Managing & Supervising the Government Virtual Workforce Training IX

This event qualifies for .7 CEUs

This event qualifies for 7 CPEs

With the Washington, D.C. Metro SafeTrack, a year-long repair of the Metro System will cause increased delays and stop closings. OPM has asked Federal Government Employees to increase their use of Telework to reduce the load on the Metro and streets due to increased auto traffic. Therefore, there will be an increased level of Telework within the Federal Government.

This 9th offering of this very successful program will help you to improve your agency’s management and supervisory skills to implement an effective Telework Program.

Additionally, Congress has mandated that Federal Agencies adopt telework whenever feasible. OPM has developed telework policies for the Federal workforce that mirror industry “best practices” in taking advantage of non-traditional work settings. Additionally, GSA is encouraging Federal Agencies to implement “Hoteling” as a way to reduce overall facility costs.

In spite of these initiatives and promotion of Telework, there is still reluctance from many supervisors to embrace either of these programs fully. Many workers are reluctant to accept what they see as a major career risk.

This workshop will identify the costs, benefits and challenges of the virtual work environment and focus on supervising the remote worker and leading the virtual team. Particular attention will be paid to knowledge workers.

What You Will Learn:

Law and Policy governing Federal Telework
The status of telework implementation across the Federal Government
Telework from the employee’s perspective
Telework from the employer’s perspective
Supervising Knowledge workers in a non-traditional settings
Avoiding hoteling pitfalls
Overcoming supervisor and worker resistance to the virtual work setting
Optimizing performance in the non-traditional work setting

Why You Should Attend:

Federal Agencies have been directed to implement telework policies and procedures
Selecting the appropriate non-traditional work environment can improve employee morale, increase organizational performance and provide ancillary benefits to the community at large
In implementing telework there are risks as well as rewards and understanding them can help you minimize the risks and maximize the rewards
Working in non-traditional settings requires new skills from both workers and supervisors
Hoteling can provide significant cost reductions for the Federal Agency, but there are risks as well as rewards in undertaking this approach to office management – but can have morale implications
Sharing the experiences from various Government Agencies can help you implement your own telework and hoteling programs.

Who Should Attend:

Federal Managers who are implementing or anticipate implementing telework or hoteling in their own organizations
Supervisors of teleworkers or others in non-traditional work settings
Federal workers who are already teleworking or who anticipate doing so in the future
Human Resource Executives and Managers responsible for developing telework policy and guidance
COOP Managers and Staff

Format:

Lecture, Guest Speakers and Practical Exercises

Speaker and Presenter Information

Keynote Speaker:

Alexis Bonnell

Innovation Evangelist
U.S. Global Development Lab

USAID

Alexis Bonnell is the director of the Office of Engagement and Communications in the U.S. Global Development Lab. Over her career, Bonnell has developed and delivered over a billion dollars of humanitarian and development programming in over 25 conflict, post-conflict and emergency countries, in almost every sector from education to stabilization, for more than 30 international bilateral donors, 10 U.N. agencies, the military and the private sector.

She has held positions with every side of development including: implementers, donors, policy makers and beneficiaries. With more than 20 years of experience in management and communications, Bonnell has worked with: Wall Street and “dot.coms,” and on projects such as the Middle East Peace Plan, Afghan and Iraqi elections, tsunami response, Pakistan and Haiti earthquakes, over 500 construction projects, and major logistics operations.

After years of working overseas, Bonnell returned to the United States with USAID as the senior adviser on business transformation and knowledge management. She then served as the chief of engagement for the Office of Education, where she helped shape the USAID education strategy.

Prior to her career in development, Bonnell worked as director of marketing for the Internet Trade Association, where she helped Wall Street and the corporate world understand the impact that the Internet, innovation and technology would have on business, customers and society. She is co-author of the book “Get your Dream Job.”

Bonnell received a dual major in advertising and public relations from Pepperdine University, where she later returned as a professor. She also received a global executive Master’s Degree in business administration from Kellogg Northwestern and a Master’s Degree in direct and interactive media from New York University. She maintains a Certified Fundraising Executive credential as well as an Advanced Project Management accreditation from Stanford University, and a certificate in non-profit management from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Guest Speakers:

Mika J. Cross

Director of Strategic Communications, Digital and Public Engagement
U.S. Department of Labor, Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS)

Mika J. Cross is a seasoned Workplace Transformation Strategist specializing in innovative global workplace initiatives, culture change, strategic communications, knowledge management, next generation/future workplace predictions, mobility and flexible work policy, diversity, inclusion and employee engagement. Her 18-year career in public service includes assignments throughout the United States Intelligence Community and across the Federal government. She is a veteran of the Unites States Army, having served as both an enlisted soldier and commissioned officer.

