Measuring up

Under the leadership of Joseph Hungate, chief information officer of the Treasury Department's IG for Tax Administration, the office used the mobile nature of its workforce to build strategies designed to measure the impact of telecommuting on productivity.

Using a pilot program in several regions, officials asked a number of employees to telecommute so they could collect data that was later used to develop teleworking policies and manuals.

The exercise required managers to shift from a "butts-in-seats" mentality to one focused on work products and performance management, Hungate said.

Officials anecdotally documented increased employee morale and are now working with assets management vendor AgilQuest Corp. to establish a permanent telecommuting program.

For savings of about $200,000 a year, the agency will do away with the offices and desks of employees who work from home. The challenge was to avoid having those employees feel unappreciated and displaced.

The solution was an asset management/ reservation system developed by AgilQuest. Through prime contractor Capital Management Associates Inc., the company developed software that enables remote workers to reserve office space or conference rooms when they need to come into the office.