I Need Your Help - Researching Telework for Government
I am a conference producer at the Advanced Learning Institute. We plan a number of government and communication training events across the U.S and Canada: http://www.aliconferences.com/index.htm.
For many years we have had wide success with our government training. With these events being so successful we’d like to push the bar further and hold a Telework for Government conference, however, we want to be sure we are headed in the right direction.
I was hoping you could help grant me some insight on this topic with answers to the following questions:
- Where is the government currently using telework for its employees– topic wise should this be 101 materials? A mixture?
- What is the hot topic that must be covered in telework government training?
- Are there any conferences I should look into that are successfully offering telework training to government?
- Are there websites or associations that focus on the topic of telework and government?
- What do you believe is the biggest hindrance preventing you from successfully teleworking?
Thank you for any insight you may provide!!
Tags: conferences, governement, research, speakers, telework
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Rachel Lipsky on -
1. I think telework is being used nationwide, especially with the Telework Enhancement Act
2. Flexibility in expectations, maintaining networks and relationships, handling dependent care
3 and 4. Don't really know AgLearn (USDA online training system) walks you through some training and preparation of a telework request and forms
5. Colleagues dislike new modes of communication (Outlook calendars, email/phone instead of face-to-face, video teleconferencing, etc.)
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Permalink Reply by Angie Coleman on -
Thank you for your feedback Rachel!
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Permalink Reply by Cheryl Ward on -
Just talked about this today in a small group of supervisors at GSA... THE hot topic that should be in all telework training is:How to manage the work when your staff is teleworking?Telework is a significant performance management issue, and as our workforce teleworks more, the supervisors need to know more about how to foster productivity, communications, and cross-functional integration that is often so necessary to successful work performance. Managers and supervisors and team leads need to learn new ways to manage, oversee without micro-managing. Employees need to learn new ways to inform up the chain so that there is confidence that progress on work is being made and issues are being coordinated across swim lanes when needed.
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Permalink Reply by Angie Coleman on
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Cheryl, thank you for that insight. It sounds like managing teleworkers is a big issue in the field right now. Hopefully this conference will be able to answer those problems!
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Permalink Reply by Kelly Anderson on -
1. Fed managers are encouraged to allow "maximum flexibility" for telework, which can be cut several different ways. It's difficult to make generalizations across agencies, since place-of-work issues are generally regarded as "conditions of performance" issues, for which management and unions can bargain. Thus, each agency (that is, every sub-agency under a Cabinet level) is going to have a different policy. Medicare's policy differs from NIH's and so on. As such, I'd go with the most overarching treatment of the topic possible.
2. I'd approach training from a labor relations perspective. Management is concerned about monitoring employee performance, and labor is concerned about being micromanaged by management. A "can't we all just get along" (to use the dated cliche) approach that addresses the validity of both sides of this coin would be a fresh way of dealing with this problem.
3. Not to my knowledge. From my observation as an HR lady in 3 Cabinet-level agencies, agencies prepare their managers and employees for telework based on the specifics of their collective bargaining agreements/union contracts.
4. Not sure, though the local goverments surrounding the DC metro area may have some ideas about that (e.g., the county-supported telework centers run in Montgomery & Frederick Cos.).5. Two big issues that I think are not unique to government, but that may feel unique to Feds: 1) the management-labor tension described above; and 2) information security assurance. Feds have access to computer systems that deal with some of the most sensitive data in the world. It's rather threatening for a group that works so hard to protect data within its brick-and-mortar office to "let go" of some control as employees move to their own homes with their own wireless connections and home-grown IT challenges. I'd suggest highlighting some agencies that have successfully overcome both of these barriers. (Not sure with whom you could talk on that, though. Maybe OPM has case studies to share?)
Hope this helps!
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Permalink Reply by Angie Coleman on
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Kelly,
Thank you for that insight, that helped tons!
~Angie
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Permalink Reply by Adam Arthur on -
I've just sent you an email on this! Talk to you soon.
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