Telework Exchange hosted the 2007 Town Hall Meeting on September 12th in Washington, D.C. The event attracted more than 250 participants who heard from GSA Administrator Lurita Doan (see article), participated in conference sessions, met with event sponsors, and networked with telework experts and colleagues from industry and government.

Below are summaries from the conference sessions. For complete information on the sessions, speakers, and downloadable presentations, please visit www.telworkexchange.com/townhallmeeting.






It’s tough to get a telework initiative underway, but not as tough as it used to be, according to Deborah Cohn, deputy commissioner for trademark operations at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and a panelist at the Telework Exchange Town Hall Meeting session titled "Never Say Never: Eliminating Management Resistance to Telework."

The discussion was moderated by Arleas Upton Kea, director of the Division of Administration at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

The first time Cohn presented her ideas on telework to a group of agency executives, "I was literally laughed out of the room," she recalled, noting that not only did she get strong opposition from senior executives and mid-level managers, but also from USPTO customers, "who thought things would go to ‘hell in a hand basket’ if we allowed people to work from home."

Undeterred, Cohn and her colleagues forged ahead and, in 1997, created a landmark telework program. Ten years later, more than 85 percent of eligible USPTO employees work at home at least one day per week and more than 1,300 patent and trademark examiners work from home four days a week.

Cohn noted that persistence is the key to success. "You know that you’re going to get a ‘no’ somewhere along the way," she said. "Just put that in the back of your mind and keep on going."

Gene Stefanucci, the principal director of GIG Combat Support at the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), who had spent much of his earlier career managing virtual global workforces in the private sector, joined Cohn in providing best practices and strategies for successfully overcoming management resistance and other cultural barriers.

"I encourage you to just get started because it doesn’t happen until you get started," he said. "You’re going to hit all these momentum and inertia issues and you’ll overcome them because many of us have gotten through them already."

The panelists offered practical advice, including the following tips:

• Build coalitions within your organization from the very beginning. If you work in Human Resources, get a CIO involved, or if you’re a CIO, get a senior executive on-board. "The more people that are involved, the more buy-in you’ll get for the program," said Cohn. "People will be talking about it, and you will have an easier time convincing others if you have a strong core group of advocates"
• Realize that you don’t have to make the case for having 85 percent of your workforce working from home tomorrow. "Start with a small pilot, evaluate it, see what the results are, and see if it works for you," Cohn said
• Conduct training from the very beginning, not only on guidelines and administrative procedures, but also on IT and security awareness. Don’t just focus on teleworkers. DISA, for example, offers a delegation and empowerment course for management, as well as courses on collaboration tools, communications, and skills building
• To ensure that telework is a top priority in the agency, consider dedicating a full-time, high-level telework coordinator to oversee the task. USPTO hired Danette Campbell to do just that and "she’s raised the bar for teleworkers tremendously by advocating for it and making sure that every eligible position is considered for telework," Cohn explained
• Encourage managers to telework at least one day a week. If they can experience the benefits for themselves, they’ll overcome their resistance a lot quicker
• Put performance standards and measures in place so supervisors can manage by results. To further enable this, DISA set up its Performance Planning and Evaluation program to be results-oriented, which, Stefanucci explained, "takes away from having to fill out a form about what I’m going to do and produce"
• Get the security issue resolved. DISA is working on encrypting all of its laptop hard drives, according to Stefanucci, "so we will finally close the door on any data security issues that we have been concerned about at the management level"

There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to telework initiatives, as each Federal organization needs to determine its management policies and technology requirements based on the agency’s unique work environment and mission -- though organizations all face the same cultural and technology challenges when implementing telework.

That was the conclusion of panelists speaking during the Telework Exchange Town Hall Meeting session focused on "CIO Insights: Confronting Government Issues with Telework," which was moderated by Tom Temin, principal of Thomas R. Temin Associates and former editor of Government Computer News.

Each CIO provided information on their individual agency’s telework initiatives, what hurdles they faced, how they have successfully addressed those challenges, and the benefits they’ve realized.

Joseph Hungate, chief financial officer and former CIO of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration within the Department of Treasury, said that his organization, which has 850 employees in 72 different locations, has already enjoyed tremendous success with its very extensive telework initiative.

"People love this program," he stated, noting that in a recent survey, 58 percent of employees rated telework as a major reason why they remained with the bureau, even as the agency has been able to cut its office space requirements and save millions of dollars on rent.

That was not the case early on, however. Hungate admitted that he and his team made a major blunder at their Atlanta office when they first "announced" the telework plan.

"That’s not the way you go about change management," Hungate stated. "You have to include everyone that’s going to be affected by the change. In this case, we got complete resistance...and it turned into a battle that did not have to happen."

When Hungate and his team moved on to the next office, they took a completely different approach, getting everyone involved from the start and asking for input on all issues. They drew their implementation plan from that feedback. "We had a completely different result," he said. "Everyone embraced it. We didn’t have a fight, moved out on a quicker schedule, and realized the savings much faster."

