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As Virginia’s suburban counties
continue to accommodate throngs of
new citizens, local governments are
looking for innovative ways to attract
and retain county employees.
Telework is one of those innovations
working for Fairfax and Loudoun
Counties in Northern Virginia.
Both counties are expansive,
spreading across hundreds of square
miles. Each has thousands of
employees, yet more than half of
those employees do not live in the
counties where they work. Workers
are commuting not just from nearby
areas, but also from as far as
Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and
Delaware. Telework is a perfect fit
for this workforce.
That is why, in January of this year,
Loudoun County hired Diane O’Grady
to be its Telework Coordinator.
She says the county leaders’ interest
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in telework is three-fold. First, they
hope to ease traffic congestion.
Second, there is a belief that a
happier workforce is a more
productive workforce - and telework
options enable a better work-life
balance. And, third, they are hoping
that telework can help with the
growing demand for office space and
improved Continuity of Operations
(COOP) efforts.
Cathy Chianese, Assistant to the
Fairfax County Executive, echoes the
importance of senior-level advocacy
in pushing the telework agenda.
"Our most important advocate is the
Chair of the Board of Supervisors,
Gerry Connolly," she says. "He
challenged each department to
ramp up telework participation and
made sure managers understood its
importance."
"We are hiring 200 new employees
each year, so space is at a
premium," says Loudoun County’s
O’Grady. Today, six percent of employees take part in the
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telework program, and O’Grady has a focused
marketing effort to recruit more.
She recently implemented a new
Internet portal that provides onestop
shopping for managers and
employees interested in telework
information. She also hosts
brownbag lunch sessions, hangs
posters everywhere, and contributes
to the quarterly newsletter for county
employees. Chianese, in the same
vein, has senior executives recognize
and reward managers who reach
telework goals in various creative
categories (greatest increase in
teleworking, teleworker working
farthest from the office, etc.).
O’Grady has been able to break
through management resistance to
telework by allowing for trial periods.
While the average teleworker is
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From walking the dog to cleaning up
around the house, teleworkers often
can find themselves distracted
working at home or feel socially
isolated from the office and coworkers.
If you are one of these
employees, or know someone
working from home who often feels
cut off from the business world, then
you are not alone. And no, this is
not advice to talk to your doctor
about a "telework" medication that’s
right for you.
However, there is a remedy. Telework
centers enable people to avoid long
commutes to their assigned
workplaces and provide an alternative
to working from home. In a telework
center, employees can work in a
secure remote location, when home
may not be an option. More than
450 employees work from telework
centers in the Washington, D.C. area.
The six NoCommute.org Telework
Centers are part of the region’s larger
group of 14 Washington Metropolitan
Telework Centers (WMTC). Both
Federal and private-sector employers
use these centers for teleworkers,
small companies make use of the
inexpensive office space, and large companies find that
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centers provide ideal temporary project space.
What can telework centers offer
employees? We asked them.
NoCommute.org and WMTC recently
conducted customer surveys to
evaluate first-hand why teleworkers
prefer centers over their homes to
meet their remote work
requirements.
The first survey, conducted in the
Manassas, Herndon, and Fairfax
Telework Centers, indicates that
teleworkers find that centers are
better equipped, have available
onsite technical staff, and offer highspeed
Internet access that they may
not have at home. These teleworkers
find they are more productive at
centers, have fewer distractions, and
prefer to keep work and home life
separate.
NoCommute.org and WMTC
conducted a follow-up survey at the
Winchester, Fredericksburg, Stafford,
Woodbridge, Frederick, Laurel,
Waldorf, and Prince Frederick
Telework Centers in late 2005.
Asking the same question about
preferences for working in a center
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versus at home, the results present
an astounding case for telework
centers.
Almost half of those surveyed prefer
a center because they can become
more sidetracked working at home.
Twenty-nine percent of center users
are more comfortable there because
they are more interested in a
professional office environment.
Of the respondents able to work
from home, 42 percent prefer to
work from a telework center.
Forty-three percent find that telework
centers offer better high-end office
equipment and 21 percent note that
they favor working at a center
because broadband access is not
available at their home. In more
rural areas of Virginia, broadband
access is limited. Sixteen percent1
of Loudoun County, Virginia residents
cannot purchase broadband access.
In the Winchester, Virginia area,
approximately half of the population
does not have access to broadband
connectivity.2 Not having a fast
Internet connection can mean loss in
productivity, not to mention added
user frustration.
