This week my company, Citrix Online, launched HDFaces, which is high-definition group video conferencing, integrated simply with GoToMeeting. We've done everything possible to bring a telepresence-like experience to everyone. But it's not all about the technology, I could talk all day about HDFaces, that's not the point of this post. The point of this post is to discuss inhibitors to video usage and how we move past these to change the way we work for the better. How can you leverage video to be more effective? What behavioral changes are needed when shifting to video?

First, you have to pay attention again. I know, it sounds awful right? You mean I can't multitask on conferencing calls? I would argue that this is actually a positive thing. The problem with conference calls is that people invite everyone they can with the assumption that people can tune out if it's not relevant. With video, we're forced to think about who we invite to our meetings. This should be a positive for any organization. Less time spent in irrelevant meetings.

Secondly, commitments seem less meaningful at a distance. Any good salesperson knows that a handshake in person is worth 10 times as many commitments via email. Humans are social beings and make decisions based on trust. Video enables us to build trust from a distance. Whether a coaching conversation with a boss, a client meeting or a project team meeting, people make more honest commitments when they can see each other.

I've always talked about how online meetings reduce travel. It's still the #1 reason anyone chooses an online meeting solution. But video conferencing calls ALL travel into question. Over the past year, I've cancelled travel for board meetings, client visits and conferences and replaced them with video conferencing.

Historically, technology has also inhibited the adoption of video conferencing. Telepresence has been reserved for the few within enterprises, while consumer solutions like Skype leave much to be desired in terms of quality, usability and group collaboration features.

Expectations are high for video conferencing in the coming year. I can tell you personally that the use of video has changed the way I work. I've added personal connections to all business interactions, made stronger commitments and eliminated useless travel. To take a line from our new TV campaign: "Simple, high definition group video conferencing will change the way you work and possibly a whole lot more..."

Photo Credit: Citrix Online

In 2009 Forrester Research predicted that more than half the workforce would be teleworking by 2016:

"Fueled by broadband adoption, better collaboration tools, and growing management experience, the U.S. telecommuting ranks will swell to 63 million by 2016. Those 29 million new telecommuters lined up five abreast would stretch from New York to LA! Leading the surge are occasional telecommuters and regular telecommuters who work from home between one and four days a week."

Lots of other respected organizations have made similar projections.

Well, call me a skeptic, but while I'd love nothing better than to see an end to traffic jams, I just don't see it happening any time soon.

For those of us who are lucky enough to work where and when we want, it's easy to forget that the majority of the workforce doesn't. They're bound to the cubicle farm with tethers that date back to the days of sweatshops and typing pools. Those tethers, a.k.a. managers, simply can't imagine not being able to see the backs of their employee's heads from 9 to 5 each day.

My organization, the Telework Research Network, just completed a study that looked at telework trends over the past five years. Sponsored by Citrix Online, our summary report, The State of Telework in the U.S., reveals who's really teleworking, what they're doing, and where they're doing it. We even dared to make a prediction of our own--but it's one that's sure to disappoint the true believers, advocates, and companies hoping to cash in on the trend.

First for the good news. Telework is growing. In fact, based on U.S. Census data 61% more employees considered home their primary place of work in 2009 than in 2005, despite the recession. While the full story on the impact of the recession won't be known until 2010 Census data is available, private sector survey data just released by WorldatWork, suggests that while the overall number of teleworkers declined between 2008 and 2010, the frequency of telework increased.

Now the bad news. Census data shows that only 2.9 million employees work from home more than half the time (not including the self-employed). That's only 2.3% of the workforce. So while 61% growth sounds impressive, it has more to do with how low the number was five years ago than any kind of a wholesale change in the way we work.

