SUSTEL Case Study DE-04. SVI Sparkasse-Versicherung Badem-Württemberg Informatikdienste GmbH

Transcription

1 SUSTEL IST Sustainable Telework Assessing and Optimising the Ecological and Social Benefits of Teleworking SUSTEL Case Study DE-04 SVI Sparkasse-Versicherung Badem-Württemberg Informatikdienste GmbH Norbert Kordey Project funded by the European Community under the Information Society Technology Programme ( )

2 Info on case study Country Germany Case study number DE 04 Name of case study company (+ info on department if case only covers a part of the case study company) Author information (Name and contact details) Sparkassen-Versicherung Baden-Württemberg Informatikdienste GmbH (SVI) Norbert Kordey, empirica (norbert.kordey@empirica.com) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY... 3 PART A THE TELEWORKING INITIATIVE AND ITS CONTEXT... 3 A 1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE CASE STUDY COMPANY... 3 A.2 CURRENT TELEWORKING ACTIVITIES AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT... 4 A.3 TELEWORKING AND INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES... 5 PART B - EVALUATION... 6 B.1 KEY RESEARCH QUESTIONS... 6 B.2 CHANGES OVER TIME B.3 EXAMPLE OF WIDER INTEREST B.4 NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS B.5 POLICY IMPLICATIONS B.6 TECHNICAL RESOURCES PART C - REFERENCES AND APPENDICES Case DE-04: SVI 2

3 Executive Summary Since the end of the 1990s, SVI, a medium-sized data processing services provider, has been successively introducing alternating telework. Since the beginning of 2002 interested executives can also carry out supplementary telework. Whereas the former work at home 2-3 days a week on average, the latter basically work at the teleworkplace in addition to their office work. Currently (autumn 2002) SVI GmbH already employs 30 alternating and 20 supplementary teleworkers representing together more than 20% of the total workforce of 240. This case study is of interest to SusTel for several reasons: Intensive research has been carried out to simultaneously investigate the economic efficiency of the project and to analyse the satisfaction of employees, supervisors and colleagues. Telework is also used to practise measures for the implementation of desk sharing. This has also been well prepared by, amongst other things, carrying out a multi-moment study on workplace utilisation. The teleworkers are very satisfied with the new work form and do not want to lose it. According to supervisors and project leaders, the introduction of telework at SVI has had a positive influence on the quality of work and productivity of those employees concerned. The study on economic efficiency proved that investment in telework could quickly be recovered. In view of the positive experience throughout, the holding company SV Insurance is also planning to introduce telework in the near future with the purpose of saving office space. Part A The Teleworking Initiative and Its Context A 1 Background Information on the Case Study Company A.1.1 The Organisation and its Environment SVI GmbH is the IT service provider of SV Insurance in Baden Wuerttemberg. This organisation was founded in 1994 in the course of outsourcing Sparkasse Insurance s data processing departments. In 1999, Sparkasse Insurance in Stuttgart, OVA- Insurance in Mannheim and Buildings Insurance Baden Wuerttemberg AG merged to form one corporation, SV Insurance, which is directed and coordinated by a Capital and Management Holding SV Holding AG (SVH). Now SVI is a data processing services provider to SV Insurance which plans, develops and implements IT infrastructures for the organisations and various departments of SV Insurances in Baden Wuerttemberg A.1.2 Management and Human Resources: At present SVI employs around 240 employees working in the following areas: Around 120 on development of host and PC applications (highly complex insurance software) Around 90 in the technological operation of the central computers, the network and periphery maintenance Around 30 in management. SVI employs significantly more men than women as is typical in the information technology sector. The organisation has a presence in Mannheim, Stuttgart and Karlsruhe. Case DE-04: SVI 3

