Federal Employees Going Remote: It’s About Time

The weather looked ominous, but the day before had been 70 degrees. Not concerned, Kaine continued on and was eventually counted among the hundreds of motorists who became trapped on I-95 after an extreme weather event moved in. Snow and ice incapacitated roadways, and temperatures plunged overnight to below freezing. The situation quickly turned precarious as drivers, who were by then out of gas, tried to keep warm and survive the night.

Upon his safe return the next day, Senator Kaine commented, “At some point I made the switch from it being a miserable travel experience into a survival project…26 hours and 45 minutes. I am beat and I am very hungry.”

If only senators could telecommute every day.

Ditching Old Models

Federal workers have long been subjected to less flexibility when it comes to remote work, but the pandemic continues to accelerate rapid policy updates. In June, the Biden administration announced permanent changes in its Return to Work Memorandum which emphasizes that whenever possible, federal agencies should strive to provide maximum remote flexibility to all current telework-eligible employees.

But circa the early days of 2020, it was not a scenario they were necessarily prepared for. Pre-pandemic, only 3% of federal employees worked in remote settings as opposed to the spring of 2020 when that number skyrocketed to 60%.

Fast forward nearly two years, and federal workers have now acclimated to the obvious benefits that come with remote work. Standouts include increases in work-life balance, lack of a daily commute, and significant personal cost savings. The secret is out about the advantages that telework offers. Whether political leaders like it or not, remote work is here to stay.

Moreover, this is not news to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) who understands that if federal jobs want to remain attractive to top talent, they are going to have to continue to innovate. In its new guide for remote work, the agency is candid about seeking to “attract, recruit, and retain the best possible workforce” by pushing agencies to “strategically leverage workplace flexibilities” such as telework and remote work.

Taking a Cue from the Private Sector

As COVID’s day-to-day effects continue to oscillate, government agencies are now paying the price for not modernizing their workforce models sooner compared to their counterparts in the private sector. Granted, it’s more complicated for federal agencies. Each agency has a unique mission and needs. Specifically, they must negotiate policy, privacy, and regulatory requirements as well as implement robust security safeguards.

However, a distinct opportunity presents itself for agencies to look toward the private sector, assess which best practices they can adopt to support federal remote workers, and execute accordingly.

In order to do this well, we see five main areas of growth and development that federal agencies will have to get right:

1
Move Systems to the Cloud

Having a highly customizable, scalable infrastructure is going to be one of the first steps government agencies need to take to position remote workers for success. Cloud computing offers faster team collaboration, flexibility of tools, and economies of scale. Long-term disruption is minimized when information is backed up and protected. If a storm or natural disaster occurs, government workers will still be able to access data from anywhere with connectivity; enabling federal leaders to carry on with business as usual.

In addition, cloud-based technologies are also known to be highly effective at keeping sensitive information secure. Servers often reside behind industry-standard firewalls and security appliances. Physical servers are typically located in private warehouses that have access restrictions. And, files that are stored on cloud servers are typically required to be encrypted. Encryption provides a strong layer of protection, making cloud computing ideally suited to meet federal security standards.

2
Implement a Time Tracking System

Although early pandemic response effectively proved that impactful work can be done remotely, the paradigm shift has not been without its naysayers. There remains intrinsic doubt in the federal sector that telework can be sustained over the long term. But truthfully, you don’t need to physically lay eyes on employees to assign them project hours. That being said, if convincing leadership that remote productivity rates will remain high is the problem, it’ll be important to show proof.

Use a time tracking software to keep account of how many hours your employees are working and which projects they are allocating their hours to. Workers can be assigned unique hourly rates in the system which enable managers to deploy higher paid workers to specific tasks that require their expertise; thereby facilitating deployment while simultaneously monitoring spend rates. The more accurate the data is that is entered into the system, the more operational insights managers get. And, when everyone is logging their time consistently, federal leaders can forecast more accurate estimates than when that data wasn’t available. We all know that government project that went on far longer than its original deadline.

3
Standardize Expense Tracking

It’s no surprise that federal expenses are going to look differently than they did two years ago. Travel expenses are likely substantially down, but other areas may be up. For example, fund allocation may need to be distributed for workers to set up home offices. In addition, more virtual events are being outsourced and presented to internal teams in the hopes of creating more meaningful employee touch points.

But when expense reports suddenly look very different from how they used to appear, it’s essential to keep them as clear and transparent as possible. Managers need precise details and intuitive formatting to properly account for what’s been spent, whereas workers need swift reimbursement. The best expense report tools will analyze costs by employee, client, or project. Many even integrate seamlessly with legacy accounting and project management software.

4
Create Project Plans with Reasonable Timelines

Once federal leaders have a remote staff established, it’ll be time to start creating project plans. Do so thoughtfully by ensuring they are accurately scoped. Time tracking software can help managers get this right the first time by measuring hours worked against completed projects. When leaders understand their precise capacity, they can ensure they are assigning the right amount of work to their remote employees.

And when capacity models are fully built and integrated into legacy systems, productivity and efficiency levels can be accurately measured. Leadership will gain transparency into project progress 24/7 allowing them to make pivotal adjustments when challenges arise. To ensure communication keeps flowing, set goalposts as success metrics. These milestones will help teams keep pace in spite of any tactical challenges. During the day-to-day grind, it can be easy to lose sight of the big picture, but goalposts will keep workers moving toward their objectives.

But, make sure to still ask for employee buy-in and feedback. When workers feel they have a positive rapport with their managers, they’ll be much more apt to avoid burnout, which can be hard to gauge when teams aren’t physically together. Take that feedback seriously, and if necessary, adjust project plans.

5
Evaluate Employee Performance

Today, the privilege of working remotely is vastly and unevenly distributed between industries and various socioeconomic groups. Gender, race, and ethnicity are all factors at play as agencies continue to navigate the COVID work-from-home imperative. According to a recent publication in Sage Journals, “women are at greater risk of change (either a major decrease or a major increase)—rather than stability—in work hours. Gender also intersects with caregiving, race/ethnicity, prior remote work experiences, and socioeconomic status to shape changes in hours.”

When work hours become erratic due to any host of factors, it can unfortunately shape the optics of performance. And when no one is present to spot workers in the office, that’s when assumptions are drawn. Use time tracking as a key communication tool to promote equitable and fair treatment. Daily tracked hours will become evidence for remote employees to prove exactly how much effort they are giving and which projects are requiring a heavier lift.

Another reality is that working hours will likely look differently than the standard 9 to 5, which is one of the greatest benefits of telework. But, check in and make sure you have alignment on the team. Staff should always be committed to supporting the agency’s core operational hours. Communication will be critical. Consistent and accurate time tracking will give leadership the data they need to understand each individual’s contributions before they are passed over for a promotion or worse.

Further, become familiar with the TeleWork Enhancement Act of 2010. It currently covers federal government employees, and enables all employees whose jobs can be performed remotely to do so. In addition, it mandates that remote workers and in-person workers be treated the same for the purposes of training, performance appraisal, and promotion.

Conclusion

Without a doubt, the pandemic has shifted the federal government’s long-standing position that federal workers perform best from their on-site offices, cubicles, and war rooms. But it won’t come without challenges. The private sector has been using these models for years, all while staying profitable and secure. But they aren’t doing it alone. As the culture of remote work continues to thrive, time tracking data will be key in convincing senior leadership that employees can and will perform well in remote locations. Check out today’s best-in-class time tracking platform and use its many features to your advantage.