The International Trade Commission (ITC), by contrast, has implemented an ad-hoc telework program, which means that no one has a set telework schedule. Stephen McLaughlin, the ITC’s director of administration and CIO, said that the approach was necessary because the agency has a work environment that is largely team-based, such that telework opportunities had to be based on the type and schedule of projects, not the day of the week.

As a result, employees have to sign a telework agreement and put in a request to telework on the desired day and managers have to grant permission. Developing an electronic system that could accomplish that so managers did not have an added bureaucratic burden was a challenge, McLaughlin admitted.

"We wanted to automate the asking and answering that would generate statistics that would allow us to complete our telework tracking reports by hitting a button instead of generating additional e-mail 365 days a week," McLaughlin explained.

The Department of Transportation (DOT), meanwhile, is implementing a more widespread telework initiative and is even increasing its urgency to look at telework as both a valuable workforce program as well as a preparedness strategy for Continuity of Operations (COOP) planning.

Mike Dammeyer, IT infrastructure manager at DOT, shared several lessons that agency officials have already learned: 1) Top-down management support is critical to overcoming cultural resistance (the DOT’s deputy secretary was a key advocate in pushing the program forward) and, 2) since requirements within each office can vary, it’s important to be creative in modifying standard rollouts.

Finally, he said, training is a critical component, and not just for the teleworker. The supervisors need to be trained too. "It’s a paradigm shift," he said, noting that managers have to learn to gauge productivity by work results, rather than just time on the job.

Telework will be a major tool in the Federal government’s future efforts to recruit and retain high-quality workers, from Generation Y to Baby Boomers, according to panelists at the Telework Exchange Town Hall Meeting session, "Envisioning the Government Workforce of Tomorrow."

"Through proper training, telework will allow agencies and managers to create a flexible and modern workforce to compete with the ever-changing workforce demands," said Michael O’Leary, program manager in operations support at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing who spoke on behalf of the Federal Managers Association (FMA).

He noted that "agencies need to embark on programs to educate managers on priorities for the mission and to embrace telework as a human capital management tool."

Stu Schmidt, vice president of solutions with WebEx, spoke about the fact that technology enhancements are rapidly making virtual workplaces more possible, more rich, and more life-like.

"What we’re seeing is that the whole notion of work is changing," he said, noting that the concept requires the entire culture to be immersed in the idea of virtual work even when you’re working in the office "so that when you have to be out of the office, you can do it and you can do it seamlessly."

Gil Gordon, session moderator and president of Gil Gordon Associates, an expert in the implementation of telework, stated that the concepts of mobility and flexibility are key components in a future workforce, as employees insist on more work/life balance and office real estate becomes more expensive to buy and maintain. In addition, incoming employees over the next decade-and-a-half will be much more comfortable with the idea of working virtually, whether it’s from home or a hotel.

In fact, said Gordon, Federal managers who want to get a handle on the future work environment should take time to visit and familiarize themselves with five Web sites: MySpace, Facebook, Second Life, YouTube, and Wikipedia. "That will give you a sense of what your workers in 2020 are being weaned on and building their lives around."

With increasing competition for high-quality employees a reality and workforce readiness a key issue, both public and private sector organizations need to include telework and other non-traditional scheduling arrangements as critical components of their workforce strategies, according to Michael Layman, manager of employment and labor policy at the Society for Human Resource Management.

"We believe that more employers are recognizing this trend and are implementing telework on a more regular basis," he said, noting that employers who offer flexible scheduling arrangements are more likely to successfully recruit members of Generation Y and also can draw skilled workers with disabilities into jobs where they can succeed.

"Telework really is good for the 21st Century economy," he said. "These flexible scheduling benefits allow organizations to truly recruit and retain motivated workers who may not be able or willing to work a traditional 9 to 5 schedule."

Much of the panel’s discussion centered on the coming "retirement tsunami" of Baby Boomers, which is expected to take place over a seven-year period and leave the Federal government with a dearth of institutional knowledge and experience.

However, explained Layman, "Many (potential retirees) are for a variety of reasons interested in staying in the workforce and telework opportunities can provide just the lifestyle a Boomer might want in order to stay working for an employer."

Rita Franklin, chief human capital officer for the Department of Energy, said that resistance to telework is slowly but surely diminishing. "There’s a lot more support now and a lot more of the workforce is embracing of the idea that telework is a good tool," she said.

But that doesn’t mean that telework will completely replace the office as a work site. "There are some folks that would prefer not to telework," Franklin said. "I think the decision needs to be made based on your position and the individual. I think it’s a personal choice as to whether it’s better for you to be in the office or working from home."

