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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Catalyst needed for telework to take off

By: Gina Teel

Posted: 10/31/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

CALGARY -- Telework -- in which employees work from home while staying in touch with the office via telephone, e-mail and other forms of communication -- is far from a new concept, yet people haven't taken it up in nearly the numbers that telework's proponents think they should.

A catalyst such as a severe outbreak of H1N1 could force the issue, however, as employers could find themselves relying on telework programs to keep their business running in a time of crisis, said Bob Klay of Klay Information Management Consulting Ltd.

Telework could help maintain business continuity in many situations, be it a reduced workforce due to illness or unforeseen events like the loss of a building or loss of IT, Klay told a recent business breakfast forum.

"You need to be prepared to really protect your business. Individuals are easy to change, relatively speaking. It's the business that has a hard time to change," he said.

Keynote speaker Peter Tertzakian, chief energy economist of ARC Financial Corp. and bestselling author, said he views telework as a part of a broader societal change.

More broadly, it's about a changing society as it relates to technology and energy.

Telework could help change the current North American lifestyle, which has been defined by energy.

It's a model that sees people "driving in to a central core like a herd of cattle first thing in the morning . . . and then doing the same thing at the end of the day when you only interact with five or six people," Tertzakian said.

Change could be brought about by many reasons. One of them is the high price of gasoline.

Tertzakian said the trigger point is around $80 to $85 per barrel of oil.

The price recently crossed $80 for the first time in over a year.

"There's no question that high energy prices are going to be a catalyst, particularly high oil prices, and I believe we're looking at the trigger point right in the face right now," he said.

Telework will also need to be a compelling proposition for corporations before it will be fully adopted, or perhaps even require a marshalling event to encourage more widespread adoption.

-- Canwest News Service

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 31, 2009 I2

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