December 28, 2010
What is the Results-Only Work Environment?
A Results-Only Work Environment is a rapidly growing management strategy that evaluates employees based on their performance, not their physical presence. In a ROWE, people focus on results and only results – increasing the organization’s performance while creating the right climate for people to manage all the demands in their lives . . . including work. (more…)
December 23, 2010
The Federal Government Embraces Telework
The Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 (HR 1722) was signed into law on December 9th. The bill will promote telecommuting (aka workshifting) among federal employees, and is a move that could save the government billions of dollars. The bill enlarges teleworking opportunities and sets up frameworks and policies; eligible employees may be allowed to telework at least 20 percent of the time.
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), an advocate of telework and a lead author of the Telework Enhancement Act, described the legislation as “a cost savings measure that will help the federal government implement a flexible workplace strategy proven successful in the private sector.”
The federal government has some track record on the subject. The Patent and Trademark office is reportedly a leader in the effort. That agency reports that telework allowed them to consolidate almost 50,000 square feet of space saving $1.5 million in annual rent.
The Telework Research Network has predicted that this legislation could save annually $2.3b in absenteeism, $3.1b on employee turnover. If the 79% of eligible employees desiring to work from home do so one day per week, productivity is estimated to increase by over $4.6b, $850m in real estate, utilities and related facilities costs, and at the same time provide better work/life balance and quality of life.
References
Federal Telework Bill Passes – Undress for Success
Federal Telework Bill Passes – Life Meets Work
Telework legislation is good news for budgets and workers - Washington Post
Work-Life Balance and the Economics of Workplace Flexibility - US Government
Further reading
Work/Life Balance – What is it?
More articles on Work/Life Balance & Workshifting – Redfish Technology Resources
Work/Life Balance Survey – Take a minute to weigh in and win our everlasting gratitude!
December 22, 2010
 Happy Holidays and New Year!
Redfish wishes you and yours a happy, healthy holiday full of good times and restorative repose. As we close out 2010 at double last year’s production, we truly hope that the recovery is gaining a strong foothold for everyone.
We are committed to our client’s future and look forward to continuing the many meaningful partnerships we have in place, as well as building new ones. Prospects are looking up for many in our sector, and there are a lot of exciting challenges and opportunities ahead.
Our New Year’s Resolution for 2011 is to continue to fulfill our mission of providing the most progressive recruiting service in partnership with our clients; upholding the highest standards of honesty, integrity, excellence, and performance; and having a productive and enjoyable year.
We wish you the very best throughout the holiday season – talk to you soon!
December 21, 2010
Workshifting Benefits: The Bottom Line
A paper prepared for Citrix Online by Telework Research Network / Aerodite, Inc. (Kate Lister & Tom Harnish, 2010)
TeleworkResearchNetwork.com
“The purpose of this paper is to quantify the benefits of workshifting — specifically working from home — has for employers, employees, and the community. Citrix Online coined the term ‘workshifting’ to describe the growing trend to working from anywhere other than a traditional office through the use of web-based technology. The older and more traditional terms for this are ‘teleworking’ or even ‘telecommuting’. Both of these terms are cited in this report to preserve its authenticity, since some of the data specifically cited those terms.”
We look at the issue of Work/Life Balance in December & January and are convinced of the numerous benefits. It turns out that trust in employees to get the job done is a winning proposition for everyone. Studies have shown that employees actually put in more hours, are more productive, better at prioritizing. Employers reap the benefits of more productive and happy employees, reduced costs for real estate and utilities, and better talent acquisition/retention. The community benefits from additional investment of time in the social fabric and volunteering by telecommuters. And the environment benefits from reduced emissions and less use of resources.
Here are some highlights of the bottom line benefits detailed in this report:
Employer—Productivity Assumptions:
• 27% increase in productivity on workshifting days
• Value of employee time = $32,136 per man-year
• Average reduction in absenteeism = 3.7 days a year
Employer—Attraction and Retention Assumptions:
• 25% reduction in attrition
• Cost of turnover = 138% of wages
Commuter—Gas Savings Assumptions:
• Commuting miles/day = 30
• % Reduction in driving = 75%
Consumer—Time Savings Assumptions:
• Average commute = 52 minutes round trip; Low = 29 minutes; High = 79 minutes
Community—Oil Savings Assumptions:
• Import cost = $80.07/barrel
• 19.6 gallons of gas per barrel of crude
• Persian Gulf oil imports = 790 million barrels
Greenhouse Gas Savings (GHG) Assumptions:
• U.S. GHG reduction stated in million metric tons (MMT)
• One gallon of gas = 20.9 pounds of greenhouse gases
• Equivalent cars based on 5.5 average tons of GHG per car/year
• Goal for greenhouse gas reduction by 2020 = 17% of 2005 levels for CO2
References
Learn more about workshifting at the Telework Research Network.
Read the entire Workshifting Benefits: The Bottom Line report.
Further Reading
Work/Life Balance – What is it?
Read other articles on Work/Life Balance on the Redfish Resource Site
Work/Life Balance Survey – Take a minute to weigh in and win our everlasting gratitude!
December 17, 2010
Optimism about Growth and Employment Evidenced in Recent Reports, Surveys
CEOs and NFIB surveys show growing optimism: higher sales anticipated, plans for hiring and capital expenditures.
Jobless Claims
New unemployment claims continued to decrease reaching an anticipated 420,000 this week. The four-week moving average has improved for the sixth week in a row and continuing unemployment claims also have come down, a good sign of payroll growth. (more…)
December 8, 2010
Work/Life Balance
What is it?
In preparation for closing out the year and starting fresh with New Years resolutions and a new lease on life, we reviewed copious amounts of literature on work/life balance. This is really a subjective and amorphous little topic that gets a lot of mileage out there. But what is it really? And how do you get there? (more…)
December 1, 2010
Holiday Rush – The Yearend is Busy!
 Joanna Edwards By Joanna Edwards, Executive Recruiter, High Tech Sales & Marketing Division Manager
As I write this, a beautiful snowfall blankets Sun Valley, Christmas music is playing and eighteen resumes were in my inbox prior to 6am MST. It can only mean one thing: yearend is approaching. We are just weeks away from January 1st and in the world of recruiting it is typically our busiest time of year for a multitude of reasons.
First, many companies and/or hiring managers have a specific number of open roles they must fill prior to EOY, or they lose the open requisitions, or worse their MBO or an equivalent monetary sum. (more…)
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