Security challenges have long been cited as a primary barrier to telework programs across government agencies. Yet, according to a panel of government information security professionals speaking at the Telework Exchange Town Hall Meeting, public sector organizations increasingly are effectively training employees and managing secure remote access for the mobile workforce. During the session titled "Remote Control: CISOs on Mobility, Telework and Security," Moderator Liesyl Franz, vice president of information security programs and policy, for the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), reviewed with the panelists how their agencies are deploying telework programs that incorporate required information security measures, training, and privacy protection.

The panel, including Michael Castagna, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Department of Commerce, Dennis Heretick, CISO, Department of Justice, and Joseph Gerrity, CISO, Securities and Exchange Commission, agreed that managing security for the mobile workforce with a host of wireless applications and devices is different from traditional, wired network models, but it can and is being done effectively in their IT operating environments. Agency telework and security policies must complement one another, and security training of teleworkers, along with management and other "unofficial teleworkers" who work at home on nights or weekends, is critical to a successful and reliable implementation so that all involved are clear on how to operate securely from alternate work locations.

The panelists offered practical advice about how to ensure a secure and successful telework program, including:

• Have a plan and goals for the program
• Ensure policies are documented and awareness is high
• Have multiple configurations to support variety of users and situations
• Be conscious of changing threats and vulnerabilities
• Know your user community to tailor training and applications to meet their needs --securely

The world is overdue for a pandemic flu, but if and when it finally happens, Federal agencies need to be prepared and take steps to mitigate its potential impact, including implementing an extensive and well-practiced telework program, concluded the panelists who spoke at the Telework Exchange Town Hall Meeting session on "Pandemic Flu: If America Sneezes."

Dr. Don Wright, director of the Office of Occupational Medicine for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for the U.S. Department of Labor, provided the audience with sobering facts and statistics about past pandemics "including the Spanish flu that killed 100 million people worldwide in 1918 and 1919 and the likelihood of a future event.

Pamela Budda, work/life program manager at the Department of Labor, later shared her agency’s pandemic preparation activities, strategies for widespread telework during an emergency, and lessons learned to date.

"We are looking at where the work needs to be done (in the event of a pandemic) and positioning folks to be able to telework," she explained.

The flu strain that world health officials fear most, Dr. Wright explained, is the avian flu that has been devastating bird populations in Southeast Asia and Europe. It currently is classified as zoonotic, meaning that it can be transmitted between animals and humans and it is extremely virulent.

Internationally, the avian flu has a 50 percent fatality rate among humans that have contracted the virus from contact with infected birds. By contrast, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which is from a different family of viruses but caused global hysteria due to the 2003 outbreak in Canada, had a 10 percent fatality rate.

The influenza family of viruses is very unstable and mutates all the time. "The only thing predictable about influenza is its unpredictability," Dr. Wright said. "The big question is: Are we only one or two mutations away from developing the ability for human-to-human transmission?"

If that occurred, the resulting scenario could be devastating, according to various models: One-third of the U.S. population, or 90 million people, would develop the flu, 45 million would access the medical system, 10 million would require hospitalization, and two million would die.

"Preparedness is key," said Dr. Wright. "Quite frankly, if this country is hit by a highly virulent pandemic, how we weather the storm is going to be directly related to how prepared we are. And preparedness is everyone’s responsibility."

In the event of an outbreak, Federal agencies can minimize the impact on their workers and their mission by taking several precautions, according to Dr. Wright. For example, agencies need to develop a culture that clearly encourages and supports the notion of "not coming to work when you’re sick."

Telework, he stated, is a critical component of that culture, as it would not only help keep employees from contracting and spreading the virus but it would allow them to continue to perform critical functions.

Dr. Wright also offered the following practical steps agencies and their employees can take to prepare and prevent disease transmission before and during a medical emergency:

• Have at least three employees trained to handle each mission-critical function
• Ensure infrastructure is available to maximize electronic communications
• Avoid face-to-face meetings and situations where people congregate, like conferences
• Close other public facilities, like on-site cafeterias
• Consider flexible office hours if possible
• Discourage handshaking
• Make alcohol gel wipes available in hallways and offices
• Encourage rigorous and frequent hand washing

Budda noted that prior testing is critical to preparation activities, including performing one- to three-day-long telework tests. These activities performed by the Department of Labor have provided a number of secondary benefits, she said. Management acceptance and support of telework has increased--the total number of teleworkers grew 43 percent from 2005 to 2006 (and continued to grow in 2007) and the department is better positioned to carry out its functions during almost any type of an emergency, as was the case during an unexpected weather event last winter.

A goal, she explained, is to get as many people as possible to telework at least some of the time before a crisis hits. "Employees who have never teleworked won’t be prepared to do so successfully in an emergency situation, so it’s critical to practice, practice, practice," she said, as well as to equip them for teleworking and develop standard operating procedures that include steps for performing critical functions from home or other alternate worksite.

Budda also advised agencies to make certain to educate and collaborate with key stakeholders, including the IT department, union leaders, and senior executives. "We’re really focusing on collaboration and communication to come up with a plan that will be meaningful and help achieve resilience for the department," she stated.