Human Capital
Key Practices to Increasing Federal Telework Gao ID: GAO-04-950T July 8, 2004Telework has received significant attention in Congress and the executive branch and is an increasingly popular flexibility among federal employees. In July 2003 GAO reported on the use of telework in the federal government (GAO-03-679). Not only is telework an important flexibility from the perspective of employees, it has also become a critical management tool for coping with potential disruptions in the workplace, including terrorism. This statement highlights key practices GAO research identified as important to implementing successful telework initiatives. The statement then discusses efforts to coordinate and promote telework, and concludes with a review of OPM's May 2004 telework report.
Much work remains to ensure that federal employees have the opportunity to telework. While individual agencies, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and the General Services Administration (GSA) are making progress, each has a role to play in expanding the use of this flexibility. Federal agencies can do more to ensure that as many employees as appropriate are provided an opportunity to participate in telework. To help agencies develop and implement a successful telework program, GAO identified a set of key practices for the implementation of successful telework programs at the agency level in our July 2003 report. However, some of the practices in particular merited additional attention from the agencies we examined. For example, agencies we studied had not provided full funding to meet the needs of their telework programs, nor had all established eligibility criteria to ensure that teleworkers were selected on an equitable basis. Obtaining support from top management for telework, addressing managerial resistance to the flexibility, and providing training and information on the telework program were also identified as challenges at the agencies we examined. As lead agencies for the governmentwide telework initiative, both GSA and OPM offer services and resources to support and encourage telework in the federal government. GAO noted in its July 2003 report that although OPM and GSA share responsibilities for the governmentwide telework initiative, past efforts were not well coordinated. In an October 2003 letter describing progress made since the issuance of the GAO report, GSA and OPM reported that a number of actions had been taken to improve coordination. The letter notes that the agencies signed a memorandum of understanding to reflect their unified approach to implementing telework. Revisions to the telework Web site were also noted in the letter, including the posting of a revised telework guide for managers. Additionally, training modules for managers and employees were developed. GAO did not evaluate how well coordinated efforts have been since the issuance of the July 2003 report. OPM's May 2004 telework report indicated that the percentage of eligible employees teleworking did not increase between 2002 and 2003, remaining at approximately 14 percent. This outcome, in light of the increased action taken by OPM and GSA, suggests that individual agencies, OPM, and GSA should seek to more fully understand the barriers to telework and take action to remove those barriers.
GAO-04-950T, Human Capital: Key Practices to Increasing Federal Telework
This is the accessible text file for GAO report number GAO-04-950T
entitled 'Human Capital: Key Practices to Increasing Federal Telework'
which was released on July 08, 2004.
This text file was formatted by the U.S. General Accounting Office
(GAO) to be accessible to users with visual impairments, as part of a
longer term project to improve GAO products' accessibility. Every
attempt has been made to maintain the structural and data integrity of
the original printed product. Accessibility features, such as text
descriptions of tables, consecutively numbered footnotes placed at the
end of the file, and the text of agency comment letters, are provided
but may not exactly duplicate the presentation or format of the printed
version. The portable document format (PDF) file is an exact electronic
replica of the printed version. We welcome your feedback. Please E-mail
your comments regarding the contents or accessibility features of this
document to Webmaster@gao.gov.
This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright
protection in the United States. It may be reproduced and distributed
in its entirety without further permission from GAO. Because this work
may contain copyrighted images or other material, permission from the
copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this
material separately.
Testimony:
Before the Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives:
For Release on Delivery Expected at 10: 00 a.m. EDT Thursday, July 8,
2004:
Human Capital:
Key Practices to Increasing Federal Telework:
Statement of Christopher Mihm, Managing Director, Strategic Issues:
GAO-04-950T:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-04-950T, a report to Chairman, Committee on
Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives
Why GAO Did This Study:
Telework has received significant attention in Congress and the
executive branch and is an increasingly popular flexibility among
federal employees. In July 2003 GAO reported on the use of telework in
the federal government (GAO-03-679). Not only is telework an important
flexibility from the perspective of employees, it has also become a
critical management tool for coping with potential disruptions in the
workplace, including terrorism.
This statement highlights key practices GAO research identified as
important to implementing successful telework initiatives. The
statement then discusses efforts to coordinate and promote telework,
and concludes with a review of OPM‘s May 2004 telework report.
