2010/04/21
By Anis Ibrahim
news@nst.com.my
KUALA LUMPUR: The Works Ministry's "work from home" pilot project is such a success that other ministries may soon follow suit.
Works Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor suggested the Public Service Department consider allowing staff in other ministries and departments to begin their own "work at home" schemes.
"Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil has expressed support for our project because a lot of married women in my ministry have benefitted from it."
Shaziman said 34 out of the 39 who participated in his ministry's pilot work-at-home project were eager to continue with the system for another three months.
Productivity of the staff involved increased by an average of 88 per cent, far exceeding the 30 per cent target.
The three assistant quantity surveyors on the project, for instance, produced 61 bills of quantities a month, compared with the normal 36 bills a month.
"I'm very surprised and happy with what the pilot project has shown, that people can work hard and exceed expectations when they work out of the office.
"Productivity went up by 88 per cent on average, but the rate in some departments was much higher," he said at a get-together in the ministry yesterday.
Ministry draughtsmen on the pilot project, which ran from Jan 4 to March 3 produced 12 illustrations a month compared with six when they worked in the office.
Feedback was also positive as only five of the 39 participants wanted to drop out of the project, citing personal reasons.
"A common reason that they gave was that they were lonely at home. They missed going for lunch or tea with their colleagues," said Shaziman, drawing laughter.
He said the five were either young and single, or those approaching retirement.
"To the young, the office is a place to make new friends and socialise while older staff like to relax over a cup of coffee with friends after work."
The ministry estimates that participants in the pilot project saved an average of RM350 a month in petrol, toll charges, car parking and car maintenance.
"They also saved about two hours every day travelling back and forth from the office while their departments saved on operational costs in terms of office space and car park claims."
The project will be extended for another three months until June 30, with 20 more employees included.
Shaziman said participants for the second phase of the project would be selected from those with a good work record.
"Now that we have an idea of which kind of worker won't be suited to working at home, we know who to select."
He said there might also be less monitoring from the workers' supervisors during the second phase of the pilot project.
Throughout the project, monitoring was done remotely through a computer network in which participants would log into, allowing their supervisors to track their working hours.
Participants were also required to go to the office every Monday to present weekly reports.
Supervisors also visited them at home once during the three months.
"We want to see if productivity drops if there is less supervision," Shaziman said.
No comments:
Post a Comment