Page 222 - Managing the Mobile Workforce

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` motIVAtIon, workplACe FlexIBIlIty, And telework

In 2003, St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System in Houston converted
its entire medical record payment systems coding staff to a group that
works at home. Coder productivity rose 20 percent, and it has re-
mained there since. Supervisors and managers also have flexibility to
work at home at times when not needed in meetings. Absenteeism is
reduced, recruitment and retention has improved for these high-in-
demand workers, and weather emergencies, including flooding and
hurricanes, have not interrupted service.
What’s your image of accounting firms? Harried accountants and
their support staff working unholy hours during the tax season? BDO
Seidman decided it would be a strategic business imperative to use
workplace flexibility to respond to economic and business cycles; it
developed “BDO Flex” so the company can manage more strategically
how and when work gets done. Now teams in markets such as Austin,
Phoenix, and Nashville work from home and client offices, saving of-
fice space costs while at the same time increasing client service. CEO
Jack Weisbaum views such flexibility as an opportunity to build busi-
ness during both up cycles and down ones, and the company views it
as a strategic business imperative.
Capital One is one of the 10 largest banks in the United States.
At Capital One, employees can choose to work in the same office
each day, work at home one to two days a week, or work almost al-
ways at home. To be productive at home, they get all the technology
they need. Managers have several programs to help them supervise
a mobile workforce, including an online Virtual Team Toolkit, and
Flexible Work Arrangements Conversation Guides help supervisors
discuss requests for workplace flexibility arrangements.
St. Lukes, BDO Seidman, and Capital One are each recipients of
the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation awards to organizations that demon-
strate business excellence in workplace flexibility. You can find more
about these organizations, and many more examples—including
countless great ideas for your organization—of workplace flexibility