Telework Exchange - A Public - Private Partnership Focused On Eliminating Telework Gridlock

Officials at the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) want to double the percentage of employees who telework on a regular or situational basis by the end of calendar year 2012. DOI officials, however, are not rushing completion of the enterprise telework policy.

“Our agency has a culture that believes it is important to take your time and study an issue before you act because, with natural resources especially, there are real risks that something could be damaged, possibly irreparably,” explains Ralph Charlip, program executive for the Human Resource Strategic Initiatives at DOI. “And so in developing our telework strategy, it has been nice to be able to tap into that culture and have a senior leadership that says, ‘Let’s be thoughtful about this and let’s do this in a deliberate manner that makes sense for our department.’”

Congressmen Gerry E. Connolly (D - VA-11) and John Sarbanes (D - MD-03), active proponents for the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, recently leveraged the Congressional Research Service to survey Federal agencies about telework implementation plans and progress. Survey respondents included the Departments of Agriculture (USDA), Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Interior, Treasury, as well as the General Services Administration (GSA), and the Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Department of Commerce.

On January 19, Telework Exchange and Cisco hosted a complimentary webcast, “From Planning to Preparedness:  Build Your Telework Strategy.” The topic could not have been more on point when much of Washington State was experiencing a severe snow storm and panelist Brooke Hamilton, sustainable transportation lead of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), was stuck at home, without power. Ms. Hamilton demonstrated how critical it is to have an agreed plan in place prior to unexpected interruptions, so that operations can continue with minimal disruption. Thanks to the WSDOT Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP), Ms. Hamilton successfully participated in the webcast.

A new survey conducted by Microsoft Corp. suggests that telework is reaching critical mass within government operations. Nearly 70 percent of public sector workers stated that they work remotely at least some of the time, and more than 30 percent noted their job satisfaction and productivity had increased since they started teleworking. Of those who do not presently telework, half indicated they would jump at the chance to switch to a comparable job if it offered access to robust telework opportunities.

A column highlighting recent telework news.