How can it be that while 80% of Fortune Magazine's "100 Best Companies To Work For" already offer telecommuting, so few people are doing it on a regular basis? Again, I say, if you're lucky enough to workshift regularly, count your blessings. While a majority of large companies say they offer telework, it's largely granted as an occasional accommodation for only a handful of employees. Our study in fact showed that over 75% of employees who work from home earn over $65,000 per year, putting them in the upper 80 percentile of the workforce.

Employees want to telework-- according to WorldatWork, almost 80% of would do so at least part of the time if allowed. The tools and technologies to support it are widely available, inexpensive, and easy to use. But most companies simply don't have the culture of trust that comes from measuring performance by what people do rather than when, where, or how they do it.

In his bestselling book, Drive, Dan Pink observes "...despite four decades of scientific research on human motivation, there's an immense mismatch between what science knows and what management does."

He goes on to say, "...while the carrots and sticks worked successfully in the 20th century, it's precisely the wrong way to motivate people today."

It's time for managers to wake up from their "management by walking around" stupor. Fact is, their employees have already left the building. According to a recent DEGW survey of 60,000 worldwide employees, knowledge workers are not at their desk 65% of the time. So how's that whole management by walking around thing working? Not so good, I'd guess. If fact, as Pink and the majority of management gurus have been telling us for years, it really never did.

What employees of all age groups want is the flexibility to determine for themselves where, when, and how they work.

They want to be trusted.

They want to do their best and feel that they're a part of greater whole.

They want to be treated like adults.

And if they can't get what they want, they'll go somewhere else or venture out on their own.

This is not your grandfather's workforce.

You can download a copy of The State of Telework in the U.S. report here.

Photo Credit: TylerIngram

Whether you're a new visitor or an old friend of workshifting.com, have you ever wanted something tangible about the concept of "workshifting" that you could provide to your manager or a colleague interested in workshifting? Sure, you could point people to our About page or one of the many resources that we provide on the site such as "Workshifting - The Bottom Line." But, we wanted to go one step further for you and so we created a short, downloadable Workshifting Fact Sheet.

This fact sheet will help explain what "workshifting" is and the savings that workshifting can provide to employees, employers and the environment while increasing business performance and employee satisfaction. We've provided a handful of stats along with real workshifting stories and quotes.

You can download your copy of the Workshifting Fact Sheet here.

We hope that this Workshifting Fact SheetWorkshifting Fact Sheet will help you in learning more about workshifting and will help you in building your business case for workshifting at your company!

Today we have a guest post from Brian deHaaff who is a Senior Product Line Director at the Online Services division of Citrix Systems, as part of the IT Services product group.

As the workforce becomes increasingly distributed, there is no reason that IT managers should continue to be chained to their desks. IT pros are people, too, and should also be able to benefit from the changing nature of work. Telecommuting and workshifting discussions to date have been oriented around the benefits of workshifting to knowledge workers of working from anywhere at anytime, but IT is not a 9 to 5 job and it's now possible to support remote workers and infrastructure from anywhere.

IT is needed more than ever

While IT continues to be a mysterious art (infrastructure and apps are complex and the movement of data is difficult to visualize), IT is far from dead. However, IT is becoming more difficult to manage. There are more devices and apps than ever before, and there are more remote workers, too. They often have a strong hand when it comes to selecting the technology that they will use to get their jobs done. Many sage industry analysts have called out this trend and described it as the "consumerization of IT." Well, if the employee gets to make consumer choices at work that also suggests that the IT pro has lost control and can no longer decide what devices and apps are used. It's not that IT is dead, it's just changing (as it always has been).

IT is needed more than ever to do what it does best - keep people and the computers they depend on productive. While end-user tech support may increasingly follow self-service and peer-to-peer models, someone will need to set that up and monitor it. And there will always need for a real human to assist when documents and/or peers fail to help. Also, as the enterprise borders expand and become soluble, IT remains the proper watch dog to apply safe policy and security mechanisms to ensure businesses hold on to their proprietary information and continue to meet compliance requirements.

What if IT could work from anywhere?