Mika is highly regarded as a thought leader for flexible and transformational workplace practices and is regularly featured as a professional speaker at industry conferences and events. On behalf of the White House and the National Security Council (NSC), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) invited Mika to contribute to the “Workforce of 2020” strategy session as a component of the joint-led task force to develop a new business model for vetting current and future Federal employees into positions of national security. Mika was invited to speak at the House Smart Contracting Caucus roundtable on Telework and Mobility, by Co-Chairmen Gerry Connolly and Rob Wittman. She has also worked in partnership with Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on behalf of the White House Council on Women and Girls and the Federal Women’s Program, to design innovative learning strategies to help align Work/Life, Diversity, Inclusion and Human Resources professionals from across the government to share strategic vision and value for integrating a flexible and supportive workplace.

In 2014, Mika was selected as a President’s Management Council (PMC) Interagency Fellow at OPM and worked on government-wide projects affecting culture and process change. As a component of the President’s Second Term Management Agenda sub-goal on People and Culture, she helped create an online Employee Engagement Community of Practice (eCOP) within OPM’s interactive dashboard (the Unlocking Federal Talent data tool at unlocktalent.gov). The eCOP is targeted for Senior Executive Management to help Federal agencies collect and use data to create a more engaged workplace. She also has led several workforce transformation initiatives resulting in winning the organizations she has worked for numerous industry awards- the most recent being USDA named on the Forbes 500 Best American Workplace rankings in March 2015.

Mika has led the strategic communications and initiatives capability for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and currently does so for the Department of Labor, Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (DOL VETS.) Mika was awarded the Fed50 “Most Inspiring Up-and-Comer” award, the Federal News Radio “Causey Award” as well as a Next Gen Gov public service award. In 2013 she was named a ‘Work-Life Rising Star’ by WorldatWork’s Alliance for Work-Life Progress. She currently serves as Government Chair of the Human Capital Shared Interest Group (HC-SIG) for the American Council for Technology-Industry Advisory Panel (ACT-IAC) and as a Board member for WorldatWork’s Alliance for Work/life Progress (AWLP.)

Paul Holbert

Workforce Mobility (Telework) Officer
Office of Aviation Safety, FAA

Paul Holbert is a 21 year military retiree who has worked for the Federal Government for the past 14 years as a contract officer and budget director. For the past three years, Paul has been the Program manager for the FAA’s Office of Aviation Safety (AVS) Telework Program.

Paul oversaw the launch of a pilot telework study that led to the development of a permanent telework program, written guidance, and associated web site for the over 7,000 employees of Aviation Safety. Over the past three years, his cross section team have developed a number of program initiatives and launched manager specific training to aid in the growth and acceptance of telework within his organization.

Instructors:

Dennis Hall

dhall47@verizon.net

Professor Hall is an Adjunct Professor at the National Defense University (NDU) at Fort McNair, Washington, D.C. In his twelve years with NDU, Professor Hall has taught graduate level courses in IT Acquisition and IT Project Management and led workshops in Earned Value Management. He has also taught workshops on the federal Virtual Workforce, Telework and Managing the Virtual Workforce to hundreds of government students for Potomac Forum, Ltd.

Professor Hall is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) where he teaches Quantitative Methods in Project Management.

He has prepared and presented numerous workshops in project management, earned value management, supervising federal teleworkers, and federal acquisition. These workshops have been presented for the Federal Reserve, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Secret Service, Veterans Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and numerous other public and private sector organizations.

Prior to entering Academia, Professor Hall spent 17 years in the commercial sector, retiring from General Dynamics as Program Director, International Programs. During his time in industry, he managed a distributed workforce to implement public and private sector projects and programs in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Before entering the private sector, Professor Hall spent 25 years as an active duty Army officer. He retired as a Colonel, with his last assignment as Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans for the U.S. Army Information Systems Command, where he was the chief architect of the Army’s first information systems architecture, STARNET.
Professor Hall has advanced degrees in Electrical Engineering and Information Resources Management and is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He is a senior member of IEEE, PMP certified from the Project Management Institute and a member of the NDIA working group on Agile/EVM.

Relevant Government Agencies

Air Force, Army, Navy & Marine Corps, Intelligence Agencies, DOD & Military, Office of the President (includes OMB), Dept of Agriculture, Dept of Commerce, Dept of Education, Dept of Energy, Dept of Health & Human Services, Dept of Homeland Security, Dept of Housing & Urban Development, Dept of the Interior, Dept of Justice, Dept of Labor, Dept of State, Dept of Transportation, Dept of Treasury, Dept of Veterans Affairs, EPA, GSA, USPS, SSA, NASA, Other Federal Agencies, Legislative Agencies (GAO, GPO, LOC, etc.), Judicial Branch Agencies, State Government, County Government, City Government, Municipal Government, CIA, FEMA, Office of Personnel Management, Coast Guard, National Institutes of Health, FAA, Census Bureau, USAID, National Guard Association, EEOC