Outlook Series | Cisco Touts Telecommuting

Cisco Touts Telecommuting

June 29, 2009

Cisco has detailed an in-depth telecommuting study of almost 2,000 company employees. The study, conducted to evaluate the social, economic and environmental impacts associated with telecommuting at Cisco, revealed that a majority of respondents experienced a significant increase in work-life flexibility, productivity and overall satisfaction as a result of their ability to work remotely.

As the modern workforce continues to evolve and globalize, more companies are evaluating a telecommuting strategy to save costs and lower carbon emissions as well as to retain top talent. For these companies, Cisco's survey highlights the gains that a sound telecommuting strategy provides for employees and employers alike.

Cisco is achieving new levels of efficiency and effectiveness by enabling people to work together no matter where they are located. In fact, according to Cisco's Internet Business Services Group, the company's global strategic consulting arm, the company has generated an estimated annual savings of $277 million in productivity by allowing employees to telecommute and telework. In addition, with the steady adoption of enterprise-class remote connectivity solutions like Cisco Virtual Office, the recently announced Cisco OfficeExtend, and virtual collaboration tools like Cisco WebExTM, Cisco anticipates that employees and employers will continue to see a rise in the benefits associated with telecommuting.

Cisco's Next-Generation Workforce

Cisco employees spend about 63 percent of their time communicating and collaborating.
40 percent of Cisco employees say they are not located in the same city as their manager.
The average Cisco employee now telecommutes 2.0 days per week.
60 percent of the time saved by telecommuting is spent working and 40 percent is spent on personal time.

Key Findings/Highlights

Cisco conducted the survey in late 2008 to evaluate a number of telecommuting topics, including commuting patterns, technology barriers, work quality and productivity, environmental impacts, and advantages and disadvantages of the flexible lifestyle, as well as overall employee satisfaction.
1,992 Cisco employees across five regions (Asia Pacific, emerging markets, European markets, Japan and U.S./Canada) participated in the study.

Productivity and Collaboration

Approximately 69 percent of the employees surveyed cited higher productivity when working remote, and 75 percent of those surveyed said the timeliness of their work improved.
By telecommuting, 83 percent of employees said their ability to communicate and collaborate with co-workers was the same as, if not better than, it was when working on-site.
67 percent of survey respondents said their overall work quality improved when telecommuting.
An improved quality of life through telecommuting was cited by 80 percent of survey respondents.
Telecommuting can also lead to a higher employee retention rate, as more than 91 percent of respondents say telecommuting is somewhat or very important to their overall satisfaction.

Going Green

In 2008, Cisco teleworkers prevented approximately 47,320 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from being released into the environment due to avoided travel.
The average distance for round-trip commutes varied among global regions: employees in U.S. and Canada reported on average a 30-mile round-trip commute; Asia Pacific employees cited a distance of about 14 miles; Japanese employees cited a 26-mile commute; employees in emerging markets commute an average of 16 miles; and European employees reported a 46-mile commute.
Cisco employees report a fuel cost savings of $10.3 million per year due to telecommuting.