IRS Planning Move from Telework Pilot to Program

IRS Planning Move from Telework Pilot to Program

Telework Exchange

September 2008

When the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) decided to kick off its Virtual Office pilot initiative in July 2007, the initial goal was to "find out what we didn't know about telework," according to Greg Zurmühlen, then acting deputy director, Real Estate and Facilities Management. To do so, the agency invited 150 volunteers in three business lines to begin working at home four days a week.

What they have found is that telework is a work arrangement the IRS would like to explore on a service-wide basis. The mid-pilot measures report determined that the overwhelming majority of participants and their managers were either satisfied or very satisfied with their experience. As a result, the agency's Virtual Office Executive Steering Committee gave the go-ahead for telework officials to expand the current pilot. An additional 54 participants joined the pilot in July 2008.

In late October 2008, the results of the final measures report will be published and the Virtual Office Executive Steering Committee will decide the appropriate steps to move from pilot to program. Diane Rasch, chairperson for the Virtual Office Steering Committee, has identified a target implementation date of sometime in Fiscal Year 2009/2010. "Our plan is to be very aggressive and get things in place now to ensure a smooth transition from pilot to program," says Rasch. "We are learning more about the program every day, but no decision will be made until the final measures report is completed."

The results of the mid-pilot survey made a convincing case to continue and expand the program, including:

* 93.1 percent of participants were satisfied or very satisfied with telework

* 92.8 percent of managers were satisfied or very satisfied

* 85.7 percent of eligible but non-participating employees were neutral to the work arrangement

* 95.4 percent of participants and 92.9 percent of managers believe there are no problems related to data security or protecting the privacy of information

* Enrollment of just 150 participants will result in a projected reduction of 541 tons of pollutants each year from decreased commuting

Although he is careful to note that these are preliminary findings and that the Virtual Office will continue to address concerns related to security, privacy, and cultural resistance, Zurmuhlen says that the pilot has gone significantly better than expected. "It's been extremely positive, even from management, which was surprising to us, since we expected more pushback," he says.

Zurmuhlen admits that some managers had difficulty getting used to the setup, but most have adjusted and "realize that even if they can't see the employees, they know that if they send an e-mail and get a quick response or call and the employee answers, that means that the employee is working."

Other managers have been strong proponents because they are seeing improved productivity. The manager of the IRS Travel Services Branch, for example, made it a point to let committee members know that, based on his own anecdotal information, he believed his division was more productive and more efficient this year than it had ever been.

"That was because the weather didn't impact them," says Rasch. "Even if an office was closed due to bad weather, the teleworkers were always accessible because they were working from home and were able to take the phone calls and assist the travelers."

Rasch says that of the 150 pilot participants - all of whom work within Real Estate and Facilities Management Headquarters, the Travel Services Branch, or the Small Business and Self-Employed (SB/SE) Research Branch - only two asked to leave the program: One missed the traditional office environment and the other found that their program responsibilities were not a good fit for the program.

The remaining employees are "absolutely thrilled" with the work arrangement, according to Rasch. "I think if we had to tell them they needed to return to the office full-time, they would do so kicking and screaming," she says. "They're elated with the program, and, as far as we're concerned, it's working extremely well."

For more information on the IRS Virtual Office Program, contact the program director, Tracey Showman ().

Getting Off on the Right Foot
With a final measures report still to come, it is too early for the IRS to discuss lessons learned during its pilot project, but Gregory Zurmuhlen, acting deputy director, Real Estate and Facilities Management, can say that a critical success factor for the overall initiative was seeking out the support of Federal employee unions upfront.
Long before the pilot got underway, Zurmuhlen worked with union officials to develop a Memorandum of Understanding/Master Agreement (MOU/MA) outlining the concept of telework, how it would operate, what the selection criteria would be for eligible employees within each business line, the time period of the pilot, and the measures that would be used to gauge success.