4 A.2 Current Teleworking Activities and their Development A.2.1 Current Teleworking Activities As a result of actual enquiries by some employees, SVI undertook the first steps in the introduction of telework in At that time SVI initially offered the opportunity of telework only to those individual employees who otherwise would have rejected the long commuting distances and thus would have been lost to the organisation. At the beginning of 2000 SVI decided to test the economic efficiency and suitability of telework as an alternative employment form on a larger scale. To this end, as of , a pilot project with 7 teleworkers (including one group leader) was carried out in the department of application development in Stuttgart. Initially the project was limited to the alternating working model where teleworkers work at home for 2-3 days and spend the rest of their working hours in the office as before. Because of the positive experience with this project, in January 2002 SVI decided to commit a total of 15 employees as additional teleworkers. At the same time, executives became able to carry out supplementary telework. At present (October 2002) SVI already employ around 50 teleworkers representing around 20% of the total workforce. Around 30 of them carry out alternating telework and a further 20 employees carry our supplementary telework. In the year 2000, SVI management in cooperation with the works council developed an employer/works council agreement which aims to guarantee a safe framework for both the organisation and the teleworkers. Table 1: Topics of the Employer/Works Council Agreement Topic Agreements Form of telework Alternating telework/supplementary telework Setting up of teleworkplaces Supervisor undertakes measures for work organisation (selection as leadership task); voluntary decision by employee Work equipment Contract of work Free provision of work equipment together with inclusion in the PC and telephone network Regular SVI employee agreements in addition to usual work contract, the supervisor is only permitted access to the home after consultation and consent of the teleworker Reimbursement of expenses and tax aspects of the work room No reimbursement of expenses, office is tax deductible Liquidation of teleworkplaces Working hours Finalisation of teleworking days and presence at home times Recording of working hours At any time (voluntariness); Period of notice of 6 months at month end (shorter notice periods may be permitted by mutual agreement) Previously agreed working hours remain in force. Flexible working time arrangements are applied according to the currently valid version. Individual and flexible consultation with the supervisor The contractually agreed working hours are automatically credited on teleworking days. Deviations are passed on to timesheet officials once a week per time-correction record Case DE-04: SVI 4

5 Appraisal Support Extra pay for nightshift, Sunday and holiday work, as well as overtime Accident, holiday or sickness Liability Not recorded in employer/works council agreement Supervisor No extra pay without prior agreement Same as in the workplace Limited to gross negligence (incl family) In addition, aspects of data protection are dealt with in the employer/works council agreement. A.2.2 Teleworking Drivers and Policies In order to guarantee a safe and successful run of the pilot project, separate workshops were carried out for teleworkers and management. In the workshops with the teleworkers, flexibility, communication and cooperation, self-discipline and self-motivation were overriding topics for review and discussion. Topics for discussion with management were the advantages for the employer, criteria for the selection of suitable teleworkers, changes to be expected by management and the team, as well as current teleworkers experiences. According to teleworkers and management these workshops were very informative, made them receptive to the topic and were helpful for subsequent discussions and the development of new works rules. In addition to the workshop all participants received written questionnaires and attended personal interviews to explore their expectations of telework. A.3 Teleworking and Information and Communication Technologies SVI make the following workplace equipment available to their alternating and mobile teleworkers: notebook, monitor, docking station, ISDN card, printer, telephone and shredder. Only in very rare exceptional cases are desktop PCs used instead. Teleworkplaces are connected to the central office via a LAN-to-LAN connection. This is put into practice with the help of two routers. Between the home-pc and the router a network is established which connects to the central router in the head office via ISDN. Certain possibilities for improving of the applied technology are being considered. ADSL is expected to speed up data transfer between head office and teleworkplace (and at the same time reduce costs). An upgrade of the PABX telephone system in the head office could enable the inclusion of teleworkers in the telephone service and facilitate desk sharing. Case DE-04: SVI 5

