DISA pins workforce hopes on telework

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Defense Information Systems Agency is looking at making telework available as a way of keeping its workforce, the head of the agency said.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Charlie Croom, DISA's director, said the issue is particularly important for the organization right now because many of DISA's jobs have been moved from Northern Virginia, where the agency has been located for years, across the Potomac River to Maryland as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) decision.

That decision affects the 4,400 people at DISA's headquarters.

"They don't want to leave," Croom said in a speech at the IPIC 2006 conference here. Speaking to a mostly industry group, he said, "I am bleeding to death because people like you are stealing my folks."

As a way of keeping people, Croom said DISA is looking at letting people work from home. "My belief is that they can do this work at their house," he said.

The agency is going through the process of determining which jobs can be done from home, but Croom said that telework should be available to most employees. "I'm trying to think of what jobs couldn't be done at home," he said.

The process is still in the early stages. But, Croom said, "we want to be a leader in this area."

Under the BRAC decision, DISA has six years to complete the move.