What GAO Found:
Much work remains to ensure that federal employees have the opportunity
to telework. While individual agencies, the Office of Personnel
Management (OPM), and the General Services Administration (GSA) are
making progress, each has a role to play in expanding the use of this
flexibility. Federal agencies can do more to ensure that as many
employees as appropriate are provided an opportunity to participate in
telework. The testimony highlights:
* To help agencies develop and implement a successful telework program,
GAO identified a set of key practices for the implementation of
successful telework programs at the agency level in our July 2003
report. However, some of the practices in particular merited
additional attention from the agencies we examined. For example,
agencies we studied had not provided full funding to meet the needs of
their telework programs, nor had all established eligibility criteria
to ensure that teleworkers were selected on an equitable basis.
Obtaining support from top management for telework, addressing
managerial resistance to the flexibility, and providing training and
information on the telework program were also identified as challenges
at the agencies we examined.
* As lead agencies for the governmentwide telework initiative, both GSA
and OPM offer services and resources to support and encourage telework
in the federal government. GAO noted in its July 2003 report that
although OPM and GSA share responsibilities for the governmentwide
telework initiative, past efforts were not well coordinated. In an
October 2003 letter describing progress made since the issuance of the
GAO report, GSA and OPM reported that a number of actions had been
taken to improve coordination. The letter notes that the agencies
signed a memorandum of understanding to reflect their unified approach
to implementing telework. Revisions to the telework Web site were also
noted in the letter, including the posting of a revised telework guide
for managers. Additionally, training modules for managers and
employees were developed. GAO did not evaluate how well coordinated
efforts have been since the issuance of the July 2003 report.
* OPM‘s May 2004 telework report indicated that the percentage of
eligible employees teleworking did not increase between 2002 and 2003,
remaining at approximately 14 percent. This outcome, in light of the
increased action taken by OPM and GSA, suggests that individual
agencies, OPM, and GSA should seek to more fully understand the
barriers to telework and take action to remove those barriers.
What GAO Recommends:
This testimony includes no new recommendations, but it does underscore
prior GAO recommendations to which additional attention is needed. GAO
has encouraged individual agency leaders to make use of all appropriate
administrative authorities available to them, such as the telework
initiative, to manage their people for results.
www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-04-950T.
To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click
on the link above. For more information, contact J. Christopher Mihm at
(202) 512-6806 or mihmj@gao.gov.
[End of section]
Chairman Davis, Mr. Waxman, and Members of the Committee:
Telework, at times referred to as "telecommuting" or "flexiplace," has
gained widespread attention over the past decade in both the public and
private sectors as a human capital flexibility that offers a variety of
potential benefits to employers, employees, and society. The term
telework refers to work that is performed at an employee's home or at a
work location other than their traditional office. Mr. Chairman, at
your request we reported almost 1 year ago on the progress federal
agencies have made in implementing telework initiatives and identified
a set of key practices that agencies can use to develop and strengthen
their telework programs.[Footnote 1]
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, there
is growing awareness of the importance of telework as a critical
management tool for coping with potential disruptions in the workplace,
including terrorism. Disruption of normal operations challenges an
organization to use the dedication and flexibility of its people to its
advantage. We reported in April 2004 that organizations may use
approaches such as telework to increase the ways in which employees may
contribute to the organization in the event of a disruption.[Footnote
2]
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) May 2003 guide on implementing
telework noted that the ability to telework has been, and will continue
to be, important in times of emergency situations. OPM suggests, and
our work confirms, that agencies should make telework part of their
continuity of operations planning. OPM's guide advises that part of
planning for the use of telework in an emergency situation can include
conducting an inventory of equipment, discussing contingency plans with
staff, and periodically assessing emergency procedures. Additionally,
the guide proposes that routine emergency exercises be held to assess
the potential effectiveness of emergency plans, including plans for
teleworking.
A General Services Administration (GSA) report, published in 2000,
likewise notes that unplanned work stoppages caused by disasters or
weather shutdowns can be overcome by the use of telework. The GSA
report describes telework as a practical strategy that serves both
emergency response and emergency preparedness functions. As an
emergency response strategy, GSA notes that telework can be used to put
disrupted organizations and their employees back in a work status prior
to the actual resolution of the cause of the work stoppage.
Since maximizing performance and assuring accountability are at the
heart of our mission at GAO, we believe it is our responsibility to
lead by example, especially in the human capital area. On June 21,
2004, we completed revisions to the telework program available to GAO
employees. This revision provides our staff the opportunity to apply to
telework on an episodic, short-term, or continual basis.
My statement today will first provide an overview of key practices our
research identified as important to implementing successful telework
efforts. Next, I will discuss our past analysis of OPM and GSA efforts
to coordinate and promote telework in the federal government, and
discuss how that coordination has improved. Finally, I will comment on
the issues raised in OPM's May 2004 report titled The Status of
Telework in the Federal Government.