Center directors believe that 100
percent of users prefer teleworking at
1Scott Bashore, Manager of Broadband
Services, Loudoun County, Virginia, 2006
2"Demographics Now," Market Demographic
Analysis Web site, 2005
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Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis (R-VA),
who represents Fredericksburg,
Virginia, talks about why telework is
important to her and the Federal
government.
"Telework is a win-win for the Federal
government," says Davis, who
supports the mandate allowing
eligible Federal employees the
opportunity to telework. Employee
productivity and morale are the
primary benefits, in her opinion.
Telework allows employees to spend
more time with their families in lieu
of spending their time commuting.
Quite aware of myriad benefits
telework offers employees and
employers, she adds "It can also
save the Federal government money by
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retaining those valuable, qualified
workers."
Given her district’s proximity to the
traffic and congestion in the
Washington, D.C. metropolitan area,
Davis hears daily from commuters in
her district frustrated by gridlocked
traffic and unreliable commuter rail
service. Telework is particularly
important to her district since it
provides one way to alleviate traffic
congestion and contributes to area
residents’ quality of life. Davis points
out, "It is especially significant to
those constituents of mine who are
Federal employees."
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The Congresswoman has written
letters to President Bush as well as
the Director of the Office of Personnel
Management in support of agency
telework policies. Most recently,
Davis has become more interested in
the security aspect of telework. She
believes future teleworking policy
must include safeguards to protect
personal information.
Davis is optimistic, however, that the
telework momentum in the Federal
government will increase. "I think
agencies are going to buy into the
benefits and successes of teleworking
as time goes on," she says. The
aftermaths of September 11 and
Hurricane Katrina exposed
vulnerabilities in our nation’s ability to
restore business operations following
crisis situations. Davis notes, "A
government-wide telework program
should spur agencies to adopt
teleworking policies so that in the
event of a similar future disaster,
government agencies hopefully would
experience minimal disruption and be
able to remain operational."
For more information on
Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis (R-VA),
visit http://joanndavis.house.gov.
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The United States Office of Personnel
Management has released an
updated guide for teleworking and
revamped its online courses, Telework
101 for Employees and Telework 101
for Managers. These changes are in
accordance with a White House
directive in the National Strategy for
Pandemic Influenza Implementation
Plan. The Telework Guide contains
current information on the use of
telework during a pandemic or in the
event of a disaster. The free online
courses now include modules on
telework and Continuity of Operations
(COOP). To access these tools
(for government employee use only),
visit www.telework.gov.
In an ongoing effort to educate the
public about the savings and benefits
of telework, Telework Exchange
continues its campaign, "Time is
Money, and Money Doesn’t Grow on
Trees." Trees with $2 bills attached
are placed at busy intersections in
Washington, D.C., and passersby are
encouraged to pick money from
branches and learn about telework
options. The next "Money Tree"
will be placed at a location chosen
by voters who visit
www.teleworkexchange.com.
Cast your vote.
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On September 12, Virginia Governor
Tim Kaine signed an executive order
creating an Office of Telework
Promotion and Broadband
Assistance. The goal is to
"encourage and promote telework
activities for public and private
employers." The organization also will
promote deployment of broadband
services at affordable prices. The
Commonwealth’s General Assembly
has targeted 2010 as the year by
which a significant number of jobs
should be shifted to alternative work
schedules - and this involves
expanded use of telework.
"Workplace excellence is no longer
just the nice thing to do; it is a
competitive advantage for
employers," says Lindsay Conn,
Executive Director of The Alliance for
Workplace Excellence. That is good
news for the Alliance, which has a
mission to position workplace
excellence as a competitive
advantage in the public, private, and
non-profit business communities.
Conn says, "We build and recognize
excellent places to work." Telework is
a key component to assessing
workplace excellence, and the
Alliance actively and eagerly
promotes telework as part of its
recommended best practices. The
organization developed a free
Telework Business Toolkit that lays
out the "dos and don’ts" of
implementing telework - from
planning and launching a new
program to managing and
maintaining a successful telework
initiative over time.
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The Alliance also preaches telework
through educational workshops and
seminars for companies and
government organizations. "The
research is out there, showing that
high levels of employee stress are
affecting business bottom lines.
Absenteeism and turnover are up,
sick days are used more often, and
workers are finding they must
conduct personal business from the
office just to keep up," notes Conn.
Let people telework a couple days
each week, and productivity generally
improves.
The Alliance's signature program is
the Workplace Excellence Seal of
Approval, and its companion Health &
Wellness Trailblazer Award, granted to
organizations that meet hard-won
criteria. Conn says the awards are
difficult to win and employers are
evaluated on criteria ranging from
management practices, internal
communications, workplace
excellence, health and wellness
policies and procedures, as well as
employee feedback surveys.
