Quench: Telework’s Virtual Water Cooler

As the Washington, DC metro area traffic scene creeps slowly towards the nation’s worst, Virginia state government has taken it upon themselves to further the cause of telework and remote working in order to lesson the strain on the area’s roadways and commuters. The new Office of Telework Promotion and Broadband Assistance is aimed at helping facilitate programs and plan to enhance remote working options throughout the state.

The establishment of this office should be a big step towards the proliferation of statewide teleworking plans - putting Virginia at the forefront of states pushing for better remote working acceptance. The recent telework endeavors have even netted Governor Tim Kaine an award from the Telework Coalition for his promotion of remote working.

Special applause to Gov. Kaine’s appointment of Karen Jackson as the director of the new initiative. She brings a wealth of experience as well as understanding of the issue to her new position, and we anticipate that, under her leadership, Virginia will be a role model throughout the region and country.

Is Virginia where they need to be as far as teleworking is concerned? No, not yet…but the state is “where they should be.” Virginia is moving along the right track, and the creation of the Office of Telework Promotion is a huge leap in the right direction. As long as Virginia government stays away from the “dashboard doggie” model, teleworking across the Commonwealth will continue to grow.

Rita Mace Walston, General Manager, The Telework Consortium

Recently, several articles, including a report on ABC News and a BusinessWeek cover story, have profiled one of the more innovative distributed work and management strategies I have been privy to. Best Buy, one of the leading consumer electronics stores in the United States, has implemented a strategy that they are calling ROWE, or “results-only work environment.”

The company has removed the emphasis on a 9 to 5 workday in the office and instead is focusing purely on their employees’ results. If the employee chooses to work from home, the supermarket or even the beach, it does not matter, as long as the work is accomplished and the results are satisfactory.

While not a standard telework practice, ROWE is an excellent example of how more companies should structure not only their distributed work plans, but also their management strategies. By focusing on what really matters - results - organizations can cut excess costs, improve employee morale and relieve much of the stress placed on management for status and reports.

Even though ROWE is more of a management style as opposed to a true telework strategy, Best Buy sets an excellent example for other companies looking to establish not only an effective distributed work strategy, but also a major shift in management throughout. It will require a significant turnaround in current corporate styles, but it looks like ROWE may be the future for large corporations. I applaud Best Buy for its leadership in the development of such an innovative and brave approach.

Rita Mace Walston, General Manager, The Telework Consortium

“Business as usual” is a phrase I use quite often, but I cannot single-handedly change the way in which businesses are conducted. Obviously, catastrophies such as Hurricane Katrina, 9/11 and even the East Coast Blackout have brought more widespread attention to business continuity drivers for remote work, but is telework actually being adopted by mainstream business at large? Curious to know who else is thinking about smart, better ways to work, I have been poking around the Internet and the blogosphere for the past few months, and here are some other sources encouraging effective business continuity strategies:

• Public Issues: Five Years After 9/11, AT&T Study Finds that Three out of Four Washington, DC Companies have Business Continuity Plans in Place, Public Issues & News
• Citrix, IBM team up for business continuity, ComputerWorld
• How one company rode out a Category 5 Hurriane, ComputerWorld
• Officials Prepare for Continuity of Operations during Emergency, Loudoun County Government
• The aftermath of Katrina: HR lessons learned, HR Web Cafe
• Business Continuity with Collaborative Conferencing, Collaboration Loop

Rita Mace Walston, General Manager, The Telework Consortium

In August, I shared my perspective on the “Dashboard Doggie” pheonomeon that exists when executives meet to discuss what Telework can do for them, agree on the benefits of a remote working plan by nodding continuously but yet…do nothing.

Congratulations to Loudoun County, Virginia, a county government leader that continues to surpass the “dashboard doggie” model and power the driver’s seat. Yesterday, we announced that the Telework Consortium has been selected by Loudoun County as their provider of choice for collaborative services and remote working implementation solutions. This is not only big news for the Telework Consortium, but it is huge news for anyone living in Loudoun County, especially those individuals involved in county government affiars.

The county is the fastest growing in Virginia, and with that rapid growth comes traffic congestion. Some of the main arteries though Loudoun are impassable at key times during the day, making commutes to the 92+ county government offices unberable. This gridlock greatly affects the work-life balance of a government worker who oftentimes would be far better served by staying in their homes, working remotely rather than losing hours of personal and work time each week to the constant grind of traffic.