6 Part B - Evaluation B.1 Key Research Questions B1.1.1 Does the organisation have a good understanding of the full benefits and costs of teleworking? SVI has an extensive understanding of the costs and benefits of telework. In 2001 it carried out an economic efficiency analysis which attributed the following costs and benefits to telework: 1. Costs: An alternate teleworkplace incurs one-off costs of around 5,500 Euro plus monthly running costs of around 225 Euro. Supplementary telework incurs one-off costs of around 5,500 Euro also plus monthly running costs of around 120 Euro. Table 2: Costs for setting up a teleworkplace Working models Costs alternating telework in Euro supplementary telework in Euro Decentralised technology 4,500 4,500 Furniture 1,000 1,000 Total one-off costs 5,500 5,500 Running connection costs Technical support and maintenance Other costs Total monthly running costs In addition there are one off costs for preparation and planning, training courses and workshops, etc, as well as one off costs for the central router. 2. Benefits: However, telework also produces benefits which SVI assesses as follows: Alternating telework: Saving of around 1,200 Euro for technological equipment at the central workplace Increased productivity of around 5% and reduction of 2 days sick leave per year Annual savings in saved recruitment and training costs avoided because of reduction of parental leave Supplementary telework: Saving of around 1,300 Euro for technological equipment at the central workplace Increased productivity of around 2% and reduction of 2 days sick leave per year In addition there are savings for in recruitment and training costs for both forms of telework because of increased retention of employees. Case DE-04: SVI 6

7 The efficiency surveys show that both telework models, alternating and supplementary telework can be carried out economically. SVI s investment in the new work form telework is therefore quickly turned to profit. The perhaps even decisive benefits lie more in the qualitative aspects of telework such as a quality improvement in the teleworkers work, an acceleration of processes (particularly from supplementary telework) and additional motivation of employees or employees commitment to the organisation. B1.1.2 Does teleworking lead to more efficient use of space? So far, for a number of reasons, desk sharing has been carried out only in a few rare cases at SVI. However, studies have shown that the utilisation of the organisation s infrastructure in the office is, in general, quite low. As desks are generally allocated to individual employees, they are, as a rule, left empty during their absence. For teleworkers and part-time workers the utilisation of desks is even lower. A multi-moment-observation in September 2000 recorded the occupation of workstations at SVI GmbH for a typical month. During this period on average 38% of available workstations were not used. The highest workstation utilisation was 70%. As a result of these findings SVI is currently planning an early introduction of desk sharing in order also to exploit the advantages of telework here. B1.1.3 Do teleworkers have lower levels of absenteeism rates and/or job turnover than non-teleworkers? Regarding absences, SVI assumes a reduction of sick leave by 2 days per teleworker per year. The bases for these assumptions are the comments of a number of managers who report a reduction in absenteeism. Brief absences have decreased, illness on teleworking days almost never happen. The journey to work is often the main barrier. At home there is a possibility to start work a little bit later if one is not feeling right first thing in the morning. Another advantage of telework in this context is that communication is not interrupted because of illness as necessary information can still be forwarded. SVI has experienced a decrease in staff turnover. This, in part, can be ascribed to the fact that female employees can continue to work as teleworkers after the birth of their children. B1.1.4 Does telework enhance people s career development, and the skills and experience which underpin this? According to findings of the simultaneous study the majority of SVI teleworkers are of the opinion that their work performance is fully acknowledged and they have, by no means, any less opportunity for promotion than non-teleworkers. The teleworkers supervisors confirm this. According to supervisors, because of the concentrated working at the teleworkplace, there is a noticeable increase in the quality of work. Work is completed with more care and less mistakes and therefore requires only minimal or no reworking at all. The reason for this is, as has already been mentioned, the more pleasant work surrounding at home with clearly less acoustic and optical distraction than at the office workplace which is generally located in an open plan office. A further reason lies in the possibility to schedule work differently at the teleworkplace and adapt it to one s own creativity phases. Case DE-04: SVI 7

