History

On September 20, 1994, Some 32000 AT&T employees stayed home. Today many organizations, including AT&T and IBM, are pioneering the alternative workplace-the combination of nontraditional work practices, settings, and locations that is beginning to supplement traditional offices. This is not a fad. Although estimates vary widely, it is safe to say that some 30 million to 40 million people in the United States are now either telecommuters or home-based workers.

Definition
An alternative workplace brings work to the worker rather than the worker to the workplace. Alternative Workplace Strategy is the coordination of all aspects of the resources required to enable work wherever and whenever it takes place. Alternative workplaces are made possible by technologies like email, e-networks, cell phones, & video conferencing. Current situation: More than 30 million employees work in alternative workspaces A survey at IBM reveals that 87% of alternative workplace employees believe their effectiveness has increased significantly Sun Microsystems gives many of its designers the option to work at home AT&T provides flexible workstations so workers can rotate in and out as needed

Purpose
The economy is in the early stages of a fundamental transformation in the way work is organized, managed, and performed. These help in: Cost Reduction Potential to increase Productivity Flexibility to work from home especially attractive Tax code may change to deduct home office costs Capture Government incentives and avoids costly sanctions

Myths about the Alternative Workplace

The creative, integrated management of workers, the places they work, and the technology they rely on can reduce workforce support costs by as much as 30% while substantially improving office productivity increase effectiveness, decrease teamwork and organizational cohesion increase worker satisfaction and retention implement to everyones participation improve organizational agility consist of computer knowledge

Different companies use various types of alternative workplace themes to adapt new work arrangements to their own necessities. The variations are as follows:

Different shifts
In this form of AW, employees are divided into groups. They work in different shifts and share desks and office space.

Open-plan space
It is switching traditional private offices with team rooms and work stations in open areas. Free address facilities are a variation on that arrangement.

Hoteling concept
Hotel workspaces are furnished, equipped and supported with classic office services. Employees may have mobile cubbies, file cabinets, lockers and computer system. It is customized with photos and memorabilia electronically. A caretaker is given to support the employees.

Satellite offices
Satellites can save a company up to 50% in real estate costs. It diversifies the risk of overconcentration in a single place and widens the pool of potential employees. It is located in comparatively inexpensive cities and suburban areas.

Telecommuting
Works are performed by electronic means. At IBM, telecommuters include an entire business unit. At PeopleSoft, telecommuting is a leading style of work throughout the entire company.

Home offices
Some companies let certain employees to work at home. Others provide laptops, software services and full technical backup. Most organization finds that a mix of AW options is better than a one-size-fits-all approach.

Alternative workplace option which is selected for the organization has to answer some basic questions:

Are you committed to new ways of operating?

The answer of the question can be found by Renovating performance measures as necessary to align them with new ways Inspecting incentives and rewards policies in the light of the different ways Focusing a lot more on results than on report

Is your organization informational rather than industrial?

In Industrial organization, the organizations structure, systems and management processes are designed for intensive face to face interaction to keep employees fixed at specific workplaces.

In Informational organization, operations are mainly done by voice and data communications when it comes to employees and customers.

Do you have an open culture and proactive managers?

AW needs multifunction team of senior managers The individuals on the team must be enthusiastic and not unnecessarily restricted by traditional approaches They must be made informed about all the key issues

Can you establish clear links between staff, functions and time?
To analyze whether an AW program is effective or not, there are some parameters: Functions of the job Ways of performing the job Location of the office Time schedule of the job

Are you prepared for some pushback?

The transition from conventional to workplace is not so easy because Accustomed employees of structured office environment may find it difficult to adjust. Workers within earshot of many colleagues may be lonely in distant location. Middle managers put up strongest resistance to the alternative workplace.

Can you overcome the external barriers to an alternative workplace program?

There may have some barriers when selecting AW, such as: 1. Physical barriers 2. Logistic barriers

Will you invest in the tools training and techniques that make alternative workplace initiatives work?
Full set of tools will be needed to make the alternative workplace success. The set of tools includes: Relevant training Flexible administrative support Standardize computer software Qualified technical assistance Financial resources

The main reason for AW program is to reduce current costs and avoid future ones. 1. For established organizations, pressed for cash, the savings from relinquishing space and making better use of what remains can dwarf the necessary investment in equipment and training.