Implementation of Key Telework Practices Can Ensure Successful Agency
Programs:
Overall, telework has received significant attention in Congress and
the executive branch and is an increasingly popular flexibility among
federal employees. Federal employees' interest in telework has been
highlighted in a number of studies. For example, based on its 2000
Merit Principles Survey, the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board
reported that, of all the family-friendly programs studied, telework
showed the greatest gap between importance and availability. According
to a more recent survey, OPM's 2002 Federal Human Capital Survey,
almost 74 percent of federal employee respondents said that telework
was at least somewhat important to them. Despite this level of
importance, more than 59 percent of the respondents reported that this
flexibility was not available to them. We have reported that much of
the authority agency leaders need to manage their people strategically
already is available under current laws and regulations and we have
encouraged leaders to make use of all appropriate administrative
authorities available to them, such as the telework initiative, to
manage their people for results.[Footnote 3]
To help agencies develop a successful telework program, we identified a
set of key practices for the implementation of successful telework
programs (see fig. 1). Regular attention to these practices can help to
foster program growth and remove barriers to telework participation. In
October 2003, OPM and GSA reported they distributed these practices to
agency telework coordinators and recommended that agencies use them to
self-assess their programs. These practices are:
Figure 1: Key Telework Practices for Implementation of Successful
Federal Telework Programs:
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO-03-679.
[End of figure]
Our telework report discusses these practices in more detail and
provides illustrations of their implementation. We found that
individual agencies may need additional guidance, guidelines, and/or
individualized technical support to fully implement these
practices.[Footnote 4] For example, agencies we studied had not
established program goals, provided full funding to meet the needs of
their telework programs, nor had all established eligibility criteria
to ensure that teleworkers were selected on an equitable basis.
Obtaining support from top management for telework, addressing
managerial resistance to the flexibility, and providing training and
information on the telework program were also identified as challenges
at the agencies we examined.
OPM and GSA Are Working to Coordinate Their Efforts to Help Agencies
Meet Statutory Telework Requirements:
A statutory framework for the use of telework in the executive branch
began to develop in 1990. The framework includes requirements for
agencies to take certain actions related to telework, provides agencies
with tools for supporting telework, and designates leadership roles for
OPM and GSA in governmentwide implementation efforts. The most
significant piece of legislation, passed in 2000, requires each
executive branch agency to establish a telework policy "under which
eligible employees of the agency may participate in telecommuting to
the maximum extent possible without diminished employee
performance."[Footnote 5] OPM issued guidance in 2001 related to the
implementation of this law. However, that guidance did not include a
specific definition of what it meant to provide eligible employees the
opportunity to telework. After we discussed this issue with OPM
officials, they reacted promptly by issuing new telework guidelines
that defined the difference between identifying which positions are
eligible to telework and informing employees they have the opportunity
to telework.
As lead agencies for the governmentwide telework initiative, both GSA
and OPM offer services and resources to support and encourage telework
in the federal government. Some of the services are offered jointly by
GSA and OPM; some are offered individually by both agencies; and others
are offered uniquely by either OPM or GSA. Our report found that
although OPM and GSA share responsibilities for the governmentwide
telework initiative, past efforts were not well coordinated. To
illustrate the lack of coordination, a GSA official told us that
agencies had expressed concern about conflicting messages they received
from OPM and GSA on several topics, including dependent care. Officials
from both agencies confirmed that there were different policies at the
time of our review. GSA's position was that employees could care for
dependents when teleworking, as long as it does not interfere with
accomplishing tasks, while OPM's position was, until recently, that
dependents should not be in the home when an employee was teleworking.
After discussing the conflicting messages with OPM officials, OPM
revised its position in new telework guidelines it released shortly
thereafter. These guidelines state that while teleworkers should not
generally be engaged in caregiving activities when working at home,
teenagers or elderly dependents might be at home when the employee is
teleworking, as long as those dependents are independently pursuing
their own activities.
Our report recommended that the Administrator, GSA, and the Director,
OPM ensure that offices with responsibility for the governmentwide
telework initiative better coordinate efforts to provide federal
agencies with consistent support and guidance related to telework. To
accomplish this we suggested that the agencies clearly delineate their
responsibilities for this initiative. After we discussed the issues
created by a lack of coordination between GSA and OPM with both
agencies, a GSA official indicated that the two agencies had a new
commitment to coordination. We have not evaluated how this commitment
has manifested itself in the past year since the issuance of our
report. However, such a commitment reflects a promising start for
better assisting federal agencies in improved implementation of their
telework programs. We reported that the key to success will be
sustained efforts by both agencies to work together in assisting
agencies and providing consistent and straightforward guidance,
services, and resources on the governmentwide telework initiative.
