Telework programs are demonstrating productivity, environmental, recruiting and cost-savings benefits, but agencies need to incorporate lessons learned in a range of telework programs, tie their telework programs to agency Continuity of Operations (COOP) planning, and kick their green computing efforts into high gear in order to fully leverage those benefits. That was the theme that ran through the discussion sessions at the Telework Exchange 2008 Town Hall Meeting in Washington, D.C. held on April 22.
Because the event took place on Earth Day, a highlight occurred when Juan Lopez, a senior program analyst for the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive, broke the news that the "2004-2006 Biennial Report to the President on the Federal government's environmental and energy efficiency accomplishments" had just been presented to President Bush. "So you heard it here before you heard it on CNN," he stated.
Measuring Up
Agency successes, challenges, and best practices in implementing telework programs were the focus of the first session, "Does Your Telework Program Measure Up?"
Panelist Danette Campbell, senior advisor for telework at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), kicked off the discussion by spotlighting the impressive telework success the USPTO has achieved as one of the earliest adopters of telework in government. Currently, USPTO has 4,023 employees participating in some form of telework, all supporting business units have telework programs in progress, and 1,100 patent examiners have relinquished their office space. Over the next several years, USPTO plans to deploy approximately 500 patent examiners a year to work from home four days a week.
USPTO telework programs have been successful, she said, because of processes put in place during pilot startups and because of the comprehensive training that is mandatory for each USPTO worker. "We survey, conduct focus sessions, and survey more to ensure the successful telework pilot," she said.
Jack Penkoske, director of manpower, personnel, and security at the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), said that telework had blossomed in recent years within his agency, with employees allowed to telework up to three days a week. He noted that a key driver for DISA telework is retaining employees, particularly given the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission's decision to relocate DISA's headquarters from Arlington, Va., to Fort Meade, MD.
"We want to keep them," he said, noting that 80 percent of DISA's workforce have technical occupations. "People make huge employment decisions based on how long it takes to commute, and this could double or, in some cases, triple the commute for some of our workforce. We wanted to have a viable option, that if they can telework at least three days a week…it might factor heavily into the individuals wanting to stay with us."
During a lengthy question-and-answer session with moderator Gil Gordon, president of Gil Gordon Associates, and the audience, Campbell and Penkoske discussed their approaches to security and telework, training strategies, and getting managers focused on performance and results.
Among the lessons learned: Knock down barriers to telework and take steps to enable telework success, including buy computers that are telework-compatible during technology refresh cycles; ensure that home office configurations mirror office technology setup where possible; work with the business unit leader to design an appropriate telework training regimen for managers and employees; develop well-defined performance metrics that are measurable, understandable, equitable, and achievable; and create comprehensive but simple templates for telework plans.
Continuing Operations
The next session, "A Continuity of Operations Plan without Telework is No Plan at All," was moderated by Kathy Kadilak, president of Strategic Work/Life Solutions and addressed the challenges of and technology tools and policy particulars needed for successfully incorporating telework within an agency COOP plan.
"If we can support effectively and efficiently tens of thousands of employees who work at home or at telework centers…if we can support that day-to-day, we can support it in COOP," said Ed Meagher, deputy CIO at the Department of Interior.
Eric Kretz, deputy division director of the National Continuity of Operations Division for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), described telework as a critical tool in dealing with all manner of crises, ranging from a pandemic flu outbreak to a natural disaster to a regional snowstorm.
Telework, he explained, enables a more resilient and flexible workforce in times of crisis, provides an alternative to procuring or leasing a continuity facility, and increases employee confidence in successfully implementing their emergency plans.
"If you have a workforce that's able to continue through telework, then you're going to get back up to speed (as an organization) that much quicker," Kretz stated.
Joan Kennedy, associate director for security and emergency planning at the Department of Justice (DOJ), explained that her agency had already seen the benefits of bringing the two initiatives together. Last year, when the DOJ headquarters building flooded and lost electricity, she and others who frequently or occasionally telework were able to shift gears quickly, forward their office calls to their homes and carry out their duties as if they were at the headquarters building.
"The fact that we had our plans together and were able to go to our alternate sites - all the senior managers - it was almost a seamless transition to carry out our central functions," she said, noting that a key to success is the fact that DOJ exercises its COOP plans, not just with employees but also with the IT department and other stakeholders to ensure that teleworkers can access what they need to do their jobs.
Meagher advised that the two organizations work together and quickly: "Telework folks, go find some COOP folks and become their best friend, and vice versa."
Other suggestions for a better COOP plan are to encourage managers to telework at least occasionally; to work closely with human resources personnel so they will have information available for personnel in the event of an emergency; to include COOP clauses in contracts with vendors so those personnel can continue to perform essential functions; and to exercise COOP plans quarterly, if at all possible, since personnel and job roles can change in a short period of time.
Go Green
The final panel covered "Leveraging the Power of Telework and Green Commuting." The session was focused on how telework program coordinators and teleworkers could further reduce their carbon footprints.
Moderator Jennifer Thomas Alcott, telework program manager for the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, opened the session by noting just how much room there is for improvement. She referred to a Gartner Study showing that global information and communications usage accounts for about two percent of all global carbon dioxide emissions.
"To put this in perspective, this is the same percentage that the aviation industry accounts for," she said. "But there's a broader impact that IT has on the environment as well in terms of the waste that results from the disposal of equipment and the pollution that can result by putting materials like cadmium and mercury into the earth and watershed."
Telework, stated Douglas Johnson, technology policy and international affairs adviser for the Consumer Electronics Association, not only decreases the amount of energy used in commuting to and from work, but it also saves a portion of the energy associated with commercial office space. A recent study, "The Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Impact of Telecommuting and E-commerce," sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association, found that the estimated 3.9 million teleworkers in the United States reduced gasoline consumption by 840 million gallons per year and prevented 14 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Moreover, telework saves the equivalent of 9 to 14 billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year, equivalent to energy used to power one million households per year.
"These findings are very positive, and we hope this study is as useful in the telework promotion space as it is certainly in the environmental and energy savings community," Douglas said.
Katharine Kaplan, product manager for consumer electronics and IT for the Energy Star Program at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, suggested that Federal agencies can do even more to improve the environment and decrease their energy consumption. Her recommendations: buy Energy Star-certified computing and electronics products; use power management capabilities available on most computers; rely on EPEAT, a green procurement tool that allows purchasing organizations to choose computing and electronic products based on their environmental attributes; increase recycling efforts; and pull battery chargers out of electrical outlets when not in use.
The potential impact of small changes is significant, she noted. If every home office product purchased in the U.S. in 2008 was Energy Star qualified, for example, it would prevent almost three million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions.
Juan Lopez stated that improvements are already in the works. He explained that Federal agencies have signed a memorandum of understanding in 2004 to promote a lifecycle-based approach to buy, use, and dispose of computing equipment and that the goals of that agreement were incorporated into Executive Order 13423 issued in January 2007 and titled "Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management." "It's the first time that electronics stewardship goes to this level," he said, noting that, among other things, the order calls for agencies to buy at least 95 percent of its electronics products using the EPEAT tool (unless there is no EPEAT standard for a required product).
For more information on programs noted above, see:
Executive Order 13423: www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/01/20070124-2.html
Energy Star Program, see: www.energystar.gov
EPEAT: www.epeat.net
