Organization and Management

Organizations with established telework programs view top level commitment, communication, multi-disciplinary teams, conducting pilot programs, training and communication as critical to success.

Findings (Bullet in the columns on the right indicates the source(s) of the findings)	CIO Staff	Telework Coordinators	Question-naires	Case Studies
More established telework programs reported the following as elements critical for success Top-level commitment multi-disciplinary team to develop and shepherd the program A pilot program to determine which aspects work well and to make modifications prior to rollout Training and education
Telework is implemented differently across and within organizations, and few organizations have established comprehensive, well-developed telework programs
Lack of communication among those involved with implementing and managing telework programs (e.g., Information Technology, Human Resources, Security, Finance) negatively impacts telework success
Organizations recognize that managers are responsible for ensuring that teleworkers with disabilities receive appropriate work-related IT accommodations on a case-by-case basis, similar to office-based situations

Budget and Funding

Technology funding poses a very real challenge to the viability of telework; organizations have tackled this challenge in different ways.

Findings (Bullet in the columns on the right indicates the source(s) of the findings)	CIO Staff	Telework Coordinators	Question-naires	Case Studies
Technology budgets for telework range from non-existent to centralized funding for teleworkers' expenditures Some organizations have no dedicated budgets for telework information technology, which is often driven by a goal to keep the program cost neutral; funding is therefore often drawn from the teleworker's immediate department budget Other organizations fund all telework costs out of centralized IT funds or pooled resources from different operating units CIO staff often reported that technology funding is the responsibility of the teleworker's organization and there is limited funding at the agency level to support telework
Among telework coordinators, funding emerged as the greatest of the technology barriers
Funding is a serious barrier for some teleworker managers because it impacts whether they are able to provide equipment and services for teleworkers
Many organizations feel that considerable enterprise-level infrastructure development needs to take place to support telework but these funds have not yet been allocated
Several case study organizations have analyzed and established a business case for telework. These organizations found that telework program can result in cost savings particularly related to reduced facilities costs

Security

Security does not appear to present insurmountable technical barriers to telework implementations.

Findings (Bullet in the columns on the right indicates the source(s) of the findings)	CIO Staff	Telework Coordinators	Question-naires	Case Studies
Management at all levels view information security as a critical element facing organizations planning large-scale telework
However, most CIO staff and IT management, telework coordinators, and teleworker managers believe security issues can be managed
CIO staff and IT management believe the necessary IT security products and services exist to address telework-related security requirements but implementation will be challenging Need careful, consistent solution across the organization Need resources and expertise to address overall security requirements, including telework
Several organizations working with classified information have indicated that the incremental costs of meeting telework security requirements is very low, once overall network and system security requirements have been adequately addressed
Agencies emphasize security training as a key component for ensuring information security in home-based telework environments

Telework Equipment

Lack of access to computer equipment is not a barrier for home-based teleworkers but related issues of perforance, compatability, equity, and IT support are a concern.

Findings (Bullet in the columns on the right indicates the source(s) of the findings)	CIO Staff	Telework Coordinators	Question-naires	Case Studies
Many organizations do not have a comprehensive plan in place to provide home teleworkers with IT desktop equipment that is equivalent to equipment that is provided to office users in terms of performance and capability
Teleworkers predominately use a basic suite of equipment (i.e., computer, printer), which is adequate for enabling many of them to successfully work from home
Over 50 percent of teleworkers are using their home (i.e., employee owned) computer equipment for telework, which may not be fully compatible with the office based environment
The use of recycled equipment is frequently a method of providing equipment to teleworkers, and this equipment is often older and will not support the same software that is used in the office
Some organizations raised concerns about possible restrictions (e.g. regulations, vendor license constraints) against purchasing hardware and/or software for the employee's home environment
The use of many different types of systems will create increased problems (e.g., file sharing, IT support) as more people telework and do so more frequently
Several organizations are addressing the IT equipment issue by migrating to laptops and docking stations as the standard office desktop environment to support teleworkers and mobile workers
Specific technical decisions placed on IT for home-based telework are made at the component level and potentially may differ among individual components within the same department
Stakeholders rate the lack of access to equipment as a minor barrier to successful telework, but give it a high rank compared to other barriers

Network Connectivity

Although it is the top technology related concern, access to network services is not currently a barrier to successful telework.

