Blizzard pushes the buttons on telework

Last week became a critical one for federal telework. The government was hit by back-to-back blizzards, dumping a total of more than 46 inches on the region.

It forced the federal government to close down in Washington, D.C. for four straight days. No one pointed out that there is plenty of federal work outside the nation's capital, and that those offices remained open. Nevertheless, it's been estimated that the blizzard cost the government $100 million in lost productivity during this period.

All of this underscored the importance of a telework policy across the government to ensure that this kind of disaster doesn't paralyze the Feds again. Would government have had to shut its doors if telework had been the norm?

Last Friday, FierceGovernmentIT interviewed Stephen W.T. O'Keeffe (pictured), the executive director of the Telework Exchange and the Principal of O'Keeffe & Company, a full-service technology marketing agency. Telework Exchange is a public-private partnership focused on demonstrating the tangible value of telework and serving the emerging educational and communication requirements of the teleworker community.

Judi Hasson: Currently, there are more than federal workers who telecommute on a regular basis. What would it take to increase that number?

Steve O'Keeffe: The most influential factor in increasing the number of teleworkers is legislation. Currently, OPM is working with the Telework Advisory Panel to develop a set of teleworking standards that are consistent for all agencies (as of now, no such guidance exists). The House is waiting until OPM completes their task before moving forward. Once they hear from OPM, they will collaborate on a markup to H.R. 1722--"The Telework Improvements Act"--to make sure that all guidelines stated in the OPM standards are included in the legislation to maintain consistency. They hope to move forward with the markup this winter and believe that once they get legislation through the House, the bill should pass through the Senate side without opposition. The biggest barrier is still management buy-in; however, as organizations continue to get opportunities to test their telework infrastructures, managers express a more favorable attitude toward telework.

JH: How is the Obama administration working on increasing telework possibilities?

SO: The Obama administration is focused on the needs of working families and ensuring government productivity and efficiency. In a series of October 2008 letters written to John Gage, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, then-President-Elect Barack Obama claimed he would "support efforts to bring paid family leave, flexible work schedules, and increased teleworking to the Federal government." Congress is focused, too--pushing telework legislation that supports a healthy work/life balance, a cleaner environment, business stability, recruiting, retention, and relief on the roadways. Most recently, President Obama released his fiscal 2011 budget recommendation which includes expanding telework programs and increasing by 50 percent the number of eligible Federal employees who telework by 2011.

JH: Many agencies only allow employees to telework once a week or month. How can that be greatly expanded?

SO: Agencies that allow employees to telework are moving in the right direction, even if it is for a limited amount of time. Telework Exchange has found that agencies typically begin with a telework test period in which employees are allowed to telework once a week or month. However, as the employee demonstrates continued success teleworking - increased productivity, meeting the organization's needs, completing projects in a timely manner, etc.--and gains their employers' trust, their teleworking privileges increase.

JH: How will the federal government deal with security issues in allowing greater telework among government workers?

SO: In June 2009, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published its "Guide to Enterprise Telework and Remote Access," which helps organizations understand and mitigate the risks associated with the technologies they use for telework. Additionally, over the past two decades industry has developed innovative Internet and computer security solutions to reduce the risk of a cyber attack. Commercial firewalls, encryption, anti-virus and -scam, automated software updates, and backup solutions give organizations the tools they need to deploy secure teleworking programs.

JH: The blizzard forced the federal government to close for four days. What is the biggest lesson from the Blizzard of 2010 for the federal government?

SO: The Blizzard of 2010 has proven to be a forced telework experience for many federal managers. It has provided many organizations and agencies with the opportunity to test their business continuity plans and telework programs. OPM director John Berry put it best when he said: "Whatever the reluctance to expanding teleworking, Mother Nature may inspire a reexamination of its value. Value is a key word here. If Uncle Sam provided his workers with laptops, the cost of equipment would be covered by the estimated $100 million a day the government loses when offices in Washington close."

The Telework Exchange plans to develop a lessons-learned report that will examine how many employees teleworked, how successful it was and whether the communications infrastructure held up.