TELUS, a telecommunications company, is a Canadian company spread across several time zones. TELUS's Work Styles program was started to enhance employee productivity, help employees stay happy by promoting practices that enhance their work-life balance, and support TELUS's commitment to environ-mental sustainability. Work Styles allows employees to choose to work away from the office-at home or on the road. Part of the Work Styles program includes providing employees with technology that can help them meet their job responsibilities and allow them to work when and where they can be most effective. Because many employees work at home or on the road, TELUS provides mobile devices including smartphones and notebook and tablet computers. These devices include teleconferencing and video conferencing capabilities and cloud-based networking applications, which help employees collaborate and interact with their peers.
TELUS provides training courses that help employees work effectively in such a flexible work environment. These courses cover how to lead effective meetings, establish and sustain team norms, and lead and succeed in high-performing Work Styles teams. Also, employees can participate in weekly one-hour webinars during which the philosophy of the Work Styles program is discussed, and they can ask questions and share success stories. TELUS's goal is to have 70 percent employees working on the road or at home, rather than in office buildings across Canada.
If you were asked to evaluate the effectiveness of Work Styles, what outcomes or data would you collect?
How would you collect your data or outcomes?
What are the challenges of delivering learning to employees who work on the road or at home?
What should be included in mobile-delivered training courses to ensure that employees learn?
Source: "Working in style," TD (April 2015): 112; www .telus.ca , the website for TELUS (accessed April 23, 2015); J. Salopek, "Getting social to create transparency," T+D (October 2011): 68-70.