Federal managers adapt to virtual workplace
As the number of federal workers participating in telework programs increases, many managers are finding that out of sight does not mean out of mind.
"It really all comes down to good management," said Stan Kaczmarczyk, director of the General Services Administration's Innovative Workplaces Division. "Manage the results, not the process and not the day-to-day activities of the people. If you manage the results and you have milestones along the way, you don't need to manage people on a daily and hourly basis."
Kaczmarczyk was a panelist last week at an online seminar sponsored by the International Telework Association & Council (ITAC), where members discussed how to have successful telework arrangements and manage the performance of remote workers.
Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., pushed through legislation three years ago that required agencies to expand their efforts to create teleworking opportunities for federal employees. Now, according to a Jan. 2003 report by the Office of Personnel Management, 5 percent of the federal workforce participated in teleworking programs during 2002, an increase from 4.2 percent in 2001.
In the OPM study, management resistance, usually the main culprit cited for the lack of federal teleworking, fell from the top of the list of barriers to expanding telework programs in the federal workplace. OPM found that agencies used internal training to gain acceptance from managers. That training was needed to help move beyond what one seminar participant described as "eyeball management," where managers feel if they can see the employee and the employee appears to be working, then that employee has earned his salary.
"A lot of that approach of eyeball management is really the follow up of the legacy of the farm and the factory," the participant said. "We have to break that legacy and rethink our ideas about what management is about."
Managers should demand responsibility from teleworkers, as well as define expectations so there is a clear understanding of what needs to be done. Communication and trust are also key to managing in a virtual environment, as well as a good sense of what technology is needed to support the work employees are expected to do at remote locations. "You don't need to pay for an extra phone line or high speed modem access if it isn't needed," Kaczmarczyk said.
Finally, if managers are still struggling to supervise teleworking employees, they need to leave the office.
"If you are a manager and you can't figure out how to manage people when you can't see them, then the best thing to do is to telework yourself, because now, all of a sudden, you can't see anybody," Kaczmarczyk said.
COMMENTS
- Milestones! Let's hear more about them. What happens when we miss them, how do we measure them, who makes mid-term corrections. The whole issue of what does success look like needs attention. If proper goals (who, what, when, how) can be established, why would we need to intrude further. Another issue is the use of piecework rules. We have trouble with piecework because we haven't identified the tasks we expect completed. Once we know the "what" i.e.what EXACTLY does success in the task look like, we can allow fair and open competition (after appropriate privacy and security clearances) for the "who," "when" and a good part of the "how." If I can produce x number of units each of which you have defined as an acceptable product, within your rules, why not pay me by the acceptable unit produced? Interesting. With all the talk, it really does seem to come back to what is it-exactly-are we after, what does success look like. Robert J. Scanlon Posted May 6, 2003 10:16 AM
- For years I have told managers who resisted employees telecommuting because of the excuse of not knowing if the employee is working, to set work task goals and objectives for employees to achieve by designated time periods. This is the same advice given by Mr. Stan Kaczmarczyk on supervisors managing the milestones of results of employees who telecommute. But, another ominous factor exists on why some managers are against employees' telecommuting. It is the "fear factor" that if employees are able to telecommute successfully, then senior management may question the need for the middle manager. Until we convince middle managers that "their" jobs are not threaten by employees who telecommute, then I beleive we will continue to have high resistence among middle managers against telecommuting. Jerry Doyle Executive Vice President Council 252 American Federation of Government Employees U.S. Department of Education Jerry Doyle Posted April 29, 2003 2:17 PM
