Abbott Northwestern Hospital

Barbara Lietz, Abbott Northwestern and Jane Anderson, MITE

Abbott Northwestern Hospital began its telecommuting pilot in 1994 with 3 full-time telecommuters, and expect to employ over 20 full-time telecommuters by the year 2000.  Abbott has found that telecommuting is not only a way to cut costs, it is also an extremely effective recruitment tool.  Abbott Northwestern Hospital can be found at:
http://www.abbottnorthwestern.com/

Summary of Abbott

Abbott Northwestern Hospital is part of the Allina Health System located in the Twin Cities and other areas in Minnesota. Abbott employs 51 medical transcriptionists, 13 who telecommute full-time. They have set a goal of having 20 transcriptionists telecommute full-time by the year 2000.  Abbott not only uses telecommuting as a practical business tool that saves space, time and money, but also as a recruitment tool to hire and retain valuable employees in a market where there is a shortage of experienced medical transcriptionists.

Telework Pilot Rationale

An important aspect of the success of a telework program, and in measuring that success, is the productivity of the employee who telecommutes. In this sense, medical transcription is a good fit for telecommuting because it requires specific deliverables. Medical transcription productivity is measured by minutes of dictation per hour. For Abbott's medical transcriptionists who telecommute, the time they would normally have spent commuting to and from work could be used for working, and therefore the productivity of each employee increased. These employees who telecommute were also free from many distractions that occur in the office, thus adding to their productivity.  This increase in productivity was measured simply by comparing the number of lines completed per hour when telecommuting to the number of lines completed per hour when working in the office. In 1998, 38% of Abbott's transcriptionists telecommuted full-time and produced 46% of the total work volume.

Abbott readily attributed this increase in productivity to more time spent actually working and less time commuting, doing other small projects in and around the office and socializing with others in the office. However, not until a few years into the program did Abbott notice the long-term personal benefits telecommuting offered to employees. Abbott found that those medical transcriptionists who telecommuted had high job satisfaction, increased loyalty to the company and no intention of changing jobs.  Therefore, not only did Abbott experience better bottom line productivity results and cost efficiency, but they saw increased employee satisfaction, which eventually translated to improved bottom line results as well.

Management Issues

One of the most frequent concerns for managers who supervise, or who are thinking about supervising, telecommuters is the potential difficulty of communication. Managers wonder how readily available their telecommuters will be if they are out of the office.  Abbott quickly found that medical transcriptionists who telecommuted full-time were actually easier to get in contact with than those employees who were in the office.  The telecommuters were working at their desks, and were therefore always within reach of their phone. They also could receive and respond to e-mail immediately. Those employees who were in the office could be away from their desk for only a minute or two, but if a manager calls, e-mails or stops by during that period of time, the communication is delayed.

Taking the aspect of communication one step further, Abbott also found that communications between managers and teleworkers were much more productive because of the distance separating them. Both the manager and the teleworker realized that it would be extremely inefficient to make several phone calls during a day, so they learned to address questions, delegate assignments and discuss any other concerns in one conversation.  In short, telecommuting allowed both the manager and the teleworker to become better managers of time, content and responsibility.

Telecommuters would also come into the office on a quarterly basis for meetings, to check their personal mailbox and reinforce both personal and professional relationships with on-site employees.  Abbott recognized that even though the medical transcriptionists who telecommute were rarely in the office, it was still important for them to establish and maintain relationships with employees who worked in the office. 

Implementation Challenges

1. Through trial and error, Abbott recognized that it was not "good business" to shortcut on technology.  Especially for telecommuters, Abbott decided to provide the most up-to-date, efficient and effective equipment possible. They realized that if their employees had adequate equipment and resources, they would produce better results.  Therefore, the investment made in upgrading and maintaining technology is worth the cost because it increases productivity.
    
2. At the outset, Abbott had concerns that every employee would want to telecommute. Managers felt that employees would view it as a privilege that was given only to certain employees for reasons that were out of their control.  However, because of a comprehensive telecommuting policy, and good communication  between staff and managers, employees have realized that telecommuting is not a good fit for everyone. 

Unexpected Challenges

An unforeseen challenge that Abbott confronted was the constant upgrading and maintenance of the technical equipment used by telecommuters.  Abbott had expected the purchase of  PCs, phone lines (which were later upgraded to ISDN lines), home-office furniture/equipment, voice mail technology, etc. to be a one-time cost.  However, Abbott quickly learned that if they did not afford telecommuters enough resources to do their work effectively and efficiently, as well as solve the majority of their problems on their own, the telecommuting program would not produce the results to justify its effort and cost.

Advice for Potential Telework Managers

Barbara Lietz, Medical Transcription Manager at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, offers three important pieces of advice to potential telemanagers.

1. Documentation – Begin your telecommuting pilot/program with a comprehensive policy agreement that outlines specific selection criteria, safety measures, work schedule, confidentiality and employer property.
    
2. Communication – Agree upon and maintain a communication plan.  Choose specific times to talk on the phone, e-mail and visit the office and adhere to that plan.  An effective communication plan can make telecommuting less stressful and more beneficial to the employer and the employee than working in the office.
    
3. Continuation – Continued technology improvements, review of telecommuting standards, procedures and responsibilities, and improved resources allows telecommuters to be as well equipped and self-sufficient as employees who work in the office.