2. For young organizations, an AW program can give managers a viable alternative to expensive, long-term lease commitments. 3. For the typical enterprise, the economics of the alternative workplace are more complex, and the decision to adopt an AW program rests as much ormore - on intangibles as it does on simple financials.

Tangible Costs
Setup costs: Include hardware, software, training, and any equipment or furniture; Ongoing costs: include allowances, phone charges, and technical support.

Tangible Benefit
Increasing employee productivity Enhancing recruiting and retention

Intangible Costs
Intangible costs for the company and its employees include the time spentlearning new work habits and ways of communicating with colleagues and customers.

Intangible Benefit
Closer teamwork Greater flexibility Value of employees increased time and control Easier to recruit and retain

Starting with a pilot project

If a company is on the decline, then a complete rollout makes sense and if the company already is informational, the risk of failing at full implementation is low. A phased, experimental approach is essential Beginning with obvious functions Implementing a bottom-up effort

Segmentation of the Workplace

Whenever one wants to choose his/her alternative workplace at first, he / she should segment their workforce. First step: Dividing the target employees into 3 segments. They are i. Office bound ii. Travel driven iii. Independent Second step: Figuring out the logistics of how employees will work together

Guidelines for Adaptation

The criteria below are the guidelines that each organization should adapt to its own situation. i. Office bound : Staff members work in a group or individually in an assigned location

They have private offices, workstations, meeting room. Desk allocation may be applied in multisite operations

Benefit: More team interaction occurs Difficulties: It is harder to ensure employee privacy. ii. Travel driven Spend at least half their time visiting sites for transactions and projects. Performance is based largely on the capability of spending time with external clients.

iii. Independent They can set up anywhere and anytime with a computer, modem, and telephone. No need to be physically present at specific locations. They do not depend on direct contact with clients or colleagues They do not need dedicated, pre-assigned work spaces. They have the freedom to set up their work space.

Performance Measurement
Process of measuring employee performance: At first managers have to realize of what their people are doing. What are the skills they have Is the provided work perfect for his/her according to his/her capability? Managers have to focus on productivity. Remote work forces managers to think hard about the purpose and the results of each job. Factors concerning performance evaluation: 1. Time management In alternative workplace time management is also a major concern. Conventional office: Changing time will hamper employees work. Virtual office: Disrupt work plans for the full entire day. 2. Peer relationships It can develop in the conventional office but it can lose its image in AW. 3. Buddy system In such system, remote workers work with conventional office colleagues. It is applied to keep remote employees connected with the organization. 4. Culture & technique Managers must train workers so that they can adopt with AW. Major training: Appropriate time for work Exact & appropriate moment for communication On what topics worker should work

Specialized training: dress code for job call forwarding and watching evening news 5. Adaption to telework by AW workers 6. Educate Customers and other stakeholders 7. Creating a balancing work life: It requires- honesty on both sides. IBM asks two questions to its employees: i. ii. How well are you balancing your work and home life? Does the company foster an environment that allows you to implement that?

Difference between Traditional and Virtual Workplace Subject of difference

1. Emphasize 2. Monitoring

Traditional workplace
Traditional office emphasizes on CHAIN OF COMMAND. Managers monitor the productivity physically. Managers presence is must to check out the efficiency and quality of customer service. A group of people meet to discuss a certain issue. Employees wait for supervisor for a quick meeting. Here, time is wasting. Infrastructure and administrative expenditure are more here.

Virtual office workplace

Virtual workplace emphasizes on TIME. Managers dont have to be physically present to monitor productivity. Managers can easily check out through using telecommuting, video conferencing and other online system. When people meet, they should decide the issue. Both manager and employee set agendas for better preparation. Here, time is saving. Using virtual office indicates the way of less expenditure.

productivity
3. Efficiency and quality

of customer service 4. Meeting 5. Problem solving 6. Misuse of time 7. Expenditure