Tag Archives: telecommuting

IPMI Blog, Resources

Telecommuting and Space Use at UCLA

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As COVID-19 took hold in spring 2020, UCLA closed its campus to all but essential employees and its world-renowned medical center, which continued to operate throughout the pandemic, as expected. Beyond that, however, nearly 80 percent of campus employees (excluding medical center staff) were sent home and asked to telecommute for the foreseeable future. A committee was formed to assess the state of telecommuting on campus, and to seek how to lock in, or continue, the benefits of telecommuting that seemed to be existent during the mass telecommuting period.

At the same time, it had become apparent that—contrary to published research that suggested public transit was not a significant source of coronavirus transmission—many bus riders who were part of the essential workforce were no longer traveling via public transit. In fact, many were driving to and from campus on a daily basis. As expected, modes of travel that involve close proximity to other people experienced dramatic declines in participation during the pandemic. As society recovers and campus activity returns to previous levels, survey data indicates strong and continued reticence for many of these previous sustainable transportation commuters to get back on the bus or into a vanpool, which worries parking administrators.

Read how UCLA is preparing for campus re-opening this fall, including its plans for cars, transit, and other modes of transportation in a COVID-transformed environment. The whole case study is in the July issue of Parking & Mobility magazine; click here to read it.

IPMI Blog, Resources

Are Flexible Work Arrangements the New TDM Tool?

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Cartoon of man working from home, teleconferencing with colleagues.By Perry Eggleston, CAPP, DPA

Rahm Emanuel said, “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”

I started as executive director of UC Davis Transportation Services on January 2, 2020, and while I was still learning my way around the campus, the COVID crisis struck. The industry suddenly faced unprecedented difficulties that challenged the most senior mobility experts.

March 16 came and suddenly, there were discussions of campus closures, distance learning, and teleworking. Until that time, telework was a wish for many in the transportation industry but not considered plausible due to supervisor and management reluctance. Within a week, these discussions made campus-wide telework a reality. When this COVID thing lasted longer than a few weeks, the campus started to look at how we could use the lull to continue the momentum of flexible work arrangements (FWA–the term our campus now uses for telework and compressed work schedules), and our department pushed the campus to continue planning using them past the pandemic.

To address all the issues for making FWA an ongoing TDM strategy, I am co-chairing a university committee: “Reimagining the Workplace.” Stakeholders from human resources, technology, planning, safety and ergonomics, employee/union relations, communications, legal, and finance are all involved. The committee has already identified several advantages to FWA: recruiting the best talent, employee well-being, more campus space for students, and reducing traffic congestion and air pollution. However, there are challenges to be overcome to arrive at the advantages.

Join Ramon Zavala and me April 21 when we host the IPMI webinar, Teleworking: An Alternate Mobility Mode. We will look at what institutions should consider when creating their own FWA program and planning lessons learned.

Perry Eggleston, CAPP, DPA, is executive director, transportation services, at UC Davis. He and Ramon Zavala, the university’s transportation demand manager, will present on this topic during an IPMI webinar, April 21. Click here for details and to register.

IPMI Blog, Resources

COVID-19 and Telework

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By L. Dennis Burns, CAPP

As most of us have experienced, the COVID pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented national experiment with teleworking/telecommuting. The necessity of this has also seen a dramatic investment in the technology platforms to facilitate enhanced working-from-home communications.

Many companies and institutions that had been anti-telework in the past are reassessing their positions based on the successful (although forced) experiences of the past four or five months.

Move Minneapolis has just published a comprehensive guide to telework: “The Move Minneapolis Guide to Remote Work: Telework Strategies for Success Anywhere.” This excellent and practical document addresses following key topics:

  • Why Telework?
  • Getting Started.
  • Managing Teleworkers.
  • Special Considerations.
  • Savings for Employers and Employees.
  • Emergency Continuity of Operations.
  • Work-Life Balance and Lowered Stress.
  • Employee Retention.

Another great chapter addresses managing remote workers and includes topics such as:

  • Outcomes as a Management Metric.
  • Core Hours and Flex Schedules.
  • Communication.
  • Onboarding New Employees.
  • Training.
  • Working while Sick.
  • Remote Terminations

“Move Minneapolis Guide to Remote Work: Telework Strategies for Success Anywhere” can be downloaded here.

L. Dennis Burns, CAPP, is regional vice president, senior practice builder, with Kimley-Horn and a member of IPMI’s Board of Directors.