Federal Agency Status and Plans for Expanding Telework Infrastructure

1. Analysis Document Task 9 Agency Status and Plans February 15, 2006

2. Table Of Contents Introduction Methodology Status of Telework Plans for Expanding Telework Infrastructure Findings & Conclusions

3. This report documents the history and trajectory of telework and examines plans for expanding telework infrastructure • This Agency Status and Plans Report is the third of a series of reports from the Telework Technology Cost Study • The overall study has three primary objectives • Describe the current telework technology environment • Estimate the costs of expanding telework supporting technologies, so the infrastructure can support 25% to 50% of the federal workforce teleworking • Provide recommendations on how best to expand the telework supporting infrastructure • This report on Agency Status and Plans describes the history of telework across 16 federal organizations, including some of their components, and examines plans for enhancing the technologies supporting telework • The information in this report will contribute to an overall understanding of the extent to which Federal organizations have the necessary telework technology in place, and the technical enhancements needed to support increasing numbers of teleworkers

4. Information was collected from several sources within sixteen organizations that were chosen to be representative of the entire Federal Government • The Booz Allen team conducted interviews, focus groups, and surveys of Chief Information Officer staff, Telework Program Coordinators, Teleworkers, and Managers of Teleworkers (respectively) • Ten Departments participated in the study: • Department of Agriculture  Department of Interior • Department of Commerce  Department of Justice • Department of Education  Department of Transportation • Department of Health and Human Services  Department of the Treasury • Department of Housing and Urban Development  Department of Veterans Affairs • Five Independent Agencies and one Departmental Component also participated in the study: • Equal Employment Opportunity Commission National Science Foundation • General Services Administration  Securities And Exchange Commission • National Aeronautics and Space Administration  U. S. Coast Guard * Not all organizations participated in the interviews, focus groups, and survey

5. This evaluation of agency status and plans found that more proactive planning is needed to achieve true telework readiness • Few agencies are taking a proactive stance in planning the growth of their telework programs • Organizations currently rely on their evolving IT infrastructures to support telework needs on an ad-hoc basis, rather than considering telework in broader strategic IT planning • Isolated agency components have more structured programs, often due to management support, a well-developed IT infrastructure in place, and an existing culture that is supportive of telework • While most agencies have the basic technology to support telework, there are opportunities to enhance the program’s breadth, quality, and strategic alignment with the organization • Need to incorporate telework into agency-wide planning • Need to enhance telework program management • Need to ensure teleworkers have a basic, standard set of equipment and services • This report will describe ten ways to help agencies enhance their telework technology infrastructure and close the gaps between their existing status and full telework readiness

6. Table Of Contents Introduction Methodology Status of Telework Plans for Expanding Telework Infrastructure Findings & Conclusions

7. Information from three data sources was combined to gain a thorough understanding of agency plans to enhance the telework infrastructure Data Sources Analysis & Results Surveys of Teleworkers and Managers of Teleworkers Focus Groups with Agency Telework Coordinators Agency Plans for Telework Technology Enhancement Interviews with Agency CIO Staff • Conducted interviews with CIOs and other IT staff members in 20 organizations (headquarters offices and/or components of 15 out of the 16 agencies participating in the study) • Collected information aboutthe current status of the telework infrastructure and plans for enhancement • Conducted focus groups with Telework Program Coordinators and other telework management staff in 15 out of the 16 agencies participating in the study • Collected information abouttelework program history and current state, technology issues, policy issues, and plans for expansion • Administered surveys to teleworkers and managers of teleworkers in 14 out of the 16 agencies participating in the study • Received valid responses from 6,784 teleworkers and 1,540 managers of teleworkers • Collected information about telework technology availability, usage, and performance • Integrated agency information from the three data sources to determine actual plans in place • Incorporated Booz Allen understanding of current infrastructure and logical plans for expansion that could be implemented • Compiled a list of optional plans that represent potential improvements and include actual agency information

