telecommuting brightens the future for florida power and light

TELECOMMUTING BRIGHTENS THE FUTURE FOR FLORIDA POWER AND LIGHT

B r i a n P a r k s

ome situations are just ripe for change. If the circumstances are managed properly, business goals are advanced and S everyone benefits. This happened at Florida Power and

Light (FPL) when advances in technology, company culture, and a supportive HR function all came together. It was just the right time for FPL to risk changing the normal work environment and become a primarily home-based operation. What started as a pilot group of eight employees in January 1995 has now grown to an army of nearly 400 employees working from home.

Brian Parks is a 16-year veteran at Florida Power and Light (FPL). He is currently the regional manager in the customer relations and sales department in FPL’s Miami office. While working at FPL, he has designed pay-for- performance programs for various business units. He also develops and teaches training courses focused on employee development and team building, and his latest effort is “Houston, We Have a Problem.

SETTING THE STAGE The majority of employees in the Customer Relations and Sales

(CR&S) department help FPL customers save money on electricity costs by recommending energy conservation improvements. The recommendations are made at the customers’ homes or places of business. Prior to 1995, all CR&S department employees across Florida would drive to an office with the hope of arriving at 8 o’clock sharp. They would then pick up their paperwork for the day, return to their cars, and head back into rush-hour traffic to begin the day’s appointments. The end of an employee’s day brought the same drill in reverse. All paperwork for the day was completed and submitted for processing. This was the accepted way of life in the CR&S department since its establishment in 1980.

Meanwhile, FPL‘s information management group had been working on the future. They had selected a pen-based laptop computer to be used by the CR&S group. This technology would be a major step toward a ”paperless” environment and offer other benefits as well. It would allow on-line scheduling of customer appointments and it was quick. Sales representatives could enter data into the computer while they were in the field. The laptop proved to be a powerful sales tool that impressed customers. This technology had another tremendous benefit; it could be uploaded and downloaded from a remote location through phone lines. The time was right for a change.

William Ho, manager of CR&S (south areas) saw the opportu- nity that the laptop afforded our organization. The new technology allowed us to break free from office structures and roam at will. We

Employment Relations Today Winter 1998 65 CCC 0745-77!30/98/24046548 0 1996 John Wiley & Sons. Inc.

Brian Parks

could provide our services to customers faster than when we were in an office environment. We could also be more flexible with our work hours, thus, being there for the customer based on their needs rather than our own. Ho put together a team and charged us with converting his entire organization to a telecommuting workforce. He said that he was committed to closing offices and therefore, reducing costs. We needed to make this idea a reality because we would have no building in which to come home.

EXPLORING A NEW WAY TO WORK ”Focus on the employee. Focus on the employee.” This was the

message that we used as our first “guiding light.” The team selected a pilot group of employees to help in the development process. Together, we designed a plan of attack, and identified major areas of emphasis. They were:

“Focus on the employee. Focus on the employee. ” This was the message that we used as our first

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“guiding light. ”

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Provide laptop training and support. Determine needs for home-based setup. Work with the HR department to develop guidelines for the new environment. Develop a measurement system that would identify employee success. Establish and ”grow” employee buy-in. Train employees on how to succeed in a telecommuting environment. Develop a management team that can lead from afar.

Even though these challenges seemed huge, there was a positive “energy” that began growing. All involved were very excited about the culture change that we were creating. We knew that we were going to be the first at FPL to risk this move.

Making the Laptop an Accessible Tool Many people in our workforce were not computer literate. As

many of us know, this leads to the dreaded ”this thing intimidates the heck out of me” feeling. Training classes were set up and all CR&S employees were scheduled to attend. The curriculum cen- tered around the new hardware and how to use it. Before the hands-on session, there was an introductory class that was designed to show employees the fun side of the computer. It was very basic. Because we had pen-based technology, games were used to promote the handling of the pen and to create friendly competition. An award was presented each time an employee reached a higher level of expertise. As the class progressed, most employees realized that the computer was not a tool to fear. They

66 Winter 1998 Employment Relations Today

Telecommuting Brightens the Future for Florida Power and Light

Employment Relations Today Winter 1998 67

The focus team believed that for a cost of $75, a home- based worker would have a great work area.

began to understand that it actually made their day-to-day work lives easier.

Thanks to the diversity of our workforce, a group of employees who were very adept with computers became our subject matter experts (SMEs). If a field representative had a computer question or problem he or she would call a SME for assistance. The chosen SME team would also assure uniform compliance with system upgrades dealing with the laptop. Team members were always on call and willing to help fellow teammates work through any computer challenge.