8 In addition there is an increase in problem solving. Managers who themselves carry out telework noticed this for themselves. At home they get the leisure to ponder over basic issues and thus achieve solutions which they would never have thought of during the day-today hectic rush in the office. In their opinion these qualitative effects, which can only be measured with great difficulty or not at all, are the main advantage telework has over the conventional work form. B1.1.5 What is the effect of teleworking on communication and knowledge sharing within the organisation? The fact that teleworkers can be contacted is regarded very positively. Teleworkers can generally be immediately contacted at home unlike in the office (meetings etc). At the teleworkplace it is possible to communicate with the caller with concentration and efficiency. For very intensive cooperation with colleagues s are used for communication, with the telephone used only for very important facts. Verbal exchanges are therefore much more efficient than on office working days. Teleworkers do not feel that at home they are excluded from the information flow or that they are not kept informed. Information is generally exchanged more consciously on office working days. Here it is an advantage for teleworkers to work on alternate days and therefore be in the office at least every second day. Furthermore, cooperation with colleagues and supervisors runs without any problems. Neither colleagues nor supervisors have any inhibitions phoning teleworkers at home. Some supervisors feel that the contact to teleworkers has improved because now they can easily be contacted which is often not the case in the office due to their frequent absence from the workstation. Regular group meetings take place in addition to the usual forms of communication, their minutes can be accessed online. Nothing negative can be reported with regard to information exchange with clients. Internal clients have accepted telework without any problems, more so since, thanks to call diversion from the office workplace, no significant changes have taken place. B1.1.6 Can teleworking increase the potential labour pool for employers, and work opportunities for staff? Thanks to the opportunity to practise telework, SVI has become more attractive as an employer. It means that their own employees are bound to the organisation more strongly. A move to a firm which does not offer telework is hardly an option because employees do not want to lose the increased quality of life and work. If new employees are needed it is easier for the organisation to attract them if flexible work forms such as telework are offered. The example of a female teleworker with family obligations who could not be in employment without the option of telework is given. Because she is a qualified specialist ( a distinguished expert in her field ) the organisation is likely to benefit from her continued employment. Apart from holding on to the workforce telework can also make possible an increase in parttime employees work capacities. One teleworking part-time employee could increase her working time from two to three days per week. She comes to the office two days per week as before. In addition, there are two half days which she spends at the teleworkplace in the morning. This way she can be included in the teamwork like a full-time employee, significantly increasing the benefit to the organisation. B1.1.7 Does teleworking influence the benefits and costs of work for individuals and in what ways? Employees offset the additional costs for making the home workplace available with cost savings from reduced commuting. Case DE-04: SVI 8

9 Costs: SVI carry the total of the one off and running costs for the technological equipment and telecommunication. Necessary office furniture is also provided if needed. No further financial incentives are offered to teleworkers as SVI is of the opinion that the savings in commuting time and expenses are already of significant advantage to employees. The employee therefore has to carry the costs for rent, cleaning, energy (if needed also costs for necessary building measures) etc at an undefined level. Benefits: According to those employees (n=70) interviewed in a SVI internal study, commuting distances were on average 33.5 km, with the range lying between 1km to 122 km. Assuming a consumption of 7 litres per 100 km, an average petrol price of 1.05 Euro and 2 telework days per week, this results in a monthly petrol saving of 38 litres or around 40 Euro per teleworker. B1.1.8 Does teleworking make organisations less vulnerable to disruption of their activities? No evidence on this topic B1.1.9 What is the impact of teleworking on business travel? No exact data is available on this. However, because of the work tasks which are associated with application development (the majority of teleworkers work in this field), as a rule there is only rarely occasion for business trips. In connection with business trips the following has emerged as an advantage of telework: After a business trip it is possible to get an insight from the teleworkplace into what has happened at work on the eve prior to returning to work. The next day in the office can therefore be planned or employees can be advised by to carry out certain tasks. B Does teleworking increase usage of equipment and/or materials? As desktop/stationary PCs only are offered rarely (the SVI teleworkers use notebooks) it must be expected that the consumption of equipment is more or less stable. This with the exception of monitors and docking stations where each employee now have two (home and office). The use of telephone and has increased significantly due to the introduction of telework. For important matters, in order to get direct feedback, the telephone is used in most cases. For less important or urgent matters tends to be used for communication. According to teleworkers the amount of loose notes has decreased significantly because notes and similar things are saved electronically and can be accessed again. Contrary to earlier expectations it did not lead to an increased use of copies and duplicates. There is no additional mailing between the central office and the teleworkplace. B How is teleworking influencing the design and location of buildings? So far, telework has had no influence on the design or location of SVI buildings. However, concepts have been developed which deal with the necessary procurements and measures required to implement desk sharing. Hence a concept has been created for one department which is planning the following changes: Case DE-04: SVI 9

