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Trying to cash in on a health scare that’s been making headlines all week, Telework Exchange has called for a nationwide adoption of its telework programs to ready for the swine flu threat, for continuity of operations planning.

 

The company says it helps organizations maintain functionality during emergency situations that make people hesitant to go to the office.

 

A recent “Status of Telework” report from the Office of Personnel Management in the “Federal Government Report to Congress” puts the number of federal agencies that include telework in their COOP plans at 60 percent. However, it is estimated that only 7.62 percent of Federal employees telework on a regular and reoccurring basis. Telework must be incorporated into organizations’ standard operating procedure and tested often for it to be 100 percent effective.

 

If there are no preventive measures in place, operations could be halted during emergencies. According to Cindy Auten, general manager of Telework Exchange, telework is not a “break glass in case of emergency” solution. Organizations need to embrace telework in order to inoculate themselves against the swine flu threat. Telework Exchange is encouraging workers across America to ask their managers about telework options to maintain continuity of operations during the swine flu threat.

 

Telework Value Calculators enable tallying of potential cost savings and environmental benefits associated with telework. It also provides a mechanism to gauge the relative telework performance of Federal agencies. The calculators, when used with the Online Eligibility Gizmo, will be able to present a business case of telework to management.

 

The Online Eligibility Gizmo is a quiz-based calculator that helps employees cut through the double-speak and ambiguity that surrounds their eligibility to telework. The resource center consists of a repository of tools for teleworkers, teleworker managers, and information technology professionals. It also provides information on COOP, security, workers with disabilities, technology, best practices, Federal agency developments, and legislative developments in telework

 

For government agencies that don’t have a teleworking plan, the first step is to identify mission-critical personnel and equip them with the technology and policies to do their job remotely. Telework Exchange is a public-private partnership that serves the educational and communication requirements of the Federal teleworker community. The organization enables communication among Federal teleworkers, telework managers, and IT professionals.