I believe Loudoun County will serve as a catalyst to the other areas of Metropolitan Washington — and other municipalities throughout the country — and encourage other county execs to stop nodding their heads, get off the dashboard, and into the driver’s seat of their organization’s teleworking strategies.

Rita Mace Walston
General Manager, The Telework Consortium

This week at The Folio: Show, the Telework Consortium introduced Proximity Publishing Systems, smart work solutions that allow publishers, editors, art directors, and marketers to collaborate anywhere. Talent location becomes irrelevant—between floors of a large building, between buildings in disparate geographic areas, or between continents. This technology replaces proximity with increased efficiency and flexibility while decreasing costs and improving product quality. Read our press release  and watch our video for more details.

Rita Mace Walston, General Manager, The Telework Consortium 

Proximity Publishing Systems Launched at the Folio: Show
Editors, Publishers and Art Directors Work Smarter, Faster, Cheaper via Remote Collaboration Methods from the Telework Consortium

HERNDON, VA. – Oct. 23, 2006 – Established remote collaboration methods for the publishing industry are the cornerstone of Proximity Publishing Systems, a new service of the Telework Consortium, Inc., an organization that assists companies maximize their competitive edge with assessment and implementation of robust telework and distributed work programs. Launched this week at the Folio: Show in New York, the service enables all stakeholders of a publishing process (editors, publishers, art directors, andmarketers) to collaborate on publication development – from any place at any time.   As a result of this work approach, a final published product is more accurate in content, collective in design, and less expensive in editing. Benefits to publishing outlets include cost savings, development speed, efficiency in interdepartmental collaboration, and recruitment and retention of employees and freelancers. “Publishing is no longer a world of little fiefdoms,” said Brett Phillips, senior adviser of publishing for the Telework Consortium, and previous owner of Amendment One publishing in Leesburg, Va. “In this business, if publishers don’t collaborate, don’t maximize efficiencies, don’t keep the very best people possible, or don’t minimize costs without affecting the quality of the publication, their publication is going to be a foot note.” 

“Proximity Publishing Systems introduces smart work solutions that allow publishers, editors, art directors, and marketers to collaborate anywhere,” said William Mularie, PhD, chief executive officer of the Telework Consortium. “This technology replaces proximity with increased efficiency and flexibility while decreasing costs and improving product quality.” 

Proximity Publishing Systems experts will share success strategies and present these ideas during the Folio: Show, the premier national event for magazine professionals. A demo session on Monday, October 23 at 2:00 p.m. in the Sutton Room South will discuss how leveraging collaboration during publishing cycles strengthens the bottom line. Attendees can also learn more about this workforce trend by discussing the practice with Telework Consortium executives at Booth 401 on the exhibit floor. 

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I’m amazed that on the five year anniversary of 9/11, both the public and private sector still need convincing that Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP) should be standard business practice. As the nation waits  for the next hurricane, the next pandemic, the next terrorist attack, I wonder, have enough organizations truly embraced COOP to protect themselves? I know that some progress has certainly been made. One positive example is the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administrattion (TIGTA). Prior to 9/11, TIGTA had a continuity of operations plan just like most other agencies. But after that fateful day, the agency realized that the piece of paper describing its critical systems and data requirements was fairly useless unless it also had an operational plan to tap that information. Acting on this recognition, TIGTA methodically and meticulously integrated its telework program into its continuity of operations plan, and now the agency claims it can reconstruct the agency from laptops, and 100% of its employees can telework if faced with an emergency. Not bad.

Today, I’m speaking at The Commonwealth of Virginia’s Innovative Technology Symposium (COVITS) about telework strategies for Continuity of Operations. As government and business execs develop strategic planning priorities for Virginia’s technology future, it is essential that COOP, and telework, be a significant part of the strategy.

William Mularie, PhD
CEO, The Telework Consortium

I’ve noticed a phenomenon I call the “Dashboard Doggie.” This is where a group of people meet to talk about what an important role Telework can play in Continuity of Operations, cost savings, traffic congestion relief, and employee recruitment and retention. Yep, everyone agrees it’s a great idea and one whose time has really come. We all nod at one another, agreeing that Telework would really help accomplish these goals. By the end of the meeting, there’s so much nodding we each look like one of those little doggies with the articulated neck and head that bobs up and down, up and down as it sits on the dashboard of a moving car. The problem with the Dashboard Doggie phenomenon is that, while everyone agrees—and, granted, especially when it comes to business people and politicians that’s never to be taken as a given—more often than not nothing of substance actually happens. We just all meet again at a later date to talk and agree some more.