Now, imagine if IT professionals could work from anywhere. As long as they got the job done, would anyone really care where they worked? Would there be a benefit to the business? The reality is that IT pros already can work from anywhere. Remote support and monitoring tools make it possible for them to enjoy the freedom of working from anywhere while remaining in control. And some IT pros are just starting to take advantage of the benefits.

• Faster support of end users
• Faster resolution of problems
• Greater job satisfaction

In a recent survey, 35% of IT employees said they'd give up 10% of their salary for the chance to work from home full-time, reports IT Manager Daily, drawing on a recent survey by IT job board Dice.com (an IT job site). Some companies are looking for ways to satisfy IT employees without impacting their budgets. Working from home, says IT Manager Daily, is a no-cost benefit to the company and a perk to many employees. It's a win-win for both.

Unfortunately, workshifting is a rare perk for IT professionals, according to Alice Hill, managing director at Dice.com. Less than 1% of the total jobs currently posted on Dice mention telecommuting as an option. Given how difficult it is to find and retain quality IT professionals (the unemployment rate for technology professionals hovers around 4%) and current talent shortages in specific IT areas, employers would also benefit from changing how they think about workshifting.

Workers going mobile

As workshifters have spread across the globe, they have also rapidly adopted mobile computing devices. There are currently about 2 billion Internet connected users and over 100 million smartphones were shipped in 2010. Mobile Internet devices now out-ship desktop machines by about 10 times (source WSJ). And Apple is now projecting to sell over 30 million iPad tablets by the end of 2011. Two major changes have made this possible: high-speed bandwidth is now pervasive and processing technology has been miniaturized.

People expect to be connected wherever they go and mobile devices make that possible. IT will increasingly be challenged to support, manage and set policy for the emerging mobile platforms. We are likely to see the same challenges for IT as when dumb terminals were replaced with desktops. However, mobility also means that IT professionals can be better connected, more proactive and more supportive wherever they are.

Of course, IT will need to support these mobile devices and the applications that run on them, but just as importantly, they will also get to use them to keep employees and computers productive. Ironically, while IT pros are often the first to adopt new mobile devices and technologies for personal use, they've been slow to use them to get their job done. The time has come for that to change. There is a strong case to be made that rather than talking about the "Consumerization of IT" we should be espousing the benefits of "Consumerization for IT."

The IT pro's new best friend

Today, during Citrix Synergy, Citrix has announced the GoToManage app for iPad, which will be available for download soon.  GoToManage for iPad is a free application that enables any user to securely troubleshoot and provide real-time technical support to a computer user's system from anywhere.

GoToManage was built to meet the needs of IT managers and consultants. Coming soon as a free app for the iPad, IT professionals can conduct live end user support sessions and take control of a user's PC or Mac as if they were sitting in front of it. This application gives businesses a secure and reliable way to free IT from a physical location and empowers them to be more responsive when end users need technical assistance.

If you can't view the video below, you can view it on the Citrix Online YouTube channel:

Going mobile with IT services is easier than ever before. The tools are available - the GoToManage app is even free - and there's a great big web-connected world out there in which to use them. IT pros get more freedom, end users get faster service and companies increase retention while saving money. Everyone benefits from IT workshifting capability.

A few weeks ago we told you about the "Freedom to Let Go" contest that GoToMyPC was running to celebrate the launch of their GoToMyPC for iPad app. The three finalists have been announced and now the voting begins!

Voting is open now and you can continue voting through March 30th. The video with the most votes will win $10,000, an iPad and a year of GoToMyPC. And don't worry, all videos are only 30 seconds so it won't take a lot of time to watch them and then cast your vote. The three finalists were really creative with their submissions so hopefully you'll enjoy them.

The three finalists are:

Keep John away from "The John"
John works in an office in close proximity to the office restrooms. If he had the Freedom To Let Go he'd spend more time away from the office (and the restroom) and more with his family at home and on the road.