"Companies actually come to us to
apply for the award," she says. "It
has become a coveted sign of
workplace excellence." For a list of
the 2006 Workplace Excellence and
Health & Wellness Award Winners,
visit www.excellentworkplace.org.
For now, the Alliance is focused on
Maryland workplaces. Conn has high
hopes that other states will adopt
their own chapters and replicate the
success her organization enjoys
today.
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Government workers in Northern
Virginia take note: there is another
reason to hope for an improved
commute. The Northern Virginia
Transportation Partners (NVTP) is
working with employers across the
region to help develop viable,
effective, and cost-saving commuter
programs.
NVTP is a public service coalition
formed to help public sector and nonprofit
employers - governments,
schools, universities, and
associations - to develop
transportation benefits for their
workforce.
The organization works with the
area’s counties and cities to provide
a range of services, including:
Commuter Benefits Plans
Services for Commuters
Tax-free Transit Benefits
Telework Assistance
Transportation Surveys
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For more information on how NVTP
can help you and your employees,
contact Vanessa Vega at
(703) 247-9291 or
vanessa.vega@trans
partners.com.
Coalition comprised of these
governments:
Arlington County
City of Alexandria
Fairfax County
Loudoun County
Prince William County
Virginia Department of Rail and
Public Transportation
Virginia Department of
Transportation
And partnered with the General
Services Administration (GSA)
It started as a single partnership to
demonstrate the viability of telework
as a way to reduce travel. Seventeen
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years later, the state of Arizona has
partnered with public and private
organizations around the world to
help create telework programs in 26
states and 14 countries.
The Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan
area, one of the largest in the
Southwestern United States, is home
to 21,000 state employees who work
for more than 100 different agencies
in 265 buildings. Telework is an
important part of the state’s plan to
reduce employee commuting time
and the related pollutants.
Like many public-sector organizations,
the state of Arizona continues to
struggle with recruitment and
retention since employees are paid
20 percent less than comparable
private-sector jobs in the area. As a
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consequence, the state’s employee
turnover rate is high and is estimated
to cost at least $50 million a year in
recruiting and training. "Today’s
workers are looking for more
autonomy in their jobs, and the
state’s telework program - and a
general push for a more flexible
workplace - has helped Arizona
attract and retain employees by
making its jobs more attractive," says
John Corbett, Telework Programs
Administrator, Arizona Department of
Administration.
The state’s telework program also is
helping to ease the burden of costly
office space. With 3,700 employees
teleworking on a regular basis, and
many jobs performed remotely in the
field, departments are reporting
savings in rental expenses and the
state has been able to curb the
growing need for increasing office
space and equipment.
Given its longevity, Arizona’s telework
program has the data to prove its
effectiveness. Since the telework
program began in 1989, various
departments have conducted studies
showing improved organizational
effectiveness, higher employee
productivity, drastic travel cost
savings, and lower employee
turnover. Survey results show that
both teleworkers and supervisors
believe remote work options have
increased most teleworkers’
productivity. Explains Corbett,
"Productivity increases because
employees have fewer distractions
and interruptions, work at their
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personal peak times, and are less
stressed due to the absence of the
commute."
Almost as impressive as its own
telework program is the state’s
willingness to help others benefit
from lessons learned by Arizona
officials in the process. Through the
state’s co-founded, non-profit
organization called the Arizona
Telecommuting Advisory Council
(AzTAC), its experts have briefed and
trained hundreds of telework
advocates - from corporate CEOs to
mayors, city managers, and
community leaders. Arizona also
entered into a joint venture with the
states of Oregon and Washington to
combine expertise and resources and
to develop telework materials. This
venture later joined with California
and Texas to produce a telework
training package specifically geared
toward managers.
It seems Arizona is determined not
only to succeed with telework inside
its own borders, but to spread the
opportunities for success. For these
aspirations, the state’s telework
program was selected for the "Tele-
Vision" Award for Excellence in State
Program Leadership at the June
2006 Telework Exchange Town Hall
Meeting in Washington, D.C.
For more information on telework in
Arizona, visit
www.teleworkarizona.com.
The following article is reprinted with
permission from the July 31, 2006
edition of United States Patent and
Trademark Office publication, USPTO
Weekly.
On July 18, the United States Patent
and Trademark Office’s (USPTO)
Telework Senior Advisor, Danette
Campbell, testified before the
Congressional Committee on
Government Reform's Subcommittee
on the Federal Workforce and Agency
Organization on the USPTO's
teleworking program.
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During her testimony, Ms. Campbell
provided information to the
Committee about the Trademark Work
at Home program and the Patents
Hoteling Program. She explained the
benefits that these programs have for
employees and for the USPTO. Ms.
