Feds Demonstrate Inconsistent Reaction to the Blizzard of 2010 - The Good, the Bad and the Sad:

The GOOD:--

1. NextGov.com headline on 2/8/10 article, authored by Bob Barwin: "DISA telecommuters can work just fine even with more snow". The Defense Information System Agency (DISA) "...can continue to do its job thanks to a well-established telecommuting operation...."
   
   Apparently, over the last three years, DISA has equipped 70% of its 4,200 employees with laptops and connectivity. John Garing, Director of Planning & IT, said that employees see telecommuting "...as a routine part of their work week." DISA is working with the GSA and OPM to set up secure remote access locations so that even more employees can telecommute. Give the man a 'shout out'; no, make that two shouts!
    
2. WashingtonTechnology.com headline on 2/9/10 article, authored by Doug Beizer: "GSA's new Administrator sworn in by phone during snowstorm". Martha Johnson was called at her home by Acting Administrator, Steve Leeds, to administer the oath of office, with her husband serving as the official witness.
   
   Martha Johnson's first act - to telework the swearing of her oath of office - provides a demonstration of the fact that she "gets it" when it comes to telework/telecommuting and gives us hope for her strong leadership to make a Distributed Work strategy one of her top priorities. She and John Berry at OPM, combined with Aneesh Chopra, make a team that has the collective required skill set and political connections to make Telework work as an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) of Government Best Practice.
    

The BAD:--

3. According to articles authored by Andrew Mitchell of FederalNewsRadio.com, on 2/8/10 and another by his colleague Dorothy Ramienski on 2/9/10 headlined, "OPM: Federal Government closed Wednesday", Federal "...Telework employees MAY [my emphasis] be expected to work from their telework sites...."
   
   Just how lame can OPM be? Not 'MAY', but 'WILL'. Ms.Ramienski's piece went into considerable detail quoting John Berry (Director OPM) outlining the benefits of a strong telework policy and that he teleworked from home himself on 2/8/10; also deserves a Shout Out for John!
    
4. The Washington Post reported that closing the Fed. Govt. for a day, because of weather, costs approx $100 million in lost productivity. Can we assume that if all of the Fed. Govt. had the same 70% telework practice as DISA (see #1 above), US tax payers would be saved $70 million; probably not, but I'd accept $40 million?!

The SAD:--

5. In the Ramienski article (see #3 above) re her interview w/John Berry, she quotes him as saying, "My hope is we can make [telework] part of the routine." He then goes on to say, "...and that we can drive it into actual practice."
   
   This is soooo sad, because the Feds have been working to make telework SOP since the early 1990s, our Congressmen have badgered & cujoled with enabling and reporting legislation and hearings. Congress funded the network of Telework Centers that reach from W.VA and throughout the DC region in all directions. Finally, John Berry is (to his credit) providing a genuine push to implement the most recent legislation -- the "Telework Improvements Act of 2009" (HR 1722) and its companion Senate bill, the "Telework Enhancement Act of 2009" (S 770).
    
6. Federal Computer Week's article, by John Monroe, "December snowstorm highlighted policy disconnect" bemoans why there is so much difference between the attitudes towards telework in the Fed. Govt. and in the rest of the world. Reader comments range from 'Telework? No Duh' to 'Telework Espionage'.
   
   I have often wondered, and continue to wonder, whether Fed managers and supervisors spend more time working out how NOT to implement telework, rather than how to!

DC Feds Use Blizzard of 2010 for Demo of their Operational Continuity - NOT!^*

I have just come in from 2 hrs (would have been 3+ hrs without my wife) of clearing my drive of 29+" of snow - Oh, what joy!

Since reading Washington Technology's 2.4.2010 article, "DC feds hunker down for another blizzard", I had intended to write about the lame Fed policy that allows employees to stay at home, be paid, but not HAVE to telework from home. What does it take for the Feds to follow OPM's John Berry's determination and leadership to get kicking & screaming Feds to make Telework the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). Feds ..... get with the program or ... get out.

* My thanx to Charlie Grantham and Jim Ware for their guidance/inspiration for these thoughts. Their site is www.TheFutureofWork.net and on Twitter as @TheFutureofWork .

Scenario #1 US Feds

Snow storm hits, greater DC area. Due to expected hazardous conditions, the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announces that Agencies will operate under an "unscheduled leave policy", which means employees who cannot report for work may request unscheduled leave for the day. Storm lasts two days and Federal employees do minimal or no work. Impact on their "customers" unknown and will remain so.

Scenario #2 SCAN Health

SCAN Health in Long Beach, California experiences excessive amounts of rain resulting in flooding, up to 24 inches of water, in significant portions of their corporate parking lots. Their CEO declares the situation too dangerous for employees to come to work and mandates everyone work from home. For two days employees continue work as usual with weather conditions and change in work location invisible to their customers. Work output was minimally impacted. The employee response to management's emergency work at home directive was declared a success. The next question asked by management was why don't we do this more often.