Telework Honor Roll

Five federal agencies and one state agency received awards Wednesday for excellence in telework programs and leadership.

The 7th annual Tele-Vision Awards, run by Telework Exchange, were awarded to public sector organizations based on their progress, implementation, leadership and management of telework programs.

Award winners were:

Federal Telework Honorable Mention Award: Customs and Border Protection’s telework program, “The Telework Advantage,” which launched in 2009 and has since resulted in a more than 2,000 percent increase in telework participation. Currently, more than 3,200 eligible CBP employees are participating in the telework program, up from 134 employees before the launch of the telework awareness campaign.

Excellence in Telework Leadership Award: the Agriculture Department’s telework program, which was revamped in 2011 after the enactment of the 2010 Telework Enhancement Act. The number of employees at USDA eligible to participate in telework now stands at 76 percent, up from just 15 percent in 2010. USDA also has saved an estimated $2 million in upfront funding for transit subsidies, in large part thanks to telework participation.

Innovation Technology to Support Telework Award: the General Services Administration’s A3 (Any Device, Anywhere, Anytime) strategy was launched to improve organizational mobility and provides GSA employees with secure remote access to email, network resources and collaboration tools from outside the agency’s firewall. The A3 strategy creates a secure telework solution that reduces overhead costs. Initial cost savings are in excess of $400,000 for GSA alone. Other government agencies are expected to roll out the strategy, which could result in billions of dollars in savings.

Largest Leap in Telework Award: the Homeland Security Department’s Chief Administrative Office launched a pilot program in 2009 that delivered in-depth training and technology to 75 employees to support working remotely. Telework has expanded rapidly as a result of the pilot, with all 143 employees in the administrative office now teleworking, with more than half of those teleworking at least 50 percent of this time. The program has resulted in reallocation of rented space and savings of more than $970,000 in facility costs over the past 12 months.

The Mid-Atlantic Telework Advisory Council’s Telework Driver Award: the Agriculture Department’s Telework Managing Officer William Milton Jr. and Telework Program Manager Mika Cross have displayed “tireless passion and commitment” to ensure telework success, the Telework Exchange said. The team has led a grassroots effort to support the program nationwide, resulting in an upswing in the number of teleworkers participating in the program. The team also developed a “Turbo Charge” telework campaign, which featured a series of monthly online telework workshops, surveys and participation in the 2012 Telework Week event.

State and Local Government Telework Program Award: the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries launched a continuity of operations program that incorporates telework as an essential component. In 2011, the program received a score of 100 percent after four years of steady improvement and has been cited as a best practice model to be followed by other state agencies.