10 Change the entrance lobby and removal of partition walls Relocation of technological equipment (eg host printer) Additional partitions to provide extra single offices Regrouping of desks Dismantling of unneeded desks Regrouping of group specific filing cabinets and filing trays The parent company SV Insurance also express great interest in the possibilities for desk sharing. The reason for this is that SV Insurance s current office building does not have enough space available for all employees. In order to avoid the rent or purchase of new office buildings SV Insurance is planning the introduction of telework with resultant desk sharing opportunities. B Is there any difference in levels of, and the management of, health and safety between offices and teleworker s homes? In order to achieve optimal ergonomic conditions at the respective teleworkplaces SVI supplies the necessary furniture. The teleworker only has to complete a list with the required pieces of furniture (see appendix 2 to the employer/works council agreement) which has to meet the ergonomic requirements. Furthermore, the domestic workroom must meet the following requirements of the workplace regulations: The workroom has an area of at least 8 m² The workroom less fixed/movable business equipment has a minimum volume of 12 m 3 Sufficient space for unhindered movement at the workstation is provided. A free area of 1.5 m² with a minimum width of 1 m is available. There is sufficient lighting at the teleworkplace Furthermore a sketch drawing and a possible plan of the workroom should be produced in advance. Finally, teleworkers are given the information leaflets The monitor workplace by the Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs and Health and Safety: Telework design it healthily by the Federal Office for Occupational Safety and Health and Occupational Medicine. B Does teleworking have any influence on the recruitment, retention and working conditions of disadvantaged groups? So far, SVI has not had any experience of telework involving the disabled. Telework offers more time and location flexibility for employees who also have to undertake care duties in the family. This means that, in spite of family duties, established staff can stay with the organisation or can work more hours per week than would be the case without telework. However there is a condition that managers expect their teleworkers to use their attendance days flexibly if so required. If meetings are necessary they should come to the office even outside their normal attendance cycle. B Do teleworkers work for longer and/or in different patterns than nonteleworkers? Teleworkers have the possibility to arrange work at the teleworkplace in line with their own creativity phases. Depending on individual preferences some take a longer unpaid break, eg for a short lunchtime nap or to go for a walk with the dog, others work through and only take Case DE-04: SVI 10

