The nature of work has changed and well over 100 million knowledge workers worldwide are undergoing a fundamental shift in how when and where they work.
Today’s knowledge-based workforce has the ability to connect with the people, information, and tools that they need from just about anywhere and at anytime. If properly managed, this shift to a more Intelligent Work model has the potential to deliver an extensive range of “triple bottom line” benefits for employers, employees and the communities where they live.
A Triple Bottom Line (3BL) is an integrative framework that extends financial accounting concepts to measure economic, environmental, and societal performance of an organization. Utilizing all three factors to gauge performance, organizations can understand and respond to all of the implications, constraints, opportunities and tradeoffs relevant to their line of business. 3BL gives organizations a full account analysis of costs and savings for operating their business, as well as the impacts on employees, stockholders, communities and regions further afield.
And as we know from every aspect of our work and life, one of the keys to improving performance is simply measuring performance. At Teletrips we help our customers focus on three primary performance indicators (Financial, Environmental and Societal) and look at the impacts across three interconnected stakeholder groups (Employers, Employees, and Communities).
FINANCIAL INDICATORS
The potential financial benefits for employers, employees and communities are impressive.
One of the key measures that continues to garner significant attention from an employer perspective is the potential for real estate cost saving. For a large national employer this metric can easily climb into the high eight figures on an annual basis.
But it is not just about cost savings - higher rates of retention, individual and team performance improvements, opening up new talent pools, lower energy consumption and lower utility bills, improved employee health and well being are also important measures with clear financial implications that being tracked by today's leading organizations.
Employees also experience a financial lift by working for an Intelligent Enterprise.
The typical employee has an opportunity to save $2,000 - $5,000 in after tax dollars. This combines lower fuel, parking, tolls and vehicle operating costs and other expenses related to daily trips into the office. In today’s uncertain economic climate, the ability to put $5,000 back in your employees’ pockets has to be viewed considerable economic stimulus package.
And it doesn’t end there. The communities where we live and work would also benefit to the tune of $1,500 - $7,500 in annual positive economic impact per knowledge worker. Given the fact that employees are spending more time in or around their local communities, there is a clear opportunity for business revitalization and to drive economic diversification.
ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS
An Intelligent Work Initiative aligns directly with the organization’s environmental, corporate social responsibility efforts, workplace sustainability and conservation efforts.
Organizations have an opportunity to save a total of 2-5 metrics tons of green house gas emissions per employee every year. The lion’s share of the enterprise emissions reductions are due to reductions in corporate facilities (less space to power, heat, light and cool) and employee commutes (fewer commutes equals less tailpipe emissions). But there are additional environmental considerations that can and should be measured such as energy and fuel conservation, water consumption at corporate facilities, and landfill waste produced in office towers.
Communities also experience net positive impacts when you consider the bi-products associated with reducing amount of time that their citizens are spending on the road. Fewer trips and shorter commutes equals lower gasoline consumption, reduces our dependence upon oil and other fossil fuel based energy sources, lowers traffic congestion, reduces noise pollution and decreases roadway run-off (a major cause of pollution in our rivers and streams).
SOCIETAL INDICATORS
There is an extensive body of research that demonstrates a clear linkage between the shift to Intelligent Work and a set of broader, macro-level effects. Intelligent Work creates new job opportunities for groups formerly excluded from labor markets, enhances community development and improves health / well-being.
In his recent address (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/10/25/statement-president-national-work-and-family-month) President Obama stressed the connection between Intelligent Work Practices and overall quality of life “…at the end of the day, attracting and retaining employees who are more productive and engaged through flexible workplace policies is not just good for business or for our economy – it’s good for our families and our future”.
And the good news doesn’t stop there. There is even evidence that having employees spend 1-2 days per week working from home as part of an Intelligent Work program can help reduce neighborhood crime and residential burglaries (according to the FBI, 62% occur between 6am and 6pm).
BOTTOM LINE ON THE TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE
Many leading private and public sector organizations are taking a proactive role in leveraging the changing work patterns and work practices of the 21st century workforce to improve their triple bottom line performance.
Organizations like TELUS, TIAA-CREF and Scotiabank are using Intelligent Work as a viable strategy to manage the increasing demand for office space, a way to provide flexible work-life balance options with the potential to attract and retain employees, an effective business continuance strategy, as well as a viable alternative to commuting on our over strained public transportation networks. That is, they are all using Intelligent Work as a key method to drive their triple bottom line performance.
About Ian
Ian Gover is a pioneer in the field of distributed work. He has focused his career on helping organizations optimize their technology, workplace and human capital management infrastructure to provide a better match for today’s flexible workforce requirements. As President & CEO of Teletrips, Ian works with public sector organizations and Fortune 500 companies to help them improve their triple bottom line performance - improving employee effectiveness, realizing millions in operational savings, and achieving significant improvements in environmental efficiency. Prior to Teletrips, Ian held executive and senior management positions with Sun Microsystems and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He holds a Master of Science degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic in New York.
About Teletrips
Teletrips (www.teletrips.com) is the leading provider of software as a service tools that help organizations improve their triple bottom line performance through Intelligent Workplace and Workforce Management. The Intelligent Enterprise Software as a Service Platform is helping organizations around the world realize millions in operational savings, improve employee effectiveness and achieve significant improvements in environmental efficiency. The company’s diagnostic, design, reporting and analytical software has been used by the US EPA and Environment Canada’s Commuter Challenge, as well as other government agencies and private corporations throughout the US and Canada.
Create a profile, join the conversation and let us know what your company is doing to measure and manage its 3BL performance. For those businesses in Ontario sending representatives to Avaya Evolutions at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC), Ian Gover will be at the TELUS booth from 12-1:30 p.m.and 4:30-6 p.m. today. Location MTCC North, room 205/206. Please stop by!