Yes, you read that title correctly and no it isn't just title-bait to get you to click on this post. Have you ever wanted the freedom to just let go of work? Of the office? Of the 9-5 grind? A chance to restore work-life balance into your life. If you had the chance to do that, what would you do? Where would you go? Who would you see?

We've written extensively about work-life balance and hear stories every day from our community about the inability to take time away from work because of project responsibilities, financial concerns and sometimes just a lack of time to even plan a getaway.

We've heard you yelling from the rooftops and are coming to the rescue. If you didn't hear, earlier this week GoToMyPC launched their GoToMyPC for iPad app and we wanted to find a way to celebrate. Since the teams who worked so hard on this project, and are responsible for keeping the lights on around here, are already heads down back on new projects, we want to celebrate with YOU!

We're giving away $10,000, an iPad and a one-year subscription to GoToMyPC. What if we told you it only took 30-seconds to potentially win all of that and all you had to do was tell us what you would do if you had the freedom to let go. Sounds impossible, right? Wrong. Here are the contest details:

ENTER: Film a 30-second video sharing your "Freedom to Let Go" story, then post it on the GoToMyPC Facebook Page by 11:59 PM (EST) on March 18, 2011. It's that simple.

HOPE: We will pick three finalists and announce them on March 23. Then it's up to you and your friends to pick the winner.

CELEBRATE: All 3 finalists will receive an iPad. On April 1st, the video with the most votes by the public will win the freedom to let go with the grand prize of $10,000, an iPad and a one-year subscription to GoToMyPC.

If you can't see the video below, you can check it out here:

What are you doing still reading this post?!? Get your camera out and tell your story!

PS: Camera shy? We understand! Get creative and tell your story using puppets, drawings, animation, stand in's, your pets! We just need to see your story on video.

Recently, Fortune Magazine published their annual list of the 100 Best Companies to Work for. It's always a popular read to check out the companies listed. If you haven't seen this year's list, you can check it out here.

What I always find more interesting that just the list of company names and their rankings, is what these companies offer their employees. To me, this is what the list is really about. It identifies best practices.

This year's list had some interesting data:

• The top 10 best companies encouraged employees to balance their work and personal life
  
• 82 of the 100 companies listed offered telecommuting
  
  

So, the key concept behind workshifting - being able to work productively from anywhere - are embraced by the companies considered to be the crème de la crème in Corporate America. This comes right after the Federal Government implemented the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, mandating Federal Agencies to implement telework policies.

It's clear organizations both public and private are recognizing the benefits of workshifting. This is terrific. But we all read this blog and know that, right? The next logical step in this new normal is education.

For years, employees have been accustomed to getting up every day and driving to this place called "work." They put in their time and go home. If they bring work with them, they make do with their resources at home. Today, work might be 10 steps away. It's a major change.

I remember when I first started consulting. I spoke to every consultant who would let me buy them a cup of coffee. And asked them their biggest challenges.

One person told me it would take two years to get used to working at home. Two years?! Somehow that seemed ridiculous. But let me tell you...for me, it took every bit that long. Working from home is not a cakewalk. You have to be disciplined and manage yourself.

In my case, it was a bit different. I was too disciplined. I was so afraid of getting distracted by television or the household chores that I made myself miserable. I finally lightened up and achieved some balance.

In order for workshifting to be successful, it takes a lot of information. Companies can't simply declare telework is OK and hope everything works out. Guidelines for success need to be created. Both employees and employers need resources.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Families and Work Institute (FWI) just announced a multi-year partnership called Moving Work Forward. Their goal is to be that resource that can help organizations adopt workplace flexibility policies in an effort to be more competitive.

Check out this video from FWI and SHRM that explains the Moving Work Forward initiative:

This is just one of the many resources available to help organizations. What other workshifting resources are you aware of that can help organizations successfully implement these programs? Leave us a note in the comments.

