Telework slow to take hold in emergency planning, GAO says

Telework has yet to be widely incorporated into agencies' plans to continue delivering critical services to the public during an emergency, a Government Accountability Office official told House lawmakers Thursday.

Of 23 agencies surveyed by GAO last year, 22 reported that they had a telework policy. But only one of the continuity of operations plans in place as of May 2004 directly addressed telework, Linda Koontz, GAO's director of information management issues, testified before the House Government Reform Committee.

Ten of the agencies canvassed described plans to use telework in the aftermath of an emergency, but none could clearly document those plans, Koontz said. The Office of Personnel Management has pitched telecommuting as a way to cut down on traffic and boost efficiency, but also has emphasized telework capabilities as critical to maintaining key services in a crisis situation.

"Telework is not just common-sense efficiency, but an important national security consideration," said Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., chairman of the committee. "The decentralization of federal agency functions inherent in a healthy telework strategy can greatly increase the survivability of those agencies in the event of a terrorist attack or other disruptive crisis."

GAO's survey reflects plans in place a year ago and is somewhat outdated, noted Marta Brito Perez, associate director for human capital leadership and merit system accountability at OPM. About 40 percent of 69 agencies that responded to the personnel agency's 2004 Emergency Preparedness Survey use "situational," or irregularly scheduled, telework as part of emergency planning, she testified.

The 2005 survey, due out soon, is likely to show further improvement in most areas of emergency preparedness, Perez told lawmakers. There is, however, still some general reluctance toward telework on the part of managers accustomed to keeping an eye on employees, she said.

As of last May, agencies didn't need to include telework in continuity of operations plans, Koontz noted in her testimony. Mention of telecommuting could increase as agencies write plans to comply with updated COOP guidelines released by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in June 2004.

The modified version of Federal Preparedness Circular 65, the rule book that asks agencies to be ready to resume operations at an alternate location within 12 hours of an attack or natural disaster, recommends that agencies consider including telework in COOP plans.

"But neither this guidance nor telework guidance issued by OPM addresses the preparations necessary to ensure an effective telework program," GAO noted in a report (GAO-05-577) accompanying the testimony. "As a result, agencies may not be able to use telework effectively to ensure the continuity of their essential functions in emergencies."

GAO suggested that FEMA and OPM work on providing agencies with more detailed instructions. Koontz also suggested that FEMA strengthen oversight of COOP plans.

Some key enhancements already are included in the June 2004 rewrite of Circular 65, said Reynold Hoover, director of FEMA's Office of National Security Coordination. For instance, the updated rule book fleshes out instructions for identifying essential work, he said. The document also incorporates information previously contained in two separate 2001 circulars-one on COOP tests, training and exercises and the other on acquiring backup facilities-allowing managers to look in one place for guidelines.

In a report released last year, GAO noted that agencies generally listed at least a few essential activities in COOP plans, but often failed to prioritize them and were all over the map in terms of number and type of activities included. The lists still showed substantial inconsistencies in May 2004, Koontz testified. But agencies wrote those plans before seeing the revised guidance from FEMA.

FEMA also has improved COOP training and is helping agencies conduct regular emergency preparedness exercises, Hoover said. Those exercises will assist in revealing weak points in the plans, he said. In addition, FEMA personnel are visiting alternate work facilities identified in COOP plans to ensure they're equipped to sustain essential operations for 30 days, as mandated in Circular 65.

Officials at FEMA are also developing an online system for agencies to report information on emergency readiness. The system is scheduled to be completed later this year.

Koontz praised FEMA's efforts to expand training, but recommended that the agency exercise stronger oversight by verifying the COOP information submitted to the online readiness database.