8. Program Management Home Office Services Enterprise Agency information and industry knowledge were used to develop the optional plans for telework technology enhancement • The Booz Allen team followed a structured process to develop the plans • Reviewed information about current plans agencies are considering – this information is derived from interviews, focus groups, and surveys conducted for the study • Considered the current status of the agency infrastructures (detailed in the Task 3 report on Agency Telework Ready Status) • Developed a list of additional plans that could potentially be implemented as logical next steps for enhancements • Added detail to the plans using actual agency information and Booz Allen’s understanding of telework technology • An inherent limitation of this study is that, as technology evolves, new plans may become possible, or the relevance and impact of the plans currently presented may change • This report briefly presents the status of telework, and then describes optional plans for enhancing telework infrastructure • Factors of telework status and the optional enhancement plans are organized into four categories, listed at the right • The four categories are designated in the report by using the color coding, also presented at the right

9. Table Of Contents Introduction Methodology Status of Telework Plans for Expanding Telework Infrastructure Findings & Conclusions

10. Overall, telework participation has gradually increased in most agencies • Participation numbers have gradually increased in most agencies - formalizing policy, active marketing efforts, and training have contributed to this growth • According to the Office of Personnel Management’s The Status of Telework in the Federal Government 2005, telework participation increased by 14% in 2003 and 19% in 2004 • The growth of telework has been relatively slow due to a variety of factors • Some telework programs have a narrow focus and have not been widely promoted or communicated • Often, there is confusion related to which employees can and should be eligible to telework • In many organizations there is a culture of resistance to telework • Union support and negotiated bargaining agreements have helped push the growth of telework in some agencies • Specific telework-related issues agreed upon in union negotiations have often been included in organizations’ formalized telework policies • Unions often advocated to have telework eligibility expanded to provide the opportunity for more employees • Some union negotiations have focused on ensuring equity related to employees using their own equipment versus the agency purchasing equipment for teleworkers

11. Overall, telework participation has gradually increased in most agencies (cont’d) • Congressional and legislative attention have led to more organizational support for telework programs and an increase in participation numbers • Recognizing the potential for the expansion of this legislation, other organizations are also taking notice of the telework requirements and potential repercussions of failing to meet them • Recent initiatives related to ensuring Continuity of Operations (COOP) have encouraged and benefited telework situations • Facing the need to ensure COOP has forced agencies to become more thoughtful and strategic in their planning for extreme situations, thereby raising awareness of telework • Many COOP plans allow for employees to work from remote locations and therefore the IT infrastructure is already in place to support telework situations • One agency with a dramatic increase in participation notes that they already had the technology in place to support the telework program, as well as management support, indicating the importance of the IT infrastructure for the growth of telework

12. Currently, most agencies have the IT infrastructure needed to support a telework program • As detailed in the Task 3 report on Telework Readiness, most of the basic equipment, services, and enterprise technology are in place to support telework, though there are many opportunities for improvement

13. Table Of Contents Introduction Methodology Status of Telework Plans for Expanding Telework Infrastructure Findings & Conclusions

14. This report presents optional plans that agencies could implement to enhance their telework technology infrastructure • The optional plans presented in this report are derived from actual agency plans, as well as our understanding of possible technical enhancements to existing agency infrastructures • These plans have the potential to benefit telework (e.g., improving access to information, standardizing teleworker equipment) • These plans are a logical next step for many agencies looking to enhance their current level of telework technology • Findings show that no federal departments have developed plans specifically to expand their telework infrastructure • Some government organizations do have general ideas for enhancements that could benefit their telework programs, but details of these plans tend to be vague • Information about these organization plans will be presented as appropriate in the descriptions of optional plans

15. Some technology trends may provide indirect benefits to telework, particularly in a few years when they are more widely adopted The remainder of this section describes ten optional plans that can produce more direct and timely benefits to telework

16. Optional plans to enhance telework fall into four categories: Program Management, Home Office, Services, and Enterprise

17. Telework pilots help agency’s develop an effective telework program before implementing it agency wide

18. Making telework part of the organization’s budget would ensure more stable funding of the program

19. Making the purchase of laptops part of the standard computer refresh would put in place a systematic way to expand the telework program

20. The more staff work in their home office the more this office needs to be similar to their formal office including the need for peripherals such as printers, copiers, and facsimile machines

21. Modern collaboration tools accelerate communications within the organization and provide improved team communications regardless of team members location *This plan is categorized as “Enterprise” in the Task 6 Report; however, technology experts determined that collaboration tools are more accurately described as enterprise capability than end-user tools. Therefore, Enterprise is the correct category for this plan.

