz Medical Campus area is expensive.
“We were looking at what makes sense and who can best work from home or work on campus fewer days of the week,” says Dan Coxall, Vice President of Support Services at Children’s. “Some employees work remotely two to three days per week and then commute to the campus the other days. We were effective with that plan and then the pandemic came along and everything accelerated. We have learned what tools our employees need to be successful working from home. We found that productivity was actually greater with remote work and our employees’ quality of life was better as well.”
Betsy Rodriguez, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, addressed the long-term impact of the telework experiment. “We have 1,200 people who are completely remote and another 400-500 who are partly remote and are in the office a portion of the week,” says Rodriguez. “Given the success of telework at Children’s Hospital, many of the 1,200 fully-remote employees will probably be able to continue telework at least part-time after the pandemic ends. The rapid adoption of telehealth appointments prompted by COVID is also accelerating the move toward telework.”
is a free initiative to help employers continue to expand telework practices, and offers resources and guidance including an implementation toolkit complete with policy templates and company announcement materials. Way to Go’s Commute Consultants work one-on-one with companies in the Denver region to create and implement formal telework and flexible schedule policies.