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Mobile Work: the Evolution of the Twenty-First Century Workplace Kathleen A Mobile Work: The Evolution of the Twenty-First Century Workplace Kathleen A. Alves EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The where and how we do our work has been trans- This case study looks at Alameda County Social formed dramatically over the past 45 years. Changes Service Agency’s (acssa) Mobile Work Program, have in part been driven by dwindling resources, an aspect of Telework. acssa’s willingness to utilize such as oil, efforts to decrease greenhouse gases, current technologies has improved service delivery and the focus of companies on cutting costs. These and increased employee job morale. The implemen- factors have shaped telecommuting as a method to tation of Mobile Work and the utilization of docu- address these issues. Over the years the substitution ment imaging and retrieval processes related to of computer-based technology for physical travel has records management align the agency with current led to a number of alternative work forms beyond business practices. home-based telecommuting. These include satel- Sonoma County Human Services Department lite centers, neighborhood work centers and mobile (schsd) can benefit from the use of appropriate work. The constant development and improvement technological tools and methods that provide effi- of information and communication technologies cient service delivery to clients. Recommendations enables us to work virtually anywhere. for schsd to evaluate current workplace practices in balance with organizational, personnel and budget- ary considerations are reviewed. Kathleen Alves, Social Service Supervisor II, Sonoma County Human Services Department 117 118 BASSC EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT TRAINING PROGRAM Mobile Work: The Evolution of the Twenty-First Century Workplace Kathleen A. Alves Introduction to support employees to efficiently and successfully Go to a coffee shop or library in Alameda County complete their work. To better understand how the and there, unbeknownst to you, may be an Alameda utilization of mobile technologies can help improve County Social Services Agency (acssa) employee service delivery and employee job satisfaction. In working diligently to provide services to the com- this case studt acssa’s Mobile Work Program is munity. Sitting next to you with laptop, cell phone, described as an instructive example of Telework. scanner and printer may be an In-Home Support Services worker from Adult and Aging Services, an Background of Tele-Commuting Appeals Officer, or a Team Decision-Making Facili- Modern day telecommuting was in part driven by an tator from Children and Family Services. These are effort to counter the effects of the OPEC oil embargo just a few of the 153 employee positions that are a part of the late 1970s. In 1989, the President’s Council on of the Mobile Work Program for acssa. The ways Management Improvement commissioned a govern- in which work is done have changed significantly. ment-wide telework pilot project for federal agencies. Employees are no longer strictly confined to a desk The Clean Air Act of 1990 and its 1996 amendments and cubicle to be productive. led to the establishment of the National Telework In the past 45 years, technological advances have Initiative aimed at reducing carbon dioxide and improved our communication tools, from answer- ground-level ozone levels by 25% and mandated all ing machines, faxes, voicemail, Internet, wireless businesses employing more than 100 people to reduce connectivity to cell phones, etc. It is difficult to employee commute time by 25% through methods imagine our work without these tools today in the such as car-pooling, public transportation incentives, Digital Age. Though it may seem obvious, technol- condensed work weeks, or telecommuting.1 The most ogy has reshaped not only the processes of work, but recent legislation to continue the movement towards also our expectations as to the amount of work to be telework is the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, completed and the time necessary to complete the which was signed into law by President Obama. The task. Data analysis, data gathering methods, and the Telework Enhancement Act requires federal agen- tools used to evaluate public services twenty years cies to establish telecommuting policies and training ago seem almost archaic today. It is essential that we in which employees may be authorized to telework.2 utilize current technology to its fullest potential in order to best assist in meeting workplace expecta- tions, achieve mandated outcomes and provide effi- 1 Nayab, N. (May 26, 2011). History of Telecommuting. Retrieved from http://www.brighthub.com/office/home/articles/82023.aspx cient and accessible public service delivery. Equally 2 Brunelli, Lauren Miles, About.com Guide. Telework Enhancement important in the successful utilization of technol- Act of 2010. Law is aimed at increasing telecommuting by federal employees. Retrieved from http://workathomemoms.about.com/od/ ogy is the development of training and processes telecommuting/a/Telework_Improvements_Act.htm 119 120 BASSC EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT TRAINING PROGRAM Along with the motivation to save fossil fuels, office and communicate with the office using -elec companies in the 1980s began to increasingly focus tronic communication.3 on cutting costs and pointed to telecommuting as a means to reduce the expense of maintaining office Alameda County Social Service’s Model space. Over the years the substitution of computer- For Mobile Work based technology for physical travel has led to a Within the current budgetary climate and com- number of alternative work forms beyond home- munity needs, Alameda County Social Service based telecommuting. These include satellite cen- Agency (acssa) set out creating and implement- ters, neighborhood work centers and mobile work. ing Mobile Work. In 2008 a consultant firm was Together, these forms constitute “teleworking.” engaged to assist in the development of the Mobile What they have in common is a transition from Work Program (mwp). acssa defines its Mobile in-person supervision to remote managing, from Work Program as employees who are provided the face-to-face communication to telecommunications- technological tools necessary to have a mobile office mediated communication, from on-site working to a laptop, portable scanner/printer, portable files suit- off-site or multiple-site working, and, in the case of case, Internet Card and smartphone capable of tex- groups, form side-by-side collaboration to virtual ting and emailing. Training, guidelines, policies and teamwork. procedures are provided to the employee. In addition, acssa currently has 65 “hoteling” Telework Defined spaces throughout the county allowing employ- Home-based telecommuting refers to employees ees to come into an office as necessary to complete who work at home on a regular basis, though not tasks. A hoteling area is a bullpen area that offers an necessarily every day. A person can be a telecom- empty desk space that has technological connectiv- muter if the individual’s link to the office is as sim- ity. The employee can access the county network and ple as a telephone; however, telecommuters often temporarily sit when completing tasks at the office. use other communication media, such as electronic Mobile Work employees do not have an individual mail, personal computer links to office servers, and workstation. fax machines. acssa engaged the labor union in dialogue and In satellite offices, employees work both outside input related to the development of the Mobile Work the home and away from the conventional workplace Program. This engagement was an integral piece of in locations convenient to the employees and/or cus- partnering to help identify potential labor issues in tomers. A satellite office houses only employees from the Mobile Work Program. a single organization. Prior to its implementation of Mobile Work, A neighborhood work center is essentially identi- acssa had identified the needs related to document cal to a satellite office, but also includes the housing imaging. In 2004, acssa began identifying meth- of more than one company’s employees. Several orga- ods and technology to utilize for document imaging nizations may share the lease of an office building and automated retrieval processes. They currently and maintain separate office areas within the build- employ 24 full-time document scanners and index- ing for employees of each organization. ers and two full-time supervisors.4 Mobile workers are on the road or in the field 3 Kurkland, Nancy B, and Bailey, Diane E. (Autumn 1999). Telework: The using communications technology to work from Advantages and Challenges of Working Here, There, Anywhere, and Any- home, from a car, or other field location and; com- time. Retrieved from http://www.stanford.edu/group/wto/cgi-bin/docs/ Kurland_Bailey_99.pdf municating with the office as necessary from each 4 Panelo, Noel. (2007). Document Imaging and Automated Retrieval Sys- location. This is in contrast to telecommuters who tem: Harnessing the Power of Technology to Manage and Protect Client and Other Vital Records. Retrieved from http://cssr.berkeley.edu/bassc/ work from one designated location outside the main cases/2007/Noel_Panelo.pdf PARTICIPANTS’ CASE STUDIES • CLASS OF 2012 121 Mobile Work is a cost-avoidance program and and mobility to acssa employees. The mwp reduces not necessarily a cost-savings strategy. The savings overall operating costs by investing more in employ- come from in acssa improving its use of open space ees than in bricks and mortar. Cost savings are rather than renting new buildings for additional accomplished by maximizing efficient use of physical staff. acssa analyzed the cost of maintaining cur- space by recapturing under-utilized office space and rent workstations for approximately 170 employees adjusting the planning model relative to employee compared to the proposed Mobile Work Program. work and space patterns. Themwp engages in cur- According to the analysis, the translation of cost sav- rent business practices and assists acssa to be com- ings for 10,000 square feet of space would be approx- petitive in attracting and retaining talented and imately $3,000 per employee in one-time costs for skilled employees.
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