As Gas Prices Surge, Telework Week 2012 Banks $5.6 Million in Commuter Savings; Federal Participation Leaps Ahead

Business Wire

Wednesday, May 2nd 2012

Post Report Uncovers Spike in Telework Interest and Organizational Support Year over Year

Telework Exchange^SM, a public-private partnership focused on demonstrating the tangible value of telework, today announced the results of Telework Week 2012, the second-annual effort encouraging agencies, organizations, and individuals to telework during the week of March 5-9, 2012. Sponsored by Cisco, the post-Telework Week 2012 report, “Bank on Telework: The Telework Week 2012 Impact and Year-over-Year Benchmark,” found that 71,324 Telework Week pledges collectively saved $5.6 million in commuting costs. As gas prices continued to surge to $4.00 a gallon nationwide, organizations reported increases in employee satisfaction, management support, and productivity gains through Telework Week 2012. To extrapolate, if all Telework Week pledges teleworked for one year, they would collectively save $282 million in commuting costs.

Feds Score Big

Leading the way, the Federal government represented 94 percent of Telework Week pledges. Federal participation increased by 97 percent from 2011 – noting strong interest and exposure to telework in the last year. Collectively, Federal pledges avoided driving more than 5.9 million miles, gained back more than 235,000 hours, removed 3,022 tons of pollutants, and saved more than $5.1 million by teleworking during the week. If all eligible Federal employees teleworked two days a week for a year, they would save $5 billion in commuting costs.

Banking on the Benefits of Telework

Productivity is seen as a top benefit from managers as well – 71 percent of organizations reported increased productivity, up from 60 percent in 2011. Three out of four participants noted they accomplished more while teleworking. With organizations looking to empower a more efficient and mobile workforce, demonstrating the benefits of telework is key to increasing adoption. Organizations reported employee satisfaction, work-life balance, and increased productivity as top telework benefits.

Pilots Pay Off

Many organizations also leveraged Telework Week as a way to test and implement business continuity plans. Seventy one percent of participating organizations noted improved continuity of operations as a main benefit of Telework Week – a 19 percent increase over last year. Organizations also saw a decline in challenges encountered during Telework Week pilots – only 21 percent reported issues, down from 32 percent in 2011.

“As we continue to move toward a mobile, connected workforce, ‘anywhere, anytime’ access is becoming more critical,” said Patrick Finn, vice president, Federal, Cisco. “At Cisco, we are committed to providing solutions that support work – from any location. Telework Week provided the perfect opportunity for agencies and organizations to try telework and test out the mobile technologies – such as virtual desktop environments and collaboration tools – that truly enable and empower a changing workforce.”

“With new technologies driving the workforce of the future, there’s a greater focus on mobility, and the value it can add to the efficiency of organizations and employees alike,” said Cindy Auten, general manager, Telework Exchange. “Telework adoption is becoming a widespread tool to solve business challenges. Telework Week demonstrates that organizations are making great strides in implementing telework, improving recruitment and retention, and increasing employee productivity and satisfaction.”

Telework Exchange collected data from 71,324 Telework Week participants and executed a follow-up online survey with participating employees and organizations to capture lessons learned. To learn more, download the results of the full report, “Bank on Telework: The Telework Week 2012 Impact and Year-over-Year Benchmark,” at www.teleworkexchange.com/teleworkweek.

About Telework Exchange

Telework Exchange is a public-private partnership focused on demonstrating the tangible value of telework and serving the emerging educational and communication requirements of the Federal teleworker community. The organization facilitates communication among Federal teleworkers, telework managers, and IT professionals. For more information on Telework Exchange, please visit www.teleworkexchange.com.