Addressing Home-Based Office Needs ”What do our folks need to set up an office?” This was an

important question. We all had paradigms about the perfect FPL office system. The question was, do we really need (or want) that kind of office in our homes? A focus group was established to address this issue. Each group member experimented with a different home-based setup. Some were to maximize their setup. room permitting. Others were to design an office with only the essentials. The group would perform their jobs for a certain amount of time and then meet to analyze the efficiencies of each alternative.

We as managers did not want ”the office” to disrupt an employee’s personal life. We decided to work with the phone company and have two phone lines installed in each of our telecommuter’s homes. One line would serve as an office phone line (with a separate number) and the other would serve the computer upload and download process. We also purchased an economical touch-tone phone for their offices. Personal voice- mail services were provided. To help with furniture needs, we worked with our land-management group to hold furniture auc- tions consisting of the furniture made available by office closings. Employees were able to outfit their offices for incredibly cheap prices. The focus team believed that for a cost of $75, a home-based worker would have a great work area.

HR Partners The prospect of meeting with our HR department and explain-

ing this alternative work style was not something that any of the members of the telecommuting team looked forward to. I had to anticipate that the project would be slowed or stopped but I was totally wrong. The sanity that our HR people provided was not only calming, but very efficient in guiding us along a potentially dangerous path.

The first step that HR recommended was to develop guide-

Brian Parks

H o w would we be able to determine whether an employee was thriving in a home-based environment?

lines for telecommuting. The new work environment had to be defined so that the purposes and expectations were clearly understood. The following language was used to describe the new program to employees and introduce telecommuting guidelines:

FTL is adopting a home-based work environment with a flexible work schedule in order to accomplish several objectives:

1. Increase customer satisfaction 2. Increase productivity 3. Decrease operating expenses

These guidelines are to be followed while working in a home- based environment. They are written specifically as a guide for telecommuting. They are not to replace any current corporate policies.

The guidelines address ethical conduct, work schedule, call-in for illness, accident /injury reporting, mileage, and FPL-owned equip- ment in the employee’s home.

Allemployees understood and signed the guidelines. With the support of a dynamic HR department, the telecommuting way of life was given a positive start. We now had to determine how to measure individual effort in an environment where employees were not seen.

Measuring Performance The traditional way of conducting business in CR&S at FPL

had to be abandoned. Almost everything about our jobs was changing. Laptops were being used as a selling tool. Our workforce was in transition to begin working from home. Many of us began looking around and asking, “Are you sure that this is a utility?” Our group was moving exceptionally fast. Change of this magni- tude resulted in a variety of different issues that needed to be addressed. At an individual level, how would we be able to determine whether an employee was thriving in a home-based environment? More importantly, how would they know whether they were thriving?

Although certain performance measurements existed, employee performance prior to telecommuting was very subjective. It was up to the supervisor to appraise performance throughout the year. Much of the appraisal was based on observation or gathered information. In the new environment, performance could still be measured, but day-to-day observation was not possible. The major concern was voiced by the employees themselves. ”Out of sight, out of mind” was how they felt. This was a valid feeling. In order for them to feel comfortable working from home, they had to be comfortable with the fact that their efforts were being



T h e greatest plan in the world will fail if the employees do not embrace it.

recognized and rewarded. As part of the management team, we had to deliver a new performance measurement system for the new environment.

Again, we tried to focus on the employees and determine what they needed so that a new and effective performance measurement system could be developed. We assumed that the following would be desirable from an employee standpoint:

1. “Make it clear what I am supposed to accomplish.” We needed to design a measurement system that focused on the most important management goals. It had to measure not only individual effort but team effort as well.

2. “Give me control.” Very simply, employee output should count more than supervisor input.

3. ”Make it timely. Keep me informed.” Communication is essential in the telecommuting world. We needed to provide monthly updates.

4. “Make it fair.” Absolutely essential!

As fate (or great planning) would have it, a management team was working on this project prior to the telecommuting conver- sion. The final product was presented to many focus groups and improvements were made until acceptance was achieved. A statewide ”tour” was conducted so that the measurement system could be explained to every employee at regional monthly meetings. The telecommuters believed that the measurement system that was presented was fair, clear, and would eliminate all “sur- prise.” They also liked the fact that they controlled 50 percent of their final evaluation, with their team effort counting for 40 percent and the supervisor’s input was 10 percent of the score. The employees considered it a win-win.

Employee Buy-In The greatest plan in the world will fail if the employees do not

embrace it. I believe that employees desire involvement in major changes. They also want support systems that will help them to succeed. That is how we approached this workplace overhaul.

The focus group was the major key to establishing the overall buy-in process. As time progressed, and group members contin- ued to work out of their homes, their enthusiasm piqued the interest of their peers. The group’s positive attitude was the greatest selling tool. We, as developers, created a ”partnership” with the focus group. Nine out of ten of their suggestions were implemented. The flexible work hours that telecommuting pro- moted was considered a blessing by many. The rest of the workforce


Brian Parks

wanted to be involved. We identified the need for one more training class focusing on self-management techniques. The trick was, this training class needed to be invented and conducted before statewide implementation.

