Motivation

Teleworking at Baxter International

Baxter International is a leading U.S manufacturer and supplier of technology relating the blood and circulatory systems, employing over 40,000 people worldwide. In the late 1990s as part of its close technological relationship with Nortel Networks, it implemented Nortels HomeOffice 2 system, which connects remote workers to the corporate phone system and internet as if they were present in the office. This system matched the companys need for increased flexibility, which arose for the following reasons.

1) The global and distributed nature of the business meant staff had to go to the office regularly in the early hours for audio conference. 2) Many of its offices, including the UK base at Compton in Berkshire, were in rural settings, meaning that substantial driving was involved for staff to get to and from work. 3) The life-critical nature of the business meant that some staff needed to be available at all hours to hospitals and to be able to direct the action required through the organizations system. This had previously meant 24-hour rotas in the workplace, which was unpopular. 4) Similarly, call centre staff at the companys dialysis equipmentsupplying subsidiary cover the period from 8 am to 10 pm, with every patient having a named agent. Working early and late was, again, not very popular. Introduced in 199, the scheme has become so popular that around 20 per cent of non-manufacturing staff now work from home, agreeing with their manager how often and when they come into the office. Worldwide, over 3500 employees use the teleworking system.

The set-up cost per employee was around 3000 British Poundsincluding the Nortel system installation, a fax, copier, printer and scanner, a desk and ergonomic chair, fire extinguisher and smoke detector. There are also ongoing costs as the company pays for ISDN

facilities and personal calls. Most employees concerned had already been issued with laptops.

The organization has gradually changed its culture in response to its distributed system of operation. Performance Management is now almost totally related to outputs. Managers with home workers have needed to be trained in target setting, measurement and relationships with their staff, for example.

A number of additional benefits have arisen since the scheme began. Retention of existing employees has improved but so has the ability to trawl through a relatively small pool of crucial specialists who no longer will necessarily have to relocate to the companys main centres. This ability to avoid family disruption can be crucial in the decision as to whether to accept a job opportunity, as well as saving a large sum that would otherwise have to be spent on relocation costs. In addition, the proportion of staff returning from maternity leave has risen as many have joined the teleworking loop and now take part in audio conferencing to keep them selves up to date.

Overall, the scheme has been seen as very successful indeed, not just in terms of the speed of take up by staff, but also for the hard nosed measures of increases in productivity estimated at around 30% on average. Along side this has been the substantial saving in office space.

1. what do you see as the key issues relating to motivation in this case? 2. What were the chief benefits to the company of introducing flexible working practices?