I commend the several states that are taking action to move Telework beyond the Dashboard Doggie phase. A fair number, Maryland and Virginia among them, give tax incentives to businesses who implement a telework program. This is a move in the right direction, but our neighbors in the Southeast may have taken the extra step that will have more cars parked in home driveways than parked out on the highway during rush hour.

Georgia recently passed House Bill 194 which, in 2008 and 2009, will give up to a $20,000 tax credit to businesses that conduct a Telework Assessment. Similar to the programs in Maryland and Virginia, there are additional tax credits for implementing a Telework program.

The importance of the Telework Assessment tax credit is this: implementing a successful Telework program is not a cakewalk. Let’s face it—it’s a dramatically different way of doing business. It requires buy-in from key stakeholders in management, IT, HR, and end-users (the employees who will actually be doing the teleworking). That buy-in involves understanding where your company is in terms of IT infrastructure, HR policies and procedures, management oversight and workflow, and employee work culture. It’s important to hear from each group the concerns and challenges they face—then come up with solutions and a plan that addresses them.

By conducting a Telework Assessment before implementation, companies can build a roadmap to a successful and robust telework program—one that will deliver on the promise of “business as usual” Continuity of Operations, cost savings, traffic congestion relief, and employee retention.

Georgia got it right: give companies an incentive for going through the steps to develop a custom Telework program. I applaud Virginia and Maryland for offering the tax incentives they have for Telework program implementation. To really get everyone beyond the Dashboard Doggie phenomenon, states should go one step further and offer a tax break to companies who conduct a Telework Assessment.

Rita Mace Walston General Manager, The Telework Consortium

Managing telework, in its current implementation, is hard.  

Management is being bombarded by the media and telework advocacy groups, such as our Telework Consortium, extolling the need for telework to alleviate traffic congestion, the staggering costs of commuting and to ensure continuity of operations (COOP). 

The most popular argument given to explain the low participation rate in telework programs has been the “resistance of management.” However, I believe that given the current state of the telecommunication infrastructures supporting telework, this “resistance” is well founded. Co-location of management and workers at a “place” has, since the start of the Industrial Revolution, been fundamental to the practice of “work”. The benefits of co-location include: rich of face-to-face interactions for exchange of both verbal and non-verbal cues, the ability to perform collaborative work, socialization and informal transfer of knowledge and information-the “watercooler” effect.  However, the current suite of telecommunication services (circa 1985) that support telework (the telephone, e-mail, VPN remote and Web access) supply none of the above attributes of the workplace and thus are only adequate for managing workers involved in solitary or episodic work tasks.  

In spite of the inadequacy of the telework infrastructures, there is no relaxation of the requirements upon managers to deliver the expected goods and services. 

It doesn’t have to be this way!  The tools are available to effectively manage teleworkers and a remote workforce. 

Modern multi-media (video, audio, electronic whiteboard), desktop PC-based IP telecommunications services, as deployed in our Telework pilot demonstrations  can dramatically change this mismatch between managing the “workplace” and a distributed workforce. They also provide the remote worker with a richer workplace context for socialization and collaborative work. 

So the Telework Consortium does more than irritate management with telework advocacy—we help in fielding successful telework programs based upon modern telecommunications infrastructures. 

The process starts with our assessment program, one that leverages our public and private-sector experience in pilot telework programs. These assessments analyze current conditions and suggest steps necessary for successful implementation BEFORE committing to the telework program.   

Give us a call…perhaps later you will have the capability to meet us “face-to face” on your PC.  

Cheers 

William Mularie, Ph.D.
CEO, The Telework Consortium 

The Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs recently released a 78-page report, “Review of Issues Related to the Loss of VA Information Involving the Identity of Millions of Veterans”. The findings underscore key data security issues which simply must be addressed by any organization which handles sensitive or proprietary information. In the VA case, issues like authorization, management oversight, policies, reviews, and audits all come into play as weak links in the security breach which led to the theft of the personal data of 26.5 million veterans. 