Findings (Bullet in the columns on the right indicates the source(s) of the findings)	CIO Staff	Telework Coordinators	Question-naires	Case Studies
Over 75% of teleworkers are using dial up connections to connect to their agency networks; 19% use some form of high-speed connection
Network connection is rated as the most serious performance issue, and the need for broadband connections will increase as telework becomes more prevalent and frequent
CIO staff and IT managers view the last mile as the key bottleneck and limitation on the performance experienced by home teleworkers
Even without the need to access agency applications, dial-up access has inherent limitations that will limit its effectiveness in the near future
Compared to teleworkers who use a dial-up connection, more teleworkers who use a high-speed connection can perform all of their work activities from home and have fewer problems with the speed or reliability of their network connection
Several organizations are aggressively promoting high bandwidth access services to address the need for broadband connections
However, different high-speed network connection services are associated with different challenges related to data security, billing, and policies enabling organizations to pay or subsidize the service. In addition, developing a common connectivity approach can be difficult due to the diverse computing requirements of teleworkers and the availability of service
There is little consistency across case study organizations with respect to paying for network connections, although many teleworkers would like their agency to pay for a broadband connection
Stakeholders rate the lack of access to network connection as a minor barrier to successful telework, but give it a high rank compared to other barriers

Training

Although many organizations do not provide telework-related IT training, established telework programs find training can be a key to success.

Findings (Bullet in the columns on the right indicates the source(s) of the findings)	CIO Staff	Telework Coordinators	Question-naires	Case Studies
Many organizations provide little or no telework-related IT training 67% of managers report that teleworkers receive little or no IT training related to telework 48% of teleworkers say that they have not received any training related to telework
A few organizations have established training on operational issues that teleworkers are expected to take before they begin telework. Other organizations use more informal methods of training such as one-on-one instruction or instruction sheets on using remote access or configuring the computer
Formalized security training is the most consistent component of telework arrangements and is generally regarded as an important part of the telework program
CIO staff and IT management believe all IT security issues arising from home-based telework can be resolved through application of technology, implementation of security processes and procedures for sensitive information, and employee training
Compared to other IT issues, training was ranked as the least serious barrier to telework. However, teleworkers suggested training on equipment set-up, connectivity, use at remote locations, and troubleshooting would be helpful

Technical Support

Although not rated as a top barrier to telework overall, teleworkers' problems with technical support can present barriers to telework because it can seriously affect their performance.

Findings (Bullet in the columns on the right indicates the source(s) of the findings)	CIO Staff	Telework Coordinators	Question-naires	Case Studies
Typically, home-based teleworkers utilize the same technical support resources as office-based employees
Teleworkers have different IT support needs than office-based workers and the IT organization does not yet have a full understanding of these differences
Typically, the support provided to home-based teleworkers is limited relative to the levels of support provided to office-based staff
Most organizations reported that maintenance is offered for government-provided equipment used in the home but typically the equipment must be brought into the office for servicing (although a few organizations provide at home service)
Maintenance is rarely offered for teleworker-provided equipment; however, some organizations will provide applications support for teleworker-provided equipment and software used for government business such as email
Although not rated as a top barrier to telework overall, teleworkers' problems with technical support can present barriers to telework because it can seriously affect their performance
Desktop management products exist to allow IT staff and help desk to monitor employees' computer over the network, but these have not been widely deployed due to funding issues and other constraints

Telecommunications

Although telecommunications does not present a significant barrier to telework, second phone lines and payment of those lines remain as needs for teleworkers.

Findings (Bullet in the columns on the right indicates the source(s) of the findings)	CIO Staff	Telework Coordinators	Question-naires	Case Studies
Few organizations believe that telephone communications present a significant barrier to telework
Most teleworkers have access to telephone communications services, including teleconferencing and the ability to communicate by phone while working online
Almost three quarters of teleworkers report that they are able to have a telephone conversation while they are connected to the Internet or their agency's network: 42% have more than one phone line 17% use a cellular phone 13% do not use their phone line to connect to Internet
Some organizations pay for additional phone lines, provide cell phones, phone cards, reimburse for long-distance, and/or encourage instant messaging
Although not considered a barrier to telework, some teleworkers remarked that they would like agencies to provide a second phone line or cell phone and reimburse for long-distance charges

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