In an October 14, 2003, letter describing progress made since the
issuance of our report to you, Chairman Davis, GSA, and OPM reported
that a number of actions had been taken to improve coordination. The
letter notes that the agencies signed a memorandum of understanding to
reflect their unified approach to implementing telework. Revisions to
the telework Web site were also noted in the letter, including the
posting of a revised telework guide for managers. Additionally,
training modules for managers and employees were developed and are
available through www.golearn.gov, the federal government's e-training
Web site.
OPM Reports That the Percentage of Eligible Employees Who Actually
Telecommute Has Not Increased:
In May of this year, OPM released its annual report, titled The Status
of Telework in the Federal Government, summarizing the findings from
its October 2003 survey of federal agencies. According to OPM, 74
agencies responded to the survey. The OPM report identified a number of
findings from its 2003 survey.
* The percentage of telework-eligible employees grew from 35 percent in
2002 to 43 percent in 2003. This translates to a change from 625,313
employees in 2002 to 751,844 employees in 2003.
* Sixty-nine percent of teleworkers have their primary place of duty
outside the greater Washington D.C. area. Comparatively, 84 percent of
the federal workforce is located outside the greater Washington D.C.
area.
* Use of federal telework centers declined by 5 percent from 2002 to
2003, despite the availability of increased funding. This translates to
a change from 459 users in 2002 to 435 users in 2003.
Importantly, the report indicated that the percentage of eligible
employees actually taking advantage of telework remained roughly stable
between 2002 and 2003 at approximately 14 percent. The number of
employees increased from 90,010 in 2002 to 102,921 in 2003, while the
percentage of eligible employees actually taking advantage of telework
remained at 14 percent because of the increase in the number of
employees eligible to telework, despite the efforts of GSA and OPM that
are cited in OPM's report. For example, OPM reported that it and GSA
provided assistance to agencies in which 2 percent or fewer employees
telecommute, including help in developing policies, providing
workshops, and developing promotion materials. Training modules, a
video, and materials for agency publications were also developed for
all agencies to use. The lack of growth in the percentage of employees
teleworking, in light of the increased action taken, suggests that each
agency, OPM, and GSA should seek to more fully understand the barriers
to telework and take action to remove those barriers.
The OPM report additionally described in some detail the nature of
agency telework policies. According to survey respondents, telework
policies are in place in 73 of the 74 agencies that completed the
survey. OPM acknowledges, however, that the presence of a policy does
not provide a viable telework program. Survey results indicate that
only 34 agencies have a procedure in place for giving employees formal
notification of their eligibility to telework. The report also notes
that 52 agencies have established a minimum performance rating for
teleworkers that would provide a clear indication to employees
regarding whether they are eligible to telework and 36 agencies specify
occupations in which telework can or cannot be used. Additionally, it
was noted that 46 agencies provide for telework for employees with
health problems and 46 allow employees to use alternative work
schedules in conjunction with telework.
In conclusion, much work remains to be done to ensure that federal
employees have the opportunity to telework. While progress is being
made by agencies, OPM, and GSA, all have a role to play in expanding
the use of this flexibility and more work remains to be done.
Specifically, the recent OPM report shows that federal agencies can do
more to ensure that as many employees as appropriate are provided an
opportunity to participate in telework. Telework should be viewed as a
key tool in an agency's effort to manage its human capital
strategically, and implemented as an investment in the organization's
people and the agency's capacity to perform its mission. The telework
practices that we identified and distributed by OPM and GSA should
assist agencies in strengthening their telework efforts.
Mr. Chairman, Mr. Waxman, and members of the committee, this completes
my statement. I would be pleased to respond to any questions that you
might have.
Contacts and Acknowledgments:
For further information on this testimony, please contact J.
Christopher Mihm, Managing Director, Strategic Issues, (202) 512-6806
or at [Hyperlink, mihmj@gao.gov]. Individuals making key contributions
to this testimony include Boris Kachura, Ellen V. Rubin, Joyce Corry,
Ellen Grady, and Tiffany Tanner.
(450335):
FOOTNOTES
[1] U.S. General Accounting Office, Human Capital: Further Guidance,
Assistance, and Coordination Can Improve Federal Telework Efforts, GAO-
03-679 (Washington, D.C.: July 18, 2003).
[2] U.S. General Accounting Office, Human Capital: Opportunities to
Improve Federal Continuity Planning Guidance, GAO-04-384 (Washington,
D.C.: Apr. 20, 2004).
[3] U.S. General Accounting Office, High-Risk Series: Strategic Human
Capital Management, GAO-03-120 (Washington, D.C.: January 2003).
[4] We did our detailed work at four agencies: the Department of
Education, GSA, OPM, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
[5] Section 359 of the Department of Transportation and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002, Pub. L. No. 106-346 (Oct. 23, 2000).
