*These agencies are not covered by section 630(a) of Public law 105-277.
Perceived Barriers to Telework
The most frequently reported barrier to telework in the 2003 survey was the nature of the agency work, followed by office coverage challenges, data security, management resistance, and funding for equipment and information technology (IT). Agencies reported having addressed these barriers in the following ways:
provided training to employees and managers on telework (23 agencies);
initiated marketing of telework through promotional materials (18 agencies);
undertook initiatives to gain top management support of telework (17 agencies);
established regular reporting mechanisms for tracking teleworkers (15 agencies); and
increased their budgets for IT support (11 agencies).
More detailed information on barriers to telework came directly from supervisors and managers who participated in a series of six focus groups in three cities. The focus groups, led by OPM psychologists not affiliated with the telework program, were designed to move beyond the vague concept of “management resistance” and explore the real obstacles managers might encounter as they sought to implement telework in their organizations. Commonly expressed concerns included the productivity and accountability of teleworkers, the need to address the IT technology requirements for supporting telework, the cost of supporting such arrangements, and supervisors’ or fellow managers’ lack of comfort with telework.
Managers were reluctant to say “no” to a request to telework, preferring if possible to give an employee a trial period as an objective test of his or her readiness for telework.
OPM/GSA Efforts to Promote Telework
Agencies with Under 2-Percent Teleworkers in 2002
House Report 107-575 on the Treasury, Postal Service and General Government Appropriations Act, 2003, included $500,000 to carry out a “Telecommuting Training Program … to educate executive branch managers about the benefits and logistics of telecommuting.” The conferees directed OPM “to target executive agencies where less than 2 percent of employees telecommute.” Working in partnership with GSA, we provided special assistance to these 20 agencies, mostly small organizations, helping them individually to develop policies and programs. We also held a special workshop for them, featuring presentations by other small agencies who had successfully met the unique challenges of a small agency telework program.
Multifaceted Educational Campaign
We found that many of the needs of the 2-percent agencies were similar to those of other agencies whose programs were still growing. They needed user-friendly promotional materials, practical guidance for managers, and help in addressing common telework barriers. In partnership with GSA, we developed an educational campaign to help all agencies, including the
2-percent agencies, to become more self-reliant in promoting their own telework programs and overcoming common obstacles.
Campaign elements included Telework 101 web-based training modules for employees and managers available at www.Golearn.gov, a video loop for lobby displays, promotional materials such as posters and tent cards, and materials to be placed in agency publications. At an all-day meeting, we trained agency telework coordinators and human resources officials in how to structure a campaign and use the materials. We also offered sessions on the latest in telework policy, technical discussions with experts, and two hours of hands-on training in consultation skills for overcoming barriers. The training was conducted by Mr. Gil Gordon, a noted telework authority, and based heavily on the findings from our focus group studies. At the same event, Human Resources Directors were provided an opportunity to meet with OPM’s Associate Director for Strategic Human Resources Policy for a discussion of telework in the context of strategic policy.
Other Strategies for Empowering Agencies
We also provided empowering resources to agencies through a new manager’s guide to telework, improvements to the joint GSA/OPM web site, www.telework.gov, and quarterly meetings for agency telework coordinators. A teleconference option makes the meetings accessible to coordinators in other cities. Together and separately, OPM and GSA have presented at numerous professional associations, community groups, managers’ training programs, and other forums attended by Federal leaders. During 2003, OPM and GSA solidified our longstanding partnership through a formal Memorandum of Understanding.
To promote telework’s role as an element in the continuity of operations, OPM updated its guidance on telework in emergency situations. Director James encouraged agencies to use telework in a variety of business-disrupting situations, ranging from Hurricane Isabel to traffic congestion caused by huge public events.
Preparation for Evaluating Agency Telework Programs
In keeping with our strategic focus on enhancing agencies’ responsibility for telework, we have begun laying the groundwork for including telework in OPM’s evaluation of agency human resources programs. Besides holding agencies accountable, this change will define telework clearly as a basic human resources tool, rather than as a new program in need of promotion.
Conclusions
Telework is growing slowly but steadily in the Federal Government, whether progress is measured by numbers of teleworkers or assessments of the maturity of agency programs. Numbers of telework eligible and teleworking employees continue to rise. Telework policies are nearly universal, and agencies are taking concrete steps to implement their programs. Nearly half of the agencies have developed a formal procedure for notifying employees of their telework eligibility. A variety of mechanisms are being developed to track telework and to provide supporting resources such as help desk assistance, equipment repair, and access to excess agency equipment. Agencies report taking concrete steps to overcome telework barriers through training, marketing, and enlisting the support of top level managers.
OPM’s goal is to make telework an integral part of agencies’ functioning, rather than a “new” or “special” program that needs a great deal of external support. During the past year, we have taken several steps to help agencies strengthen their telework programs and link them to agency strategic goals. We have emphasized the responsibility of the agencies themselves to comply with telework legislation, and are laying the groundwork for moving toward inclusion of telework in our evaluation of agencies. We have drawn the distinction between core and situational teleworkers and encouraged agencies to use situational telework as a trial period and then move employees toward the more efficient core telework. We have pointed to the necessity for established telework programs as one aspect of agency continuity of operations plans for disasters and other business disruptions. A special appropriation of $500,000 allowed us, working in partnership with GSA, to provide agencies with a variety of tools which will make them more self-sufficient in their efforts to promote telework. We will evaluate the effectiveness of all these measures through further telework reports.