Photo Credit: justin_levy

Last month we published an infographic on the international language of business based on a study that Citrix Online commissioned from Forrester Consulting. Today we're happy to launch the results of that study. The study yielded surprising findings related to generational and cultural working behaviors that impact how businesses communicate and collaborate in an increasingly dispersed workplace, and the implications for the future competitiveness of SMBs.

Key Findings

The study asked information workers of all ages in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Australia about their business communication habits.

Gen Y does not have the monopoly on technology use and social tools during the work day. Meanwhile, the older generation is getting with the program.

• Gen Y is least likely to share information via text message (26%, compared to 47% of those aged 55+), and least likely to use video conferencing, video chat and web conferencing tools.
  
  
• Gen Y uses social networking the least frequently (40% of Gen Y workers who use social media do so daily, compared to 50% of those aged 55+).
  
  
• Older Boomers (55+) have increased their business use of social media 79% in the past year.  

The younger you are, the less you value meetings - and pay attention.

• Gen Y is least likely to think meetings are efficient. Only 29% of Gen Y workers think meetings used to decide on a course of action are very efficient, compared to 45% of Older Boomers.
  
  
• Gen Y is least likely to pay attention in meetings and barely half (51%) believe it's very important to do so in meetings to decide a course of action.

Americans have more meetings - and pay more attention.

• 90% meet in person to communicate and build relationships, more than any other nationality.
  
  
• Of those, 51% meet daily, compared to a mere 31% of French.
  
  
• 75% of Americans believe it's very important to pay attention in meetings to decide on a course of action, compared to 50% of the French.

The in-person meeting is alive and well, but not necessarily effective.

• 84% of all respondents have in-person meetings, but meetings often don't achieve their goals.
  
  
• Only 45% are very satisfied that planning meetings achieve the task in hand, and only 30% believe such meetings to be very efficient.
  
  
• Across all categories of meetings for designated tasks (e.g. review of documents, plan projects or initiatives, decision on a course of action), less than half of respondents believe those meetings are very efficient.

In an era of multitasking, it's still considered rude in a meeting.

• 83% believe that side conversations are unacceptable during a meeting, and 77% frown on those doing other work on a computer or smartphone.

We still like to look each other in the eye.

• Germans like to see others during meetings (75%), while Americans find it less important (55%) though they have the most in-person meetings.
  
  
• 79% of those aged 55 and over think it's important, compared to 65% of Gen Y.
  
  
• Why? To read body language, say 78%.

Usage among users of collaborative technologies is rising fast.

• 64% of those who use social networking tools in business use them more than last year. Video chat, team document-sharing sites and web conferencing also experienced significant increases in usage, with 56%, 55% and 52% respectively.

If you would like to download a copy of the report, you can find it posted in our Downloads section here.

Hello workshifters! We rarely ask for your help, but this is a pretty special opportunity. We're asking for it particularly as this will continue to spread the word on workshifting. It's also for our amazing friends at Citrix Online, co-founders and power behind Workshifting.com. So please help us keep the lights on around here, and consider voting.

Enterprise 2.0 is the leading conference and expo for organizations using collaborative technologies to accelerate information flow and drive revenue.  This forum is for key decision makers to see the range of technology available to add to their business but, often times, learning how to integrate technology effectively is a piece left out of the puzzle. With a new generation of workforce coming up, primarily made up of Millennials, organizations are now in a position to shift their structures to support the new generation's approach to work. There is a real need for educating companies on how to harness new technologies for this workforce, understanding that many of them are embracing the idea of workshifting.  

So what's next?  

Citrix Online's VP and CTO, Bernd Christiansen has been nominated to speak on how to drive adoption and organizational change in a way that encourages a more efficient, agile and highly productive workforce. He hopes to share the company's views on how technology can be leveraged to enable the next generation workforce, understanding and adapting to Gen Ys and Millennials' different work styles and approaches to work.  He will discuss how behaviors beyond the office are impacting the way the next generation workforce likes to operate: less hierarchy, more collaboration, less process and more results. Bernd's session will look at new work styles and how smart companies can support this change through technology and figure out how it can be leveraged to enable, as opposed to distract, employees -- the key to succeeding as a 'Next Gen Enterprise."

