Telework in the
Federal Government
Report Tile
UNITED STATES OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
Agenda
• Legislation and Role of OPM
• Telework Facts
• The Guide and Telework Agreement
• Career Patterns
• Why Telework?
• Resources
Legislation
Public Law 106-346, § 359 of October 23, 2000
Each executive agency shall establish a policy under which
eligible employees of the agency may participate in
telecommuting to the maximum extent possible without
diminished employee performance.
Definition of Telework*: refers to any arrangement in which
an employee regularly performs officially assigned duties at
home or other work sites geographically convenient to the
residence of the employee.
*2005 Annual Telework Survey
Office of Personnel Management Role
• Collect data from all Federal agencies and
report to Congress
• Offer guidance and assistance to agencies
in creating telework policies and managing
telework programs, in partnership with the
General Services Administration (GSA)
• Serve as a resource for agency telework
coordinators
Office of Personnel Management Role
• Provide online and in-person training for
various audiences
• Represent the Federal Government
telework program to all stakeholders
Telework Facts
Facts*:
• 140,694 eligible Federal employees
telework
• 19% of the eligible Federal workforce
teleworks
• The total number of teleworkers reported
has almost doubled in the last five years
* The Status of Telework in the Federal Government, Report to Congress, 2005.
A Guide to Telework in the Federal
Government
Introduction
Late 20th-century technology revolutionized the workplace, and the
21st-century workplace is evolving even further. Computers, remote
connectivity, voice and electronic communications, paperless work
processes, and other innovations make information and work
increasingly mobile.
Such innovations help the Federal Government, as the Nation’s
largest employer, serve the needs of the American public more
efficiently and effectively. Federal employees have used mobile
work technology for a long time. In recent years, telework has
become increasingly widespread and formalized, with legislative
mandates as well as new programmatic and policy supports and
structures.
A Guide to Telework in the Federal
Government
Practice, Practice, Practice
The success of an organization’s telework program depends
on regular, routine use. Experience is the only way to enable
managers, employees, IT support, and other stakeholders to
work through any technology, equipment, communications,
workflow, and associated issues that may inhibit the
transparency of remote work. Individuals expected to
telework in an emergency situation should, with some
frequency, telework under non-emergency circumstances as
well.
Telework Agreement
Elements of an agreement should include the following:
1. Location of the telework office
• Equipment inventory
• The job tasks to be performed
• Telework schedule
• Telework contact information
• Safety checklist
• Expectations for emergency telework
2. Manager and employee should update the telework
agreement annually
Career Patterns focuses employee/employer
relationships designed to attract new talent
• The Federal Government must be positioned to compete for talent
in light of the “retirement wave”
• 94% of current Federal workforce is working in “traditional” jobs
• Most new applicants are attracted by non-traditional work
arrangements
• Strong workforce planning that incorporates career patterns is the
foundation for strategic management of human capital
• The Federal Government needs to transform hiring. Building work
environments that embrace technology, offer flexible work
schedules and locations, and appeal to broad sets of potential
workers is the place to begin.
The Career Patterns Guide helps agencies identify
the work environments needed to attract talent
The guide is divided into four sections
• Section 1 – Career Patterns: Dimensions and Scenarios
• Section 2 – The Career Patterns Analytic Tool enhances
workforce planning by providing a step-by-step process to
identify broad applicant pools and the types of work
environments that attract them
• Section 3 – Building Work Environments aids in action
planning to operationalize Career Patterns
• Section 4 – Resources and Tools includes resources and tools
to help build and operate a work environment shaped by
Career Patterns
• Additionally, Appendices include:
o A listing of high impact HR Flexibilities
o Bibliography
o Analysis Worksheet and Questionnaire templates
http://www.opm.gov/CareerPatterns/
Career Patterns Dimensions characterize
employees, both current and potential
Time in Career
The career stage at which one enters or re-enters the Federal workforce
Early——————————————XMiddle——————————XLate/Returning
A work environment that welcomes entry at different stages of career from novice to retiree
Mobility
The movement of an employee geographically, between agencies, or between the public and
private sectors
Not MobileW——————————XMobileW—————————XHighly Mobile
A work environment that welcomes advancement within and across occupations, organizations, and sectors
Permanence
The duration of employment that suits the employee and the mission
Short TermW——————————XRevolvingW——————————XLong Term
A work environment that welcomes those who want to work temporarily, occasionally, or indefinitely
Mission-Focus
The mission or project that attracts one to Federal employment
Public Service DrivenW————XProfession DrivenW———XSpecific Mission Driven
A work environment that welcomes all motivations, from general service commitment to a specific passion
Flexible Arrangements
The work environment that best supports the employee and the work
TraditionalW——————————XFlexibleW—————————XHighly Flexible
A work environment that welcomes and accommodates traditional and flexible work arrangements
W————————————Dimension Spectrum—————————————X
Ten initial Career Patterns Scenarios cover
a large percentage of new applicants
Dimensions
Scenarios
Time in Career
•
•
•
•
Student
New Professional
Mid-Career Professional
Retiree
Mobility
•
Highly Mobile
Permanence
•
•
Revolving
Term
•
•
Mission-Focus
Experienced Professional
Mission-Focus
(specific fields)
Flexible Arrangements
•
Requires Flexibilities
Why telework?
It benefits employees by:
• Reducing commuting time
• Increasing their flexibility to balance work and family needs and
• It reduces their expenses for transportation, food and clothing.
It benefits employers by:
• Helping agencies recruit and retain skilled and valuable
employees
Telework is a “Virtual Resources Solution” which helps agencies
respond to rapidly changing conditions.
Telework should be an integral part of an agency's planning for:
ƒ Continuity of Operations Plans
ƒ Emergencies
ƒ Disasters
www.telework.gov
•
Main
Announcements
Telework Laws
FAQs
Telework (also called telecommuting) is the ability to do your
work at a location other than your "official duty station." With
portable computers, high speed telecommunications links, and
ever-present pocket communications devices, many employees
today can work almost anywhere at least some of the time.
Using the flexibility to work in a home office or telework
center when it is effective to do so is clearly the wave of the
future, and for many of us the future is already here. The
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the General
Services Administration (GSA) have established this joint web
site on Telework to provide access to guidance issued by both
agencies. Here you will find information for employees who
think they might like to telecommute (or are already doing so),
for managers and supervisors who supervise teleworkers, and
for agency telework coordinators.
Resources
www.telework.gov
Status of Telework in the Federal
Government, Report to the Congress, 2005
Barbara Kaplan, OPM, Work/Life Program
Specialist, 202-606-2012,
Barbara.Kaplan@opm.gov