Teleworking changes the structure of firms

New Zealand and Australia are to follow other countries by holding their inaugural Telework Weeks from November 12 to 16.

A definition of teleworking is: "A work flexibility arrangement under which an employee performs [using ICT] the duties and responsibilities of such employee's position from an approved worksite other than the location from which the employee would otherwise work." - TeleWork Enhancement Act 2010. US Government.

Telework Week participants will register as individuals or organisations at www.teleworknz.co.nz. Basic data will be collected to create a baseline of information, including the number of driving kilometres and resultant pollutants saved, and the number of hours and cost of commuting avoided.

The results of the 2012 US Telework Week revealed savings of almost 10.5 million driving kilometres, 3.5 thousand tonnes of pollutants and more than 250,000 hours of commuting time. These results were extrapolated and if all the Telework Week pledges extended for a year the saving would be almost $369 million or almost $4900 per person. During this week the US participants estimated they had added an extra two hours of productive time to their working days, and 75 per cent reported their productivity had increased.

NZ's Telework Week has been developed by Cisco Systems, Datacom, Kensington Swan and Vodafone, with support from Crown Fibre Holdings. They say: "Mobility is pervasive, employees want to control their work experience, flexibility is valued, talent attraction and retention is a key issue and cost control and sustainability are further drivers [of telework growth.]"

The expansion of the following will play key roles in telework growth:

The explosion of mobile phones and tablets. (Of 3.6 billion mobile devices, 1.82 billion are internet capable.)

The use of IT and new ownership models. (8 million iPads are sold per quarter and 5000-plus apps written)

The growth of social networking which is reinventing communication patterns. (29 per cent of consumers spend more than three hours per day on their mobile.)

The expansion of cloud-based services and alternative delivery models.

Increased access to reliable ultrafast broadband.

The Telework Week organisers cite how you can be involved:

Look at your organisation and consider if a group (or groups) of your employees can be involved

Visit www.teleworknz.co.nz and register. The website highlights the basic things to consider - involve your IT and HR teams

Once you have signed up, tell people about it. We want as many people as possible talking about Telework Week as we can - our over-riding goal is participation

Article contributed by the Wanganui Employers Chamber of Commerce UFB Business Strategy Group. To contact the group, email: john.patty@xtra.co.nz