11 a short 10-minute lunch break. Apart from that breaks are taken when a suitable time arises. At home they sometimes work longer in the evenings to solve a problem or finish a task. Telework also increases SVI employees willingness to work in the evenings or at the weekend to carry out necessary tasks, as this will not involve commuting to the office. If they do not have to go to the office employees do not object to such tasks as for example carrying out function tests at unusual working hours. The same is true for taking on on call duties for extraordinary events, such as the currency changeover at the turn of the year 2001/2002. Managers in particular gain additional advantages for time management and authority to act because of the possibility to work away from the office. Even if unexpected work comes up during the day there is the possibility to deal with unfinished work in the evening without having to stay at the office longer than normal. One manager reports that he often used to work at the office late in the evenings until he had finished his work. Now he generally goes home at the normal office hours, spends time with his children and then, if necessary, works at the teleworkplace later in the evening. He relishes the flexibility to restructure his working life and to match it with his personal needs. B Does teleworking influence health and, if so, in what ways? In general absences at SVI are not high, therefore the savings potential is rather low. However, there are exceptions, eg employees who react very sensitively to environmental influences. There is for example a report about an employee who is very sensitive about draughts at the office workplace. Previously this resulted in frequent sick leave. Since the commencement of telework his absences have decreased noticeably. B Are relatively advanced ICT technologies such as broadband, Intranet, WAP/GPRS mobile telephony and audio/video conferencing making any difference to the prevalence or characteristics of teleworking? A possible support of telework through video communication or picture telephone has not so far been a topic at SVI. However, a changeover from ISDN to ADSL is imminent at SVI. Because of the flatrate offered with ADSL, substantially lower costs for data transfer between teleworkplace and central office can be expected. With the introduction of DSL links an acceleration of data transfer and therefore speedier access to the systems by the teleworker is expected. B Are teleworking impacts influenced by particular types of teleworking and, if so, in what ways? The efficiency studies which were carried out at the beginning of 2001 show that both telework models, alternating and supplementary telework can be carried out economically. In this model the intended and already executed investments in the new work form telework quickly pay for themselves. According to the efficiency study alternating telework already amortises after 2.43 years, the internal interest rate lies at 30%. For supplementary telework on the other hand, the internal interest rate lies at 7% and amortisation takes 3.82 years. According to the findings of this efficiency analysis supplementary telework performs worse. However, this can primarily be explained by the fact that on the benefit side it is very difficult to consider all relevant factors and these assessments are possibly based on very dubious assumptions. Here the possibly decisive benefit is however often found in these more qualitative aspects. Case DE-04: SVI 11

12 B General conclusions Because SVI GmbH s fields of work, in particular in the application of developments, are to a large extent suitable for telework, SVI decided to make use of the advantages of telework for the first time in Currently (autumn 2002) SVI GmbH already employees 50 teleworkers representing more than 20% of the total workforce of 240. The teleworkers are very satisfied with the new work form and do not want to lose it. According to supervisors and project leaders, the introduction of telework at SVI has had a positive influence on the quality of work and productivity of those employees concerned. In one department the introduction of telework has lead to reorganisation measures which are now benefiting all employees. Due not least to the good experience made by SVI, the parent company SV Insurance is planning to start a pilot project with insurance case workers in the near future. It is planned to rapidly expand telework, in order to establish up to 200 teleworkplaces by the end of In this way, in combination with desk sharing, it is hoped to save 100 physical workplaces in the Stuttgart central office. B.2 Changes over Time After a rather hesitant start a steady increase in the number of teleworkplaces developed at SVI. Today SVI s employees and managers accept telework as a normal work form. This is confirmed in surveys according to which telework is met with great interest by the workforce. A SVI survey carried out at the end of 2001 showed that around one third of the workforce is interested in telework. The fact that by now many managers also have a teleworkplace has proved beneficial. In this way they could make their own experience with this work form and could put themselves in their teleworking employees place. This helped them to overcome their both own and general prejudices. A survey of supervisors found that the increased productivity was in no way a temporary effect. Instead, managers rather expect an improvement with further practice of telework. In the beginning technological disturbances, which complicated work at home, occurred more often, whereas such obstructions only rarely occur in normal operation. This has helped work effectiveness. Because of the experience with telework was improved over time. The planning of what work could be dealt with more efficiently at which workplace was also improved. A further expansion of telework to 80 employees is intended for the near future. SVI still see a significant savings potential in the area of workplace utilisation (desk sharing). The parent company SV Insurances will make use of SVI s long experience with telework. They intend to combine telework and desk sharing from the beginning. B.3 Example of Wider Interest Mrs M works as a programmer in the application development department, where she works three days per week at home and 2 days in the office on a part-time basis. Her husband works full-time, the son attends nursery. She shares her childcare duties alternately with a mother who lives in the same area and is in a similar situation. Following on from her oneyear maternity leave she initially worked only one day per week. For two years now, since her son started nursery, she has been carrying out alternating telework. The decisive factor was the wish to have sufficient time for bringing up her child and at the same time be able to contribute to the household income. The planning of her working hours is strongly dependent on opening hours or care provision of the nursery and in future the school. Her husband has Case DE-04: SVI 12

