Telecommuting program generates estimated $277 million in annual savings at one company, study says
As the modern workforce continues to evolve and globalize, more companies are evaluating a telecommuting strategy to save costs and lower carbon emissions as well as to retain top talent. Cisco conducted just such an evaluation with its Teleworker Survey, the results of which were released on June 26. The study, participated in by almost 2,000 company employees, evaluated the social, economic and environmental impacts associated with telecommuting at Cisco, and revealed that a majority of respondents experienced a significant increase in work-life flexibility, productivity and overall satisfaction as a result of their ability to work remotely. In addition, according to Cisco’s Internet Business Services Group, the company’s global strategic consulting arm, the company has generated an estimated annual savings of $277 million in productivity by allowing employees to telecommute and telework.
The survey revealed that Cisco employees spend about 63 percent of their time communicating and collaborating as 40 percent of Cisco employees say they are not located in the same city as their manager. The average Cisco employee telecommutes 2.0 days per week and 60 percent of the time saved by telecommuting is spent working and 40 percent is spent on personal time.
Productivity and collaboration. Approximately 69 percent of the employees surveyed cited higher productivity when working remote, and 75 percent of those surveyed said the timeliness of their work improved. By telecommuting, 83 percent of employees said their ability to communicate and collaborate with co-workers was the same as, if not better than, it was when working on-site and 67 percent of survey respondents said their overall work quality improved when telecommuting. Telecommuting can also lead to a higher employee retention rate, as more than 91 percent of respondents say telecommuting is somewhat or very important to their overall satisfaction.
“In the age of a global market, time and distance separates people and workspaces,” said Rami Mazid, vice president, Global Client Services and Operations, Cisco. “Cisco has long recognized that telecommuting and collaborative technologies are effective in breaking down separation barriers and enabling the transition to the borderless enterprise. In addition, as demonstrated by our recent study, a properly executed program for telecommuting can be extremely effective at unlocking employee potential by increasing work-life balance, productivity and overall satisfaction.”
Going Green. In 2008, Cisco teleworkers prevented approximately 47,320 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from being released into the environment due to avoided travel. The average distance for round-trip commutes varied among global regions: employees in U.S. and Canada reported on average a 30-mile round-trip commute; Asia Pacific employees cited a distance of about 14 miles; Japanese employees cited a 26-mile commute; employees in emerging markets commute an average of 16 miles; and European employees reported a 46-mile commute. Cisco employees report a fuel cost savings of $10.3 million per year due to telecommuting.
Source: Cisco; www.cisco.com.
Reprinted with permission. © CCH
(submitted June 29, 2009)
<p>Telecommuting program generates estimated $277 million in annual savings at one company, study says As the modern workforce continues to evolve and globalize, more companies are evaluating a telecommuting strategy to save costs and lower carbon emissions as well as to</p>
Telecommuting program generates estimated $277 million in annual savings at one company, study says
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