22. Because of the size of files shared within the organization support for broadband communications for teleworkers is important

23. While teleworkers receive technical training, this training is not focused on the special needs of teleworkers

24. To keep teleworkers productive, technical support needs to be designed so teleworker technical problems can be resolved quickly

25. Remote access to the organization’s applications and administrative functions is important for effective telework

26. By providing effective security mechanisms for protecting agency data, teleworkers are able to perform more job functions at home

27. Table Of Contents Introduction Methodology Status of Telework Plans for Expanding Telework Infrastructure Findings & Conclusions

28. High Broadband Purchase Improved Security Solutions Enhanced Technical Support Enhanced Technical Training Budget Allocation Peripheral Purchase Improved Remote Access Laptop Purchase Cost Telework Pilot Collaboration/Communication Tools Low Low High Impact Legend Program Management Home Office Services Enterprise Fully implementing each telework plan will have different associated costs and impacts, as depicted in the graph below Phased implementation of the plans will reduce the cost, but may also result in reduced impact

29. Considering the potential cost and impact of each plan can help agencies prioritize based on their needs and available resources • Most plans associated with the Home Office and Services categories are rated as high impact, indicating that better equipment and services would greatly benefit teleworkers • The majority of the plans are likely to provide a good return on investment since only one (Enhanced Technical Support) is located in the quadrant of low impact • Both plans related to Enterprise are associated with medium to high cost • The high cost is mainly because they involve enhancing the overall infrastructure • However, these enhancements will produce benefits beyond telework, in areas such as improved remote access capabilities and enhanced enterprise security • Both plans involving Program Management are rated as having a higher than average impact • This is consistent with the idea that better management is always beneficial to programs • Also, these particular plans (Telework Pilot and Budget Allocation) may also help influence the cultural shift required for full telework support in many agencies

30. Implementing many of these plans will directly respond to the stated needs of teleworkers • According to the survey approximately 88% of teleworkers use or would like to use a laptop, while only 74% of laptops are fully funded or provided by the government • Fast, reliable network connections and fast connections to agency applications are at the forefront of teleworkers’ needs and could be addressed by several of the telework plans • The majority of teleworkers (86%) indicated that a broadband connection is necessary, while only 69% indicated it is available • Similar percentages exist for a fast connection to agency applications (87% indicated it is necessary, versus 73% indicated it was available) • Teleworkers are trained primarily on data security issues, and less on operations and maintenance of telework equipment and services, which could be changed by offering more technical training • When asked what additional equipment or services would enable employees to telework more successfully, the top two responses were tied directly to the telework plans • Peripheral equipment was cited by 24% of respondents • Broadband access was cited by 18% of respondents

31. Overall, agencies should adopt a more proactive position to more fully address telework needs while enhancing strategic IT planning • At this time, telework programs in most organizations are evolving slowly, as technology trends and modernization create an infrastructure more conducive to remote work • Telework programs are growing more quickly in isolated organizational components that tend to share several attributes • Management is supportive of the program • Structured policies and procedures have been developed for telework • Possible provision of equipment and services for telework has been carefully considered • Several common strategies have emerged for mitigating the potential risks of enhancing telework technology infrastructure, as described in this report • Plan for expenditures by developing a more detailed and long-term telework budget • Consider implementing technology enhancement plans in phases to manage costs and enable evaluation and course correction – but understand that impact may be reduced • Achieving a successful telework program requires only a few enhancements: comprehensive planning and coordination, technical and managerial support, and a basic set of equipment and services for teleworkers