Deployment of Telework in European Public Administrations

Deployment of Telework in European Public Administrations: An Overview
39
Christiansen, Andreas Haaning (1997).

---

Implementation
The preparatory phase lasted for 27 months. In 1995, the management found agreement with the
union on the details of the pilot. The current project is monitored and evaluated by several actors
which are the management of the organisation functioning as a steering committee and an external
consultant. In charge of the implementation are the Head of Unit and the Unit's secretariat, the
ADP secretariat's adviser, the project leader, the ADP supplier, the project manager representing
the employees and the daily Head of the service centre. Additional technical equipment for
teleworkers' needs was financed by external funding. Our interviewee, being one of the
organisation's managers, regards this broad participation as one of the strengths of the pilot.
Technical training for teleworkers as well as matters of occupational health and safety have been
considered.
The ‘Sagsproduktion’ decides how injuries at work are handled. Besides the decision-making
itself, the work consists of administrative processes like the registration of incoming letters, the
reading of electronically scanned letters, responding to customers' letters and telephone
communication with customers. Ten of the 24 members of the department are practising
alternating telework in an fully employed capacity, spending one to two days per week at home.
Eight of them are women. 80% of the tasks formerly carried out at central workplace can be done
in the home offices. One particular operation is exempt from home-based work. Signing letters
(the act of official approval) is still bound to the common workplace.
The introduction of telework is seen within a comprehensive approach for organisational change
towards objective and team oriented work, improved communication with other administrations
and departments, and an improved response rate to customers. Increased autonomy of staff
members together with the technical provisions is supposed to enable them to deliver work with
a final character which is ready to be published.
Regulations
Between employer and employees several issues are regulated in individual contracts. The
agreement appoints the duration of the individual's participation in the pilot, contains matters of
security and confidentiality, insurance, taxes, control visits to home offices by the authorities,
technical support, the frequency and duration of work time at home and in the central office, and
the teleworkers' availability by phone. In line with the organisation's core competencies, matters
of occupational health and safety such as ergonomics, work safety and liability for injuries (also
injuries of third persons) are part of the agreement.
Obstacles
Lack of knowledge regarding the psychological dimension of telework and technical problems
proved to be the main barriers for the implementation. The staff members had to adjust to
proceeding with a new electronic document and work-flow handling system, and deal with the
challenges of work at distance simultaneously. This was felt to be exceeding the limits of what
was possible within the given time frame. The system carrying files including more than 100
documents and allowing access and processing from the home based workstations caused