13 only little time to look after his son because of pressures of work. From the beginning she has suffered from the fact that children and career can only go together to a limited degree and has chosen in favour of the child. Because of the satisfaction with the practised work form she wants to continue with telework. B.4 National Characteristics So far, new concepts for the management of office space in general as well as in combination with telework are not very widespread in Germany. For many employees having their own desk carries great importance. It is often furnished with personal objects, the surrounding area is decorated with personal pictures etc. Therefore, for those concerned, losing their own desk proves to be a significant disadvantage of telework. It can easily happen that fears about displacement from the business can arise and these must be taken very seriously. On the other hand, from an economic point of view, the furnishing of teleworkers with two complete workplaces one in the office and one at home is not sensible. This would further reduce the utilisation of workplaces which is already very low due to employees frequent absences from their office workplace. If telework is to be economically viable (or if the economic efficiency must be proved) in many cases the introduction of desk sharing may be unavoidable. It is easiest to achieve the necessary acceptance for this if telework is combined with desk sharing right from the beginning. This way those concerned can offset the loss of their own workplace by the gaining of flexibility of time and savings from reductions in commuting costs. B.5 Policy Implications RTD: Proof of increased productivity The proof of economic efficiency, amongst other things, was the decisive factor for the decision makers in the parent company for the decision to introduce telework themselves. Increased productivity is the most important criterion on the benefits side which is often described but difficult to prove. It this therefore important to provide proof by means of traceable figures. Policy: Telecommunication charges Cost effective telecommunication charges for data transfer between the teleworkplace and central office are required in order to guarantee profitability. This is particularly important if it is necessary to stay permanently online. Politicians (regulatory authority for mail and telecommunication) should work towards achieving more charge models which are independent of user time (flatrate). So far, such offers are only available for broadband connections (ADSL). B.6 Technical Resources The following resources are available: Employer/works council agreement for alternating telework at SVI GmbH (including appendix) Part C - References and Appendices Internal reports on evaluation analysis and economic efficiency Internet research Case DE-04: SVI 13

14 Interviews: Mr Warband, (SVI, Project Leader Telework), Mr Ott (SVI, Department Head); Ms Grum (SVI Teleworker); Mr Wanke (SVI Teleworker), and others. Reference case/ control group: At SVI a substantial evaluation about the efficiency and the satisfaction of the involved employees with the telework was carried out. Teleworkers, executives and regular employees were interviewed verbally and in written form. The interviews took place at two occasions. Before the beginning of the telework people were asked about their expectations regarding the telework. After six month of telework operation, the experience of the employees was surveyed. The efficiency of the practised forms of telework was verified by a detailed cost-benefit analysis. Organisational variables: For most of the alternating teleworkers of SVI, a working model with three days attendance in the office and two days at home turned out to be the most advantageous. For a field of activity like application development, this model is the ideal compromise between working in a convenient and quiet atmosphere at home and the possibility of personal exchange of information with the team members at the office. Regular team meetings with teleworkers and non-teleworkers emerged as an important organisational arrangement in the pilot phase of the project. Also especially preparation and training measures for teleworkers (including time management and self organisation) and supervisors were useful. Strength of drivers: Quality of life/work life balance Work performance/productivity Space saving/avoidance Transport Social inclusion Others 2 quite important. 1 extremely important. 2 quite important. 3 marginally important. 3 marginally important. Case DE-04: SVI 14