Scheduling Chronicles

A recent survey conducted by Ipsos/Reuters shows that Europe and North America are lagging behind when it comes to telecommuting. The survey polled 11,000 users from 24 countries around the world and it showed that 1 out of every 5 workers work from home all of the time or at least consistently.

Many would think that telecommuting might be most popular in regions like North America and Europe but that isn’t the case at all. Telework is actually most popular in regions with emerging markets.

• Middle East & Africa (27%)
• Latin America (25%)
• Asia-Pacific (24%)
• Europe (9%)
• North America (9%)

*India was the country with the greatest percentage of workers who telecommute with 82% telecommuting once a week and 57% telecommuting the majority of time.

The survey found that telecommuting was most popular in emerging markets. The fact that these markets are in fact in their emerging stages may play a key role in the higher percentage of workers telecommuting. By allowing these workers to telecommute- businesses are cutting costs and saving money, which is very important and attractive in the early stages of developing businesses.

If emerging markets are enabling and allowing workers to telecommute to reduce costs, is it a practice that developed markets in regions like Europe and North America should ignore? The answer is absolutely not, and here is why.

1. Reduced Costs- Whether you are a developed market or an emerging one reduced costs and energy consumption for organizations is never a negative. By allowing employees to work from home an organization will reduce costs associated with their real estate and energy consumption improving their bottom line.
2. Increased Productivity- Multiple studies have shown that employees who telecommute are in fact more productive. Telecommuters claim that working out of the office cuts down on other distractions and allows them to complete their tasks more efficiently.
3. Better For The Environment- Telecommuting is better for the environment. By allowing employees to work from home, businesses are eliminating the commute to work, taking vehicles off of the road, and reducing carbon emissions.
4. Increased Ability To Hire & Retain Top Talent- Allowing employees to telecommute will increase an organization’s ability to acquire and retain top talent. Telecommuting opens up jobs to a wider range of candidates regardless of their location because they don’t have to be physically present at a desk. It is also a great way to keep employees that may otherwise retire or in some cases leave temporarily to raise children. The Reuters survey showed that 83% of respondents believed that telecommuting keeps talented female employees in the workforce.

Telework certainly shouldn’t be limited to emerging markets and new businesses. It is a practice that can really be utilized across the board. In the U.S. the Federal Government is really taking the lead on telework. Over the past couple of years the Telework Enhancement Act has been passed requiring federal agencies to have telecommuting plans and policies in place.

Telework

Telecommuting Solutions

The Telework Enhancement Act

Government Telework Solutions

In a recent report by the Aldersgate Group, the influential business group acknowledges that the UK is making some progress in creating regulatory framework for sustainable buildings.

Although progress is being made when it comes to policies for sustainable buildings, it doesn’t seem like enough progress is being made. While there is legislation being put in place the framework lacks implementation plans for and procedures when it comes to sustainable building policies.

There is a great deal of potential when it comes to creating sustainable buildings and cutting costs to create new jobs and growth. Given the economic trouble that the world finds itself in the UK could really begin to make a big difference if they give sustainable building policies the proper attention.

Sustainability

Energy Management

Smart Buildings

On the news, in the papers, and on blogs on the internet we constantly hear about alternative energy sources and more efficient energy sources. The energy industry is changing constantly and there are numbers of new ways to consume energy and power buildings and resources around the world.

As time goes on new energy sources will continue to come on the scene and there will be a need to retrofit buildings to be up to date with the latest and greatest. What is beginning to get more attention and won’t go away is the actual practice of energy management. No matter what form of energy you are using, energy management allows an organization to get the most efficient use out of the energy they consume.

The truth is energy costs, no matter what the source, will continue to rise over time. The key to keeping energy costs to your building or organization down is properly managing your energy with energy management solutions. Energy management solutions are able to monitor your energy consumption levels across your organization or property. This will help you understand how you may be able to change habits that are driving your energy consumption and cost up. In addition to gaining greater insight into how you are consuming energy- energy management systems and solutions can also control multiple systems to reduce energy consumption in unused rooms or areas.

So now and in the future, the one constant when it comes to reducing energy costs and consumption will be energy management, not any particular source of energy.

Learn More About Energy Management Solutions

At one time it was predicted that telecommuting would be the primary way of working by the early 21st century. While the number of telecommuters is growing, adoption has certainly been slowed by management not buying into the benefits telework can produce based on their mistrust of their employees. Below is a great info graphic that outlines some of the facts on telecommuting.

Courtesy of CreditDonkey

One interesting “Potential Drawback” listed in the graphic was that employees needed to be tech savvy to be an efficient teleworker. IN the past this may have been true, but with the technology we have available to us today like The Cloud and SaaS, most of the software and data accessed in the office can be accessed the same way from anywhere else. So I would find it hard to consider your employees’ skills when it comes to technology a big deal. A bigger concern would be whether or not your organization has the right solutions and tools in place to facilitate telework.

Learn more about Telework Solutions

In a report conducted by Deloitte, “Space Based Budgeting”, the lack of efficient real estate management by the English Government is highlighted.

Recently the public sector has seen cuts, these cuts are changing the shape and trimming down the size of the government leaving nearly 440,000 square meters of workspace vacant, with another 100 square meters expected to become vacant in the near future.

Mike Turley, head of Deloitte’s public sector practice, has even noted that some departments of the government have occupancy rates as low as 40%. Real estate is typically the second largest expense for an organization after personnel but it remains overlooked in many situations. If 60% of government agencies’ real estate is going unused think about the costs that are going into unused assets.

The public sector needs to make real estate management a priority. They can do this by putting real estate management solutions in place to not only measure the usage of assets but also manage resources as well. By making real estate management a priority the English Government will be able to:

• Reduce real estate costs
• Consolidate property and real estate to eliminate unused space
• Reduce energy costs and consumption

Real Estate Management

Actual Space Utilization

Energy Management

Real Estate Business Intelligence