Campbell noted, "I believe that the
Trademark Work at Home Program
and the Patents Hoteling Program are
progressive efforts that will continue
to serve as models for Federal
agencies and that they are some of
the best telework programs that the
Federal government has to offer."
In response to questions raised by
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes
Norton (D-DC) regarding the theft of
computer equipment containing
personal information on 26.5 million
people from a Veterans Affairs
employee's home, Campbell
explained that the telework
systems at the USPTO
have many features to
ensure security and
the protection of
sensitive data.
Ms. Campbell
responded,
"Our servers
are connected
to a series of
network
switches and
routers that
are connected
to a Virtual
Private Network
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(VPN) which protects the servers from
outside attack, and all traffic going
out of the VPN is encrypted, making
it difficult for anyone to see what is
being transmitted."
Subcommittee Chairman Jon Porter
(R-NV) stated the following, "The
effective use of telecommuting will
provide for continued government
operations during an emergency or
disaster situation, increased
efficiency and productivity in the
Federal government, and an increase
in the quality of life of Federal
employees." Other Members of
Congress in attendance were
Congressman Tom Davis (R-VA),
Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA), and
Congresswoman Jean Schmidt (R-OH).
The USPTO’s Trademark Work at
Home Program won a "Tele-Vision"
award in the category of "Telework
Program with Maximum Impact on
Government" at the June 2006
Telework Exchange Town Hall Meeting
in Washington, D.C.
Continued from above
working remotely one day per week,
the Loudoun County employee policy
officially defines "telework" as
working remotely a minimum of one
day per month. "It is this one day
per month scenario that lets hesitant
managers try a low-risk telework
option," she says.
Neither county officially classifies jobs
as eligible or ineligible for telework.
"There are not many jobs that
cannot allow for one day
per month of
telework," says
O’Grady. In Fairfax,
Chianese indicates
that eligibility is
handled at the
department level.
She encourages
managers to explore
all jobs for possible
telework, even
those that seem to
require constant
office presence.
"When one of my
administrative staff
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members had to take eight weeks
medical leave, I was in a panic,"
Chianese says. "As it turns out, she
has been able to complete her most
important role from home - and her
productivity has increased."
For essential personnel whose jobs
must be performed during an
emergency situation, it is important
that they know how to work away
from the office. Working from home,
or another remote location, at least
one day per month is a good way to
keep those skills honed. Both
O’Grady and Chianese say that
telework is now a key component of
their counties’ COOP plans.
To help increase the number of
teleworkers and ease office space
shortages, O’Grady is hoping to make
use of Loudoun County’s 92
government buildings. "I would like
to establish telework stations in
libraries, recreation centers, and
other facilities that we already own
and where remote workers could
effectively do their jobs."
In addition to those officially
"defined" as teleworkers, each county
employs a number of people
considered mobile workers. Mostly in
public safety positions, these
employees also are teleworkers in a
sense. "They do most of their work
in the field, and can work from their
homes," says O’Grady. Adds
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Chianese, "It saves time if a building
inspector can avoid a long trip to
headquarters by stopping at a closer
county facility to access the network
between appointments." Both
counties are examining other
functions where people are not
regularly office bound, and hope to
increase the total mobile workforce.
Fairfax and Loudoun Counties are
fast-growing metropolitan areas that
continue to attract thousands of new
residents each year. Their forwardthinking
telework programs are
helping with employee recruitment
and retention, ensuring those
residents have county governments
that can grow along with the
population.
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a center over driving to the office.
Although most users still commute to
the center, the distance is usually
much shorter.
Overall, survey results indicate that
telework centers offer fewer
distractions, a more professional
atmosphere, onsite IT support, and
can be seen as more office-like when
convincing a manager to allow
telework.
What can telework centers offer
management? The use of telework
centers helps organizations decrease
real estate costs, minimize employee
absenteeism, increase productivity,
attract and retain skilled employees,
improve employees’ work-life
balance, and increase employee job
satisfaction. Supervisors often prefer
employees to telework at a center
because of the secure access to
networks, physical security, and fewer
interruptions.
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Telework is rapidly gaining a foothold
in workplace culture. Telework
centers offer the best of both worlds
- an office environment that is closer
to home. To find out more about
options for your organization, call a
telework center in your area or visit
www.nocommute.org or
www.wmtc.org.
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Phone 703.883.9000 | Fax 703.883.9007 | Cindy Auten 703.883.9000 x101
921 King Street | Alexandria, VA | 22314 | info@teleworkexchange.com
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