June 21, 2004

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is hosting two events to share information on implementing effective telework programs within the Federal Government. The first is a special meeting designed for those sixteen agencies that reported less than two percent employee participation in telework in the OPM 2002 Report to Congress. The meeting at OPM on June 22, 2004, from 9:00 to 11:30, in room 7310, will be a roundtable discussion at which participants can share lessons learned from their efforts to increase telework participation. Telework coordinators from those agencies have been contacted by email and follow-up phone calls. The second event is a webinar on June 24, 2004, from 11:00 to 12:00, open to all agency managers and Telework coordinators. To date, 200 agency managers and coordinators have signed up to participate.

During the webinar, participants will hear from nationally-recognized telework consultant Gil Gordon, who will draw on more than twenty years of practical experience implementing telework, as well as a panel of managers who will share their "from-the-trenches" experiences using telework as a human capital management tool. It's easy for busy managers to attend a "Webinar" - all that's needed is a phone line for audio and an Internet connection for browser access to the Power Point presentation. It can be done from anywhere.

While agencies have made some efforts to develop effective telework programs, more work needs to be done and our team is ready to provide whatever assistance is necessary. Our survey data show that by the end of 2003 only 14 percent of the eligible Federal workforce was teleworking. The goal set by Congress was 75 percent of eligible employees' teleworking by the end of 2003. As you can see, agencies are far short of meeting the goal. While the benefits of telework to employees and the community have been apparent for some time, we now recognize that telework is a key component of emergency planning and preparation, as well as efforts to increase productivity though reductions in traffic congestion. There is a real incentive for agencies to develop telework programs they can integrate into continuity of operations planning.

My staff is available to assist you in achieving your telework goals. We can offer additional assistance to any agency that is not currently meeting the targets set by Congress. Members of the Work/Life Group may be reached at (202) 606-1313. OPM's 2003 Telework Report to Congress is available at www.telework.gov.

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