Charlotte Damato is vice president of MarsMQaltec, a con- sultant firm. William Ho gave her a call and explained the need for a class designed for telecommuters. Damato produced ”There’s No Space Like Home.’’ The focus group for her class was Ho’s management staff. We gave Damato our critique of the class. She made some minor changes, and in a short time, the first telecommuting class program was ready tobe used. Of course, first it had tobepurchased. We bought it and sent each of our employees through the class. In the class,theylearnedhowtomakesmartuseof spaceanddesignahome office that would be functional. The workforce also learned self- management skills, such as time management and organizational skills, as well as appropriate use of electronic communication tools. The employees saw this as management’s commitment to promote success and they appreciated our effort.

Finally, management wanted the employees to feel free to hold breakfast meetings witheachother. We knew that communication between telecommuters was essential to eliminate the feeling of loneliness and abandonment that may occur for some home- based workers.

We were ready. We began telecommuting and have never considered turning back.

Communication between telecommuters was essential to eliminate the feeling of loneliness and abandonment.

DISCOVERING SOME BUMPS IN THE ROAD It became readily apparent that we were now functioning

under two different systems. Our people had received extensive training and support. Sure, some of them were finding that the telecommuting road was not as smooth as they initially thought it would be. But they could always find help. We, the management team, wanted them to succeed. In fact, we would give as much of our time as necessary to help. The management team thought that we knew exactly what these employees were going through and thought that we could solve all of their problems from our company offices. We were wrong!

In our zeal to build the home-based workforce culture at FPL the managers forgot to train and nurture a very important group: ourselves! Our daily work was the same. For some of us there was a touch of guilt, such as, ”I need to be out there with my people.” That too did pass, and quickly.

The Need for Training The supervisors and managers did not automatically know



Overall, FPL’S

telecommuting program is considered a great success.

what our employees were experiencing under these new condi- tions. We wanted to know and to be more supportive, but we worked under the “old” system. This is the system that keeps us in meetings and on special projects. We had to learn how to adjust as we helped our people adjust to telecommuting.

To this end, Irene White, Mark Karris, and Jon Duquette-my front-line management peers at FPL-designed and developed a training class that Marshall-Qualtec is now selling. It is called ”Houston . . . We Have A Problem.” It is a simulated exercise modeled after the famous Apollo 13 mission. We built it for the purpose of understanding the management opportunities in a telecommuting environment. After teaching many classes to many companies around the country, this training class provides so much more. It is a team-building, leadership-style development workshop that touches many participants deep down in their souls.

All front-line CR&S regional managers experienced the ”Hous- ton” class. We all came out with a better understanding (and a plan) on how to lead a home-based workforce. In 1998, it is our plan to have all of our telecommuters attend the class as we continually strive to ”walk a mile in each other’s shoes.”

BOlTOM-LINE RESULTS SUPPORT PROGRAM EXPANSION

We have found that employees are quite satisfied with being home-based. They realize they are trusted, empowered, treated fairly, and supported by FPL‘s telecommuting program. They enjoy and maximize the flexibility that telecommuting offers them, and they are able to translate that into significant enhance- ments in customer service by working when it is most convenient for customers. Overall, FPL’s telecommuting program is considered a great success, providing advantages in the following areas:

1. Cost reduction attributable to the cumulative overtime dollars saved: in 1995, $9,000; in 1996, $50,000; in 1997, $1 10,000.

2. Cost reduction attributable to the cumulative office-space reduction: in 1995, $135,000 (9,000 sq. ft. of space reduced at $15 per sq. ft.); in 1996, $225,000 (15,000 sq. ft. reduced); in 1997, $337,500 (22,500 sq. ft. reduced).

3. Customer satisfaction measured by the number of after- hour appointments: in 1995, 500 appointments; in 1996, 700; in 1997,1,750.

Our total cost reduction through 1997 was nearly half a million


Brian Parks

dollars, even with an increase in staffing to support new projects. As we enter our third year of telecommuting, we will be

implementing new processes:

1. We have developed a system that will allow us to forecast where our workload will be throughout the state of Florida. In other words, identdy the "hot" markets. This is mean- ingful in a telecommuting environment.

2. We have developed a scheduling system that can shift the workforce to efficiently handle the market demand.

3. The employee performance-measurement system is being expanded to include many functions. We have also expanded the home-based workforce. Many clerical functions are being handled from a home-base and the telecommuting employees are meeting as a team once or twice a month.

Because other business units at FFL are seriously considering moving to a home-based workforce, the program is evolving, and the process of assimilating increasing numbers of employees into the home-based work environment is dynamic and exciting. +


telecommuting brightens the future for florida power and light

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