Flexible working needn't stretch resources
Published: 15 Nov 2004 16:05 GMT
The two women began sharing a job at Cisco Systems in 2000 and came to NetApp as a unit about two and a half years ago. NetApp had never hired a job-sharing sales team before Mann and Sotnick, but the duo has erased any doubts: they ranked first in sales in the Americas last year and sold more than $24m in NetApp gear last quarter.
Both women wanted reduced hours on the job so they could spend more time raising their young children. And they find that their odd setup -- which includes a single phone number, a single email address and a dual-sided business card -- gives them a head start in landing deals.
Their potential customers in the federal-government sector are intrigued, Sotnick says. "It gets the personal relationship going right away."
Bending the rules
IBM has a variety of flexible work programmes, including flexitime, telecommuting and compressed workweeks. And the share of Big Blue employees working in non-traditional settings is growing. In 2001, about a third of IBMers worked outside the office at least some of the time. That figure has climbed to 42 percent, says Maria Ferris, manager of work/life and women's initiatives at IBM.
Ferris is a case in point. Her official workplace is her home in Raleigh, N.C. From there, she manages a team of workers scattered across the United States and collaborates with counterparts in other countries. "The global reach of our jobs has had an impact on how we work," she says.
HP says an increasing number of its employees are taking advantage of flexible work programmes. But HP marketing manager Kristy Ward is a veteran when it comes to unconventional arrangements. Ward began sharing a marketing job with another HP employee in 1990, and for 10 years she worked Wednesday through Friday while her job-sharing partner worked Monday through Wednesday. Later, she shared her job with another partner for eight months. Ward now works a part-time schedule of about 30 hours a week on partner marketing relationships.
A desire to spend more time with her three kids -- now 11, 12 and 14 -- spurred Ward to seek these arrangements. But she says her family focus has not distracted her from work responsibilities. "I think I'm more productive, because I'm so aware I'm not here all the time," she says. "I tend to be more heads-down."
The way telecommuting lends itself to concentration is crucial for HP's Short. About eight years ago, he covered the entrance to his office cubicle with cardboard to help him focus on a project. That seemed to some colleagues to rub against HP's "open door" culture, and it helped convince Short to push for a work-at-home arrangement. "It kind of evolved out of desperation to meet some of the deadlines and not be distracted," he says.
Short is now as likely to work at home as he is at his designated HP office in San Diego. Technology has made this arrangement easier over time: The design software he uses once required a bulky workstation computer, but it can now fit on his laptop.
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