Patent office managers to receive telework training
Under $47,500 contract, managers will get training in operating under a program designed to increase work away from the office.
Managers involved in the massive Patent and Trademark Office telework program will receive training from a professional services firm, in an attempt to overcome cultural barriers to the alternate work arrangement.
As 500 of the agency's 4,000-plus patent examiners make the transition this summer into a "hoteling" arrangement where they will work primarily from home but will be able to reserve office space if necessary, 450 PTO managers will take a course intended to educate them on how best to supervise, train and mentor teleworkers.
Agencies need managers who are capable of operating in an environment where employees work from home and at odd hours of the day, said Linda Springer, director of the Office of Personnel Management, on Tuesday.
"We don't expect managers to be up 24 hours a day," Springer said at a forum sponsored by the Council for Excellence in Government. "But that sense of guidance and leadership and connectivity that a manager's responsible for, has to be in place in this type of environment."
The PTO course is being provided by the Huntsville, Ala.-based company FPMI Solutions Inc., through a contract worth $47,500, the company announced Tuesday. According to the company's Web site, FPMI has been providing services to the patent agency since 2001 through contracts including a $317,000 human resources consulting agreement announced in December 2005.
The course incorporates PTO's training objectives and telework policies and teaches methods for managing by results, delegating responsibilities and holding meetings when employees are dispersed.
According to FPMI, managers will be trained in groups of about 30. There will be a total of 15 seminars, each lasting four hours. They'll take place between Jan. 12 March 12.
Participants in the PTO telework program will be provided with the necessary communications equipment -- such as computers, high-speed Internet connections and black and white laser printers that double as scanners and fax machines -- in their homes. The employees can reserve time at the agency's Arlington, Va., campus if they are interviewing applicants, receiving training or attending meetings.
"The patents hoteling program represents an important commitment to our organization and to our environment," said Jon Dudas, PTO director and Commerce undersecretary for intellectual property, in a statement. "Through this program, we can help boost the quality of life for USPTO employees, help reduce traffic and improve the environment, while continuing to attract and retain the highest quality employees."
This month, the agency will start training and deploying about 40 employees every two weeks until 500 patent examiners are teleworking by September. All of the agency's 4,000-plus patent examiners are eligible for the program.