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Executive Works could be key in helping Fed meet telework goals

By Toni Kistner
Net.Worker, 10/22/01

While it might come as a surprise to some, the Washington, D.C. area is poised to become telework central. Two mandates give it little choice, and the clock is ticking.

In the private sector, the Metropolitan Council of Governments (COG) set the pace in April 2000 by declaring that 20% of the region's workforce must engage in telework one or more days a week by 2005.

The government upped the ante soon after by passing a law. Section 359 of the Department of Transportation appropriations bill, signed into law in October 2000, mandates that within six months "25% of the federal workforce eligible to telework do to the maximum extent possible without diminished employee performance." The percentage is to increase an additional 25% per year thereafter.

The numbers of workers involved are staggering. If you include the military and postal service, the federal government alone employees 6 million people, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most, however, cite numbers in the 2 million range. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) puts the number at 1.7 million; 25% of which is 425,000 people.

No matter how you slice it, as we head into 2002, the goals are far from being met. At last count in 2000, an OPM survey reveals that of the 1.7 million federal employees counted, 45,298 (2.6%) teleworked (either from home or a telework center) at least one day per week.

But then again, the language is slippery. Who's eligible? And what constitutes "diminished employee performance"? And will teleworking one day per week (52 times per year) significantly impact road congestion and air pollution? Is this lip service or is the fed serious about sending workers home?

To find out what's keeping the numbers so low, the Government Accounting Office released a report in September outlining the telework barriers facing federal agencies. As expected, management concerns ranked first. Managers continue to struggle with which positions are suitable and how to ensure workers perform in a telework environment marked by limited supervision.

The problem is our traditional management philosophy, says John Stewart, CEO of Executive Works, a virtual company that's developed Office Pilot, an enterprise wide management system that's caught Washington's eye. Executive Works is founded on a new way of managing people, one that emphasizes coaching over managing and can be applied to large numbers of employees, whether they're in the office or working remotely.

"Telework will never work unless styles of management - and the mindset - changes. The truth is, people aren't being managed now," Stewart says. "If a person is competent and producing, he needs to be directed, not managed. Today, managers need to be leaders and coaches."

Briefly, Office Pilot is a Web-based, activities management system that places a "dash panel" on the bottom of workers' PC screens that helps managers and employees monitor productivity. Color coded and graphical, the system enables workers to break down and analyze their jobs into tasks, or "cycles of action" that they can prioritize, a concept that could be key to rolling out large numbers of remote workers. Managers can view reports from the highest to the most granular levels. The system provides instant messaging and video presentation modules; e-mail integration and strategic and tactical planning, action, task and project planning modules are coming soon.

A veteran business consultant and former military man, Stewart has been courting Washington agencies and says his company is on the verge of inking big deals with Titan Systems, Computer Sciences Corporation and Franklin Covey, which will resell the product to federal agencies and private industry.

"We went to the federal government because there's a vacuum of knowledge and strong demand to get it done. Telework is coming, there's no question. And with the advent of Sept. 11, there's more interest to make it happen, but the government doesn't know how to make it happen," he says.

More than just the mindset, the fed's definition of telework needs to change, too, Stewart says, "Sending someone home once a week isn't virtual officing. We've talked to agencies about sending people home for good, and they're excited. They're reaching harder than industry and I think they're going set the pace."

If the fed does embrace Stewart's ideas and deploys Office Pilot in large numbers, it could find itself with a solution to another long standing problem - employee turnover. "There are places in the country that have competent people living there that would work for the government and do a good job at a local competitive wage," Stewart says. "If you look at all of that, you see what's been missing in telework. Companies have been trying to launch telework programs when they should be doing enterprisewide management."

Toni Kistner is managing editor of Net.Worker. Contact her at tkistner@nww.com.

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