Mobile Work Exchange, a public-private partnership focused on demonstrating the value of mobility and telework, has just launched its Telework Return on Investment (ROI) Toolkit. The Toolkit is comprised of a snapshot of federal agencies’ telework ROI best practices to date, which was composed in partnership with the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) HR Solutions. It also consists of the Telework ROI Calculator. Both the snapshot and calculator are designed to support agencies’ telework mission success. 

Answering the call from The Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, Mobile Work Exchange worked with OPM and key government telework stakeholders to develop the “Measuring Telework and Mobility Return on Investment: A Snapshot of Agency Best Practices” and associated calculator. The Toolkit comes on the heels of OPM’s 2013 Status of Federal Telework Report to Congress, which reveals significant gains in eligibility, agreements, and teleworking. 

The Telework ROI Calculator enables agencies to estimate ROI for the most commonly identified telework and mobility value factors, including 

• transit subsidies

• environmental

• continuity of operations (COOP)

• productivity

• employee retention

• real estate/utilities. 

To use the calculator, agency telework leads can enter basic information about their employees, agency telework agreements and telework frequency, office closures due to emergencies or inclement weather, employee turnover, and transit subsidy figures. The calculator draws from industry standard information, such as the average cost per workstation for a federal employee, to calculate agency savings for each value factor. Agencies can use the complimentary calculator to estimate RoI for actual scenarios or use it as a tool for outlining hypothetical scenarios. 

The associated best practice snapshot, “Measuring Telework and Mobility Return on Investment: A Snapshot of Agency Best Practices,” is a joint effort between Mobile Work Exchange and OPM. The report sets the stage for measuring ROI by defining telework roles, frequency, and goal setting. It establishes guidelines for what to measure and how to measure telework ROI, as well as outlines agency tools, resources, and best practices for measuring RoI for the most commonly identified telework and mobility value factors. 

“The snapshot report demonstrates OPM’s commitment to successful telework programs and to helping agencies meet their goals,” said Rebecca Ayers, manager of performance management solutions at OPM. “One of the greatest challenges for federal telework programs is the ability to accurately measure success. We hope this resource drives future success by serving as a model for agencies in different stages of telework implementation.” 

“To present a strong business case for telework and mobility, agencies need to identify specific, measurable value and cost factors to demonstrate how these programs either reduce current costs or avoid future costs,” said Cindy Auten, general manager at Mobile Work Exchange. “The ROI Toolkit not only provides concrete examples of agency best practices based on specific successes, but it also provides a way for agencies to easily estimate hard numbers for actual and hypothetical scenarios.” 

To download the Mobile Work Exchange Telework ROI Analysis and access the ROI calculator, please visit www.mobileworkexchange.com/measuringRoI.