Stephen Barr’s July 14 Federal Diary column in The Washington Post sums up the three key themes of the Inspector General’s report as “Bad judgment. Poor communication. Office politics.” Well said.  Unfortunately, those of us in the telework industry see these recurring themes among too many agencies and businesses that allow employees to work from home without first implementing a “formal” telework program. When formal telework policies and security procedures are not in place, well-meaning employees or managers often make poor judgements simply because they have no guidelines — an employee taking home a non-encrypted laptop with sensitive data on it is a prime example of “bad judgment.” 

When no telework program is in place, there is often a lack of communications among managers, IT personnel , HR execs, and the employees who work remotely. Managers often don’t have the tools and policies in place to help them guide their teleworking employees’ work practices and when security breaches occur, there is a knee-jerk reaction to blame telework.  In truth, the practice of telework is not to blame — it is the unplanned, unmanaged practice of teleworking by certain individuals, offices or organizations that is most often at fault. 

The VA security breach did not have to happen. Had the Administration implemented basic standard policies and procedures for teleworking, the system would not have allowed any employee with access to sensitive data to download that data to a laptop that did not have proper encryption and security. Had the laptop been configured for this type of sensitive telework, it would have been of no more use to the thieves than a brick. Telework procedure and policies developed in conjunction with the Agency’s IT department would likely have also been able to make the sensitive data accessible remotely through a VPN–with proper security, of course–eliminating the need to download such sensitive data in the first place.  

In order to fulfill COOP requirements, employees need to be able to do their work anywhere, including home. The tools and technology are available to make this possible while ensuring that sensitive data is not compromised. It’s vital that IT and management work together to examine what is required to fulfill an angency’s mission, and then deploy the correct tools, procedures, and policies to achieve that mission, regardless of what man or nature may throw into the equation. Had such a formal telework program been in place, complete with encrypted laptops and procedures for working with sensitive data from a remote location, the VA breach would never have occurred. 

As we announced last week, Telework Consortium now provides detailed assessments to help organizations develop sound telework strategies. We evaluate workflow, work culture, IT infrastructure, and HR policies in order to recommend a custom program that will enable more employees to work efficiently, productively, and securely from home. Indeed, telework is not the problem with workplace security issues — ultimately, it can be a key part of the solution!

Rita Mace Walston
General Manager, The Telework Consortium 

The National Technology Readiness Survey released a report last week stating that although 25% of its respondents were employed in supportive telework environments, only 11% of its respondents elected to work remotely. The Telework Consortium believes that before any organization can practice telework successfully, it must first assess the corporate infrastructure and landscape. As such, we are now offering formal assessments on the viability of telework programs for both the public and private sector. The customized assessments benefit companies who plan to implement telework policies by providing them with detailed analysis on the viability of actually having telework programs in place BEFORE they launch them, thereby saving time and money.  The press release announcing our assessment program follows:

TELEWORK CONSORTIUM LAUNCHES ASSESSMENT PROGRAM
Companies/Agencies Assess Viability of Telecommuting Initiatives Prior to Implementation

HERNDON, Va. – July 20, 2006 – The Telework Consortium Inc., an organization to discover, evaluate and demonstrate software, hardware and services to enable remote work and collaboration, is now offering formal assessments on the viability of telework programs for both the public and private sector. The customized assessments benefit companies planning to implement telework policies by providing detailed analysis on the viability of distributed work initiatives before they commence, thereby saving time and money.During a formal assessment, the Telework Consortium will meet with key company stakeholders to evaluate current workflow, work culture, information technology infrastructure, and human resource (HR) policies. Following the on-site sessions with IT personnel, HR execs, managers, and employees, the Consortium will provide an analysis of the current landscape and provide recommendations for implementing and shepherding a successful Telework program. Fundamental components that will be evaluated include: 

• Hardware and IT Infrastructure
• IT Security and Network Policies
• Remote Connectivity and Support
• Software
• Workflow
• Work Culture
• Human Resource Policies

 “Distributed work programs aim to enhance economic development opportunities, address continuity of operations concerns in the event of a natural or manmade disruption, reduce road congestion and costs, increase productivity and promote a healthy work/life balance,” said William Mularie, Ph.D., chief executive officer, Telework Consortium. “Before any organization partakes in the practice of telework, also known as telecommuting, it’s essential to first assess the corporate infrastructure and landscape, so that mobile workforce initiatives will be successful. After the assessments are complete, the Telework Consortium is well positioned to take companies to the next level and work ‘hand-in-hand’ to launch and shepherd a formal telework program.” To learn how to apply for an assessment, visit www.teleworkconsortium.org.# # #