Page 18 - FCW, May/June 2020

KHYATI NAYAK is a senior Commentary|BY KHYATI NAYAK manageratGrantThornton
Public Sector.
An opportunity to transform the federal workforce
The coronavirus has amplified the need to review the policies, technologies and procedures that support employees
On March 13, the Office of Management and Budget issued guidance encouraging federal employees and contractors to “maximize telework flexibilities.” The guidance came as President Donald Trump declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency and the Defense Department announced it was prepared to reduce its on-site workforce by 50%.
The decision by DOD appeared
to signal that the government would move toward more expansive teleworking policies. However,
the lack of cogent direction for individual agencies became increasingly clear. While companies closed offices and instituted teleworking plans to limit the spread of the virus and ensure continuity
of operations, federal agencies continued to waffle about closures and teleworking, highlighting the widespread inadequacy of federal crisis response plans.
The confusion is rooted in the largely traditional workplace culture of most federal agencies, including a pervasive risk-averse approach to teleworking. Although some jobs must be completed on-site due to security concerns or the availability of specific equipment, others have no such restrictions and remain on-location simply because they’ve always been so. In addition, many federal contractors work under terms that prohibit off-site work. Consequently, many agencies had to scramble to consider what functions
could be performed remotely,
which employees should be eligible for telework and how to supply employees with needed off-site tools such as laptops, VPN tokens and collaborative software.
The sudden need for telework was particularly challenging for agencies whose culture is based on strict security clearances at multiple levels, classified networks and highly secure facilities. To make things more complicated, technological
The forced social experiment brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic is compelling the federal government to adapt culturally and technologically.
advances — such as open source, satellite imagery, cellphone tracking and facial recognition — were already pushing the government
to rethink its highly “secretive” methods of operation.
The forced social experiment brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic is compelling the federal government to adapt culturally and technologically at a rapid pace. Federal workers have turned to government-approved technology
such as Skype, WebEx and Slack
to meet, collaborate and in many cases commiserate about the
stress brought on by the threat and uncertainty of the global catastrophe. As a result, federal officials are learning that “out of sight” does not mean “out of mind.” Colleagues continue to talk — in many cases, more often and more effectively. With no other alternatives, managers are beginning to trust their people to do the right thing.
If the federal government makes the most of the opportunities presented by this crisis, we will
see agencies adopt the highly efficient and cost-effective culture of distributed teams. Policies and procedures will be altered for federal employees and contractors so that agencies can leverage the best available talent. And secure technology and teleworking guidance for all federal agencies will become the norm.
Agencies that require top-level security clearances will recognize that they no longer need to conduct their mission exclusively on-site
and will open doors for unclassified intelligence analysis. Advances in secure cloud computing, network security, recognition tools and other cutting-edge expertise will pave the way for the government to become a truly versatile, dispersed workforce.
This crisis presents a unique opportunity for the government to transform its workforce. I hope that our leaders recognize and pursue that chance. n
12 May/June 2020 FCW.COM