Emergencies, disaster preparedness and telework

In the chaos of the January '98 ice storm, the lives of Eastern Canadians were thrown into a state of turmoil. Aside from the mass destruction of trees, property, power lines, as well as the lack of heat or water in homes, there was another problem. Our transportation systems were crippled, as roadways became impassable or downright dangerous…due either to Hydro or army crews cleaning things up, or by falling branches, trees or hydro wires.

As a result businesses, schools and governments at all levels were closed for most of the week. Thousands of workers were simply unable to get to work. On the recommendation of police, hydro officials and the army, they were told to stay away from work by their employers.

On the business front, frustration increased as productivity declined. The lost ability to provide service, complete transactions, effectively respond to customer calls, or generally to remain competitive took its toll.

But for many workers and businesses, telework allowed some of the work to continue. In such cases, telework is not only a workable option, but it can also be a windfall. The same windfall that occurred in the U.S. when tens of thousands of computer-based workers turned to telework when isolated by road-destroying earthquakes and hurricanes, or were snowbound by blizzards such as the great blizzard of 97 in the Northeast U.S. That's why many American public and private-sector organizations tend to incorporate telework as part of their disaster or emergency-response plans.

While Canada has its share of disruptive events (public strikes, floods etc.), we luckily have not been faced with as many far-reaching disasters as in the U.S. This, plus the fact that telework-enabling technology and the Internet are relatively new phenomena, means that telework does not form part of our disaster or emergency response mechanisms….yet!

During Ice Storm 98, Ottawa's entire Federal Government workforce of almost 50,000 employees were blacked out or affected by transportation and emergency activities (except for 'essential' workers) for several days. Across the river in Hull, some 16,000 federal employees were blacked out of their buildings for over a week.

But telework allowed many of the region's workers to continue working. With Canada's highest concentration of information workers, telework made sense. While many workers and businesses had no power and were unable to effectively telework on any large scale, the majority had power. They were simply told to stay away from their normal workplaces.

Adding to the chaos was the closure of schools. Telework was a workable solution for many parents whose businesses or homes were not affected by the storm, but whose children stayed at home due to school closures.

Like the proverbial silver lining, teleworkers are less affected by snow and other emergencies. When those at the office stop working, or when the office shuts down, teleworkers and their organizations can continue doing business -- in many cases without any significant difference. Teleworkers, who must stay at home to deal with their families or their property etc., don't have to 'take a day off'. That is especially true if they have the hydro or generator-based power to run their computers, but it can also work for some without power - e.g. Richard Paton (see below) teleworked with a pen, paper and telephone.

In the Ottawa area, a relatively small number of organizations already offer telework. As a result, some of their employees worked at home during the rest of the storm, thereby reducing the disruption to business. This was facilitated by federal and municipal government suggestion that workers, including their own, work at home where possible.

Aside from other obvious benefits of telework (a no-cost way to improve recruitment, productivity, safety, work/life balance etc., while reducing overhead and accommodation costs) organizations are able to minimize disruption in service and production during emergencies. But despite all the benefits, large numbers of regional employees who stayed at home, and who had power, did not telework, meaning they didn't do any work at all.

The main reason is that the vast majority of regional organizations are not equipped or prepared to offer telework in any rational way, which means that they cannot maximize the potential of this benefit-laden work option. It is also ironic that, with government and high tech, the area boasts Canada's highest concentration of information workers -- whose jobs are either fully or partially 'teleworkable'. This emergency should be a wake-up call for organizations to wise up to telework. Businesses should examine the no-cost, win-win benefits of wiring their workers, and remember that work is what you do, not where you do it!

Case studies:

1. Carol Sabourin, Public Works and Government Services Canada. In spite of her office building being closed (Place du Portage), telework allowed her to be very productive. She said: "this emergency is a prime example of the value of telework - as long a people are properly set up". Part of the time, her server at work didn't work, but even that didn't stop her teleworking. Her tools: laptop, pen, paper and phone.

2. Doug Redden, Executive Director of PWGSC's Institute for Government Informatics Professionals, couldn't get to his office at Place du Portage (it was closed for about a week), so he spent a good part of the week teleworking from his home in West-end Ottawa. Even though he wasn't completely set up at home the same as at the office, he said: "if it were not for telework, I would not have been able to do anything work-wise." His tools: a computer, pen, paper and phone.

3. Unable to get to work, and without power at home, Richard Paton, President and CEO of the Canadian Chemical Producers' Association spent a very productive day teleworking from his home in Ottawa. His tools: pen, paper and phone. Incidentally, a number of CCPA staff are frequently on the road and hook into their e-mail from wherever they happen to be.

4. During the storm, Nepean City Councillor Rick Chiarelli, who often teleworks anyway, was 72 hours without electricity in his home. But that did not prevent him from teleworking. His trusty laptop and a steady supply of batteries helped him remain productive during the emergency.

Do you have an interesting story about how telework helped you continue some of your work during an emergency? If you do, and are willing share it, please let us know?

A telework top ten checklist for emergency planning

1. Plan now by applying the military strategy of asset dispersal (specifically, data, files and staff) to distributed locations -- teleworkers' home offices;

2. Have no doubt that home is often the best place to work during shutdowns and transportation difficulties, when getting to the workplace may be impractical or impossible;

3. Whether you are an individual or an employer, integrate telework into your emergency preparedness and business continuity strategies. Approach this as a business management issue, with telework being one among many potential solutions. A telework program will mitigate the negative impacts. In the meantime, telework will balance your business objectives with your employees� personal needs, and allow you to reap other significant and tangible returns to your bottom line;

4. Employers: if you already have a telework program, expand and fine-tune it now. If you do not, develop one now. Even a rudimentary program can be of benefit, and you can always formalize it later.

5. Build a 'telework kit' for yourself and/or your employees. Include basic telework guidelines, lists of important phone numbers, email addresses, passwords and procedures for backing up key data.

6. Invest in laptops for your employees, and don�t forget extra batteries and a battery back up power source.

7. Remember that even pen and paper can allow the work to continue, so identify ahead of time what tasks can be teleworked, and make sure that your staff take relevant files home!

8. Think � �If I�m not covered by a contingency plan, maybe my competition is?�

9. Read up on telework emergency preparedness at www.ivc.part41.html

10. Learn more about telework at sites like www.ivc.ca, www.teleworker.com, www.telecommute.org

*The Telework Guys� are:

Bob Fortier, Ottawa-based CEO of InnoVisions Canada (telework consultants); President of the Canadian Telework Association, and director for the International Telework Association and Council; and John Edwards, Virginia-based, CEO of Telework Analytics International, and President of the . Both sit on the Board of the International Telework Association and Council (John Edwards is its President). � Copyright 2000, The Telework Guys�. All rights reserved.