Telework expansion could save money and diversify hiring pool

Security concerns and the limitations of existing technology shouldn't prevent agencies from expanding telework programs, Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry and federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra said at a conference in Washington on Thursday. "What I do not wish to accept is that the conversation ends at 'We have security concerns, let's not proceed further on discussions of telework,' " said Chopra, who helped implement Virginia's telework program in his former role as the commonwealth's technology secretary. "We are hungry to bring the private sector's best practices into our operations.... There are a wide range of technologies, both existing and emerging, that would help to move the ball forward in many of these circumstances." Berry told participants at the Telework Exchange's town hall-style meeting that as part of regularly scheduled technology upgrades at OPM, staff had switched from cumbersome desktop computers to laptops with built-in broadband cards, making it much easier for them to work remotely. Berry said the transition was prompted both by the desire to expand the agency's telework capacity and by suggestions from younger workers who are part of an OPM team examining recruiting and outreach strategies.