Telework: One Year Later

It's been one year since the 2010 Telework Enhancement Act was signed into law, and some agencies already are making notable progress on telework implementation. In a webinar sponsored by the Telework Exchange, agency telework leaders said the 2010 law was a catalyst for beefing up and streamlining what had often been limited and disjointed programs at their agencies. "Telework at this agency was characterized as a series of scope-limited pilots within the boundaries of mission areas," said Baha Akpinar, telework expansion program manager at the Library of Congress. "It was not an even-handed approach to telework." Akpinar said his agency launched a telework expansion program with the goal of creating a standard form for telework agreements, remote support services and a new laptop core configuration to improve security and mobility features. The number of teleworkers at the Library has since increased roughly 300 percent in the past 18 months and is still on the rise, he said. In addition, most teleworkers at the Library of Congress telework two to four days per pay period, and some teams already have reported 20 percent to 30 percent in productivity gains for telework versus office work, Akpinar said. George Jakabcin, chief information officer at the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, said 83 percent of the agency's 826 employees nationwide now participate in a telework program, with 50 percent participating at a full (4-5 days per week) or expanded (2-3 days per week) level. The agency also has reduced its number of office locations from 86 to 71 since 2003, in large part thanks to telework, he said. Still, telework programs are a work in progress, the panelists said, with both noting steps to improve IT services and expand collaboration tools. Akpinar also said the Library is moving toward a one-computer model where all employees are issued solely a laptop computer. "Executive sponsorship has made a difference for the program," Akpinar said. "There are some managers who still don't embrace or support telework, but I'm proud to say these are now in the minority." Jay Morwick, business operations manager at Cisco's Six Sigma Center of Excellence, said the focus of telework in the coming year is going to change, in large part as a result of increased managerial buy-in. "Perhaps the future discussion in 2012 and beyond will actually focus more around technology and ensuring employees have the right equipment to telework effectively versus worrying about whether productivity will drop once a worker moves from a traditional office to a home office," he said. Wired Workplace is a daily look at issues facing the federal information technology workforce. It is published on Nextgov.com. Click here to read the latest entries.