The federal government wants to increase the amount federal employees telework, and even passed a law to make it easier in December 2010. But finding out whether that’s actually happening is tricky. Because the metrics used to measure telework are continually shifting, it’s probably going to be a few more years before we know whether things are actually improving, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. GAO said that for years, agencies have used different methods to collect telework data, leaving those statistics inconsistent and unreliable. After the 2010 Telework Enhancement Act was passed, the Office of…
Browsing: telework
Most federal information technology professionals are very satisfied with their agencies’ ability to enable telework and support a mobile workforce, according to a survey released last week by Telework Exchange. The organization, a public private partnership that promotes telework, surveyed 152 Defense and civilian IT professionals about their current telework programs, shortfalls and projections for the future mobile workforce. Of those surveyed, 65 percent said their agencies offer above average IT programs to support telework, compared with 14 percent of professionals who rated their IT programs below average. Agencies with a “B” rating or below should provide more cloud-based services,…
UPDATED 9:55 a.m.: More than a dozen federal buildings in the Washington area, including the Interior Department’s headquarters on C Street, are closed today following the 5.9- magnitude earthquake that rocked the east coast Tuesday afternoon. “Emergency employees are expected to report for work on time,” regardless of their building being closed, according to an update posted on the Office of Personnel Management’s website, which includes a list of all building closures as of 1:50 a.m. (A list of building closures is also included below). Employees working at buildings that are open will have the option of unscheduled leave and…
Federal executives have until the end of July to develop or revise information technology procurement policies that support their agencies’ telework needs, according to memo released Thursday. When crafting these policies, agencies must account for security risks and ensure that all devices and infrastructure meet federal security and privacy standards, said Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew in the memo. The memo directs chief information and acquisition officers to take advantage of governmentwide and agencywide contracts. Agency technology should provide remote access to internal resources and include the use of thin clients, where most of the computing is done on…
Most federal executives exceed agency security requirements when using laptops and other devices inside the office but are less likely to do so while teleworking, according to a study released Tuesday by the Government Business Council. The survey of 232 executives, mostly in operations, found that 88 percent lock their computer screens when they’re away, and 77 percent only use secure network connections when at work. Outside the office, only 52 percent said they used these security measures. Overall, 97 percent said their agencies require at least a password or some form of authentication when accessing work on an agency-issued…
In case you missed it last night, here’s my interview with Capital Insider. I discussed the Office of Personnel Management’s problems getting federal retirees their complete annuities, and how they’re trying to make things right. [HTML1] And while we’re at it, Cindy Auten from the Telework Exchange was also a guest on the show. Hear her talk about the new telework bill and what it’s going to mean for feds. [HTML2] Capital Insider airs each at weeknight at 8 p.m. in the Washington area on cable channel 8, TBD TV. I appear on the show once a month to discuss…
There’s a lot of new requirements in the telework bill Congress passed last week. Agencies will have to: Establish a telework policy and notify employees of their eligibility to telework within six months, Require teleworkers and their managers sign agreements outlining their responsibilities, Set up an interactive training program for employees and managers, Incorporate telework into their continuity of operations plans, Designate a Telework Managing Officer, and Report on their telework progress. But will these provisions actually have an effect on the amount of teleworking that goes on in the federal government? We’d like to find out what you think.…
Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry yesterday officially downgraded the government’s estimates of its per-day losses during last month’s snowstorms. Instead of losing $102 million per day, Berry now says the government only lost $71 million per day. But there is reason to take those calculations with a grain of salt. Berry first threw out the $102 million daily loss estimate during a December press conference on snow closure procedures. That was a rough, back-of-the-envelope calculation of the total daily payroll for all 270,000 federal employees in the Washington area, and assumed total losses in productivity. That estimate was clearly…
The Blizzard of 2010 is over, but piles of snow are still clogging some lanes in Washington and worsening the region’s already-abysmal traffic congestion. And agencies need to use workplace flexibilities to help ease that gridlock, Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry said yesterday. In a memo to chief human capital officers and other human resource officials, Berry said agencies should continue to use telework as much as possible to take people off the roads. Berry also suggested agencies use alternative work schedules, or if possible, adjust employees’ work hours to stagger their arrivals and departures throughout the day. “Be…
OPM director John Berry has talked a lot about expanding federal telework programs — and it occurs to me that this week gives him a perfect opportunity to evangelize. Today is the second consecutive snow day for the federal government, and if tonight’s forecast is accurate, tomorrow might well be the third. Each snow day costs the federal government $100 million — possibly more during this blizzard, because I’m sure some feds will just take the rest of the week off and give themselves a “snowcation.” But many telecommuters are expected to work today, according to OPM — even though…