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Canadian Telework Association (CTA)
Corporate Support & Endorsement The following corporate leaders send their good wishes for TD99.
John Wetmore, President and CEO, IBM Canada Ltd.: "On behalf of IBM Canada Ltd., I would like to congratulate the Canadian Telework Association (CTA) on its second annual National Telework Day. Through the CTA's efforts, the events of October 27th help illustrate what approximately 2,000 IBM Canada employees have understood since we introduced our telecommuting program in 1996: the personal benefits of telework include improved productivity and increased control over personal schedules. Companies also benefit: in certain industries -- such as information technology -- where skills and talents are at a premium, telework helps attract and retain employees. In many cases mobile employees are better able to serve their customers. As an e-business, IBM has experienced the business transformation that the Internet is driving, and the changing expectations of our customers. It's impacting the way we do business, how we compete in the marketplace, and how we deliver products and services. As the Internet continues to change business, consumers and society, those with the tools and technologies to work anywhere, anytime, will be best prepared for their own transformations. Woody Benson, President and CEO MCK Communications (CTA member): "On behalf of MCK Communications, I am pleased to support the Canadian Telework Association (CTA) and its second annual Canadian Telework Day. With the number of teleworkers in Canada expected to grow by 50% to 1.5 million by 2001, companies are clearly realizing benefits such as lower real estate costs, increased employee productivity, lower turnover and improved job satisfaction. MCK Communications is committed to providing effective solutions for telecommuters and supporting organizations such as CTA that are instrumental in promoting teleworking and its benefits to Canadians.” M. Watanabe, MD, President and Chair of the Board, Canadian Society of Telehealth: The objectives and activities of your Canadian Telework Association parallel in many ways those of our Canadian Society of Telehealth, although our major focus is, as expected, on telehealth. We congratulate you and wish you well on your Canadian Telework Day on October 27th. Our Society is meeting on October 21-23, 1999 here in Calgary, and I will bring to the member’s attention your online conference, and hope that some will participate in your Telework Day, if they are not planning to already. We will be watching your activities with interest, for, I suspect, we can learn from your experiences and hopefully emulate your successes. Richard Paton, President & CEO Canadian Chemical Producers Association (CTA member): "Trade associations like the Canadian Chemical Producers ( CCPA) associations have a broad base of members across the country and work with many agencies around the world. The staff of our association are often traveling, but need to be connected to our email and information system in order to be effective. Imagine a not so unusual a day in CCPA: One executive is in Washington, three CCPA members are in Calgary, Montreal and Toronto. Another CCPA staff member is in Ottawa at our main office. Finally, the last CCPA staff person is at home writing up a key document. He is at home both to focus on writing on the document but also because his children are sick and home from school. To ensure this document meets the needs of our members and is consistent with the policy directions of the association, it is essential that the document be reviewed by all of these individuals prior to an important board meeting. The staff person writing the document sends a copy of the draft document to all of these locations. Within a day if not hours he has comments on the document and revises it accordingly without making a phone call or making one photocopy or fax. This is the kind of flexibility that associations need to have in order to be productive and to work effectively with members. The telework link in this story is that our CCPA staff officer is working at home. Without electronic communications and hook up from home, our staff person would have had to engage a baby sitter, bring the sick children to work, or some other equally difficult alternative. Telework can provide the flexibility to get the job done and at the same time balance work and family requirements. This is critical to a productive and responsible work environment. Michael Cowpland, President & CEO Corel Corporation (also a CTA member): "With all the continuous improvements in communications and WEB interactivity, the opportunities for telework will continue to increase with huge benefits to lifestyle, productivity, and traffic and pollution reduction." William Speake Vice President, Design Connection (CTA member). Telecommuting works. It really works. And on Telework Day, we tip our hats to companies with successful programs and to the CTA as a valuable resource. I encourage those considering telecommuting, to plan well and learn from the experience of others. Visit Design Connection for home office information about work space, ergonomics and productivity.
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