Your vote will help put Bernd's speakership entry and workshifting in front of the official voting committee. Please register and vote for Bernd.


Photo Credit: Lakeandlocal

Our just released eBook "Workshifting: Bottom Line Benefits" (sponsored by Citrix Online) quantifies the business, individual, and societal impact that regular telecommuting could have on the nation and for small to mid-size companies.

Less than 2% of U.S. employees work from home the majority of the time (not including the self-employed), but 40% hold jobs that are compatible with telework. If those employees who wanted to (about 80%) did so just half of the time (roughly the national average for those who do) (*):


Businesses would:

• Increase productivity by over $235 billion
• Save $124 billion in real estate, electricity, and related costs
• Save $46 billion in absenteeism
• Save $31 billion in employee turnover
• Improve continuity of operations
• Avoid environmental sanctions, city access fees, etc.
• Improve work life balance and better address the needs of families, parents, and senior caregivers.
• Avoid the 'brain drain' effect of retiring boomers by allowing them to work flexibly
• Be able to recruit and retain the best people
• Better address the needs of disabled workers, rural residents, and military families
  

Individuals would:

• Achieve a better work-life balance
• Recoup 2-3 weeks of free time per year--time they'd have otherwise spent commuting
• Save $2,000-$7,000/year
• Save $15 billion at the pumps
• Suffer fewer illnesses
  

The Nation would:

• Save 289 million barrels of oil--equivalent to 37% of our Persian Gulf imports
• Reduce greenhouse gases by 53 million tons/year--27% of the President's 2020 goal
• Reduce road travel by 115 billion miles/year saving $2 billion in road maintenance
• Reduce road congestion thereby increasing productivity for non-workshifters as well
• Save 100,000 people from traffic-related injury or death
• Improve emergency responsiveness
• Reduce pollution from road work and new office construction
• Preserve open spaces
• Reduce the number of latchkey kids
• Alleviate the strain on our crumbling transportation infrastructure
• Reduce the offshoring of jobs and homeshore some that have already been lost
• Raise the standard of living in rural and disadvantaged areas
• Open new avenues for workforce retraining 
• Reduce terrorism targets of opportunity
  

In total, that's an economic impact of almost $650 billion a year!

At the TeleworkResearchNetwork we've synthesized over 250 case studies, scholarly reviews, research papers, books, and other documents on workshifting and related topics. And we've interviewed the nation's largest and smallest virtual employers and their employees, corporate executives, telework advocates and naysayers, top researchers, legislators, legal representatives, leaders of successful telework advocacy programs in both the public and private sector, and venture capitalists who have invested in the remote work model.

Using the latest Census data, and assumptions from dozens of government and private sector sources, we've developed a model to quantify the economic, environmental, and societal potential on telecommuting for every, city, county, Congressional District, and state in the nation.  It's been used by company and community leaders throughout the U.S. and Canada to quantify the extent to which workshifting can reduce greenhouse gases and petroleum usage, save money, improve work-life balance, increase employee loyalty and turnover, reduce absenteeism, increase productivity, and reduce highway congestion and traffic accidents. You can find it over here along with a model that allows companies and communities to quantify their own potential telecommuting savings based on dozens customizable parameters such as real estate costs, turnover, absenteeism, participation rate, frequency, labor costs, etc.

More about telecommuting, the pros and cons, who's doing it, and other resources for companies, individuals and researchers are available at TeleworkResearchNetwork.com.

"It's time to make the road less traveled the way to work."

Want to get your hands on a copy? You can download it over here.


Photo Credit: Tyler Ingram