Virtual Office Toolkit Training

Presentation Transcript

February 19, 2008

A Collaborative Effort

The Office of Efficiency Review, Governor Janet Napolitano

The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS)

The Arizona Department of Economic Security (ADES)

The Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA)

Virtual Office Toolkit Training

Agenda ItemPresenter

Introduction of Virtual Office Diane Shook, AHCCCS

Virtual Office Toolkit Overview Melissa Brickey, ER

Implementation Steps Diane Shook, AHCCCS

Testimonial Linda Skinner, AHCCCS

Resources Melissa Brickey, ER

Introduction of Virtual Office

Diane Shook on behalf of Tony Rodgers, Director

Introduction of Virtual Office

Virtual Office Concept

Virtual Office (VO) is a telecommunication and electronically distributed work environment that enables employees to be fully functional by connecting them to their work via a secure web communication infrastructure that allows the work process to be performed in home or at a remote worksite, which ever is the most advantageous setting.

Introduction of Virtual Office, Cont…

Questions Facing AHCCCS Management

How can we address increasing workloads with reduced resources?
How can we improve retention of our “knowledge workers” and key contributors?
How can we make our job more attractive and competitive?
How can we reduce the daily stressors of the workplace and improve employee work life balance?

We Must Think Differently About Employee Workspace

Recruiting and retaining generation Y and generation X (Millennials are coming into the workforce).
Multi-generational workforce is creating conflicting work cultures and work expectations.
Private sector is increasingly offering greater work flexibility.
Work life balance to generation X and Y is more than a “buzz word” it is an expectation.
Technology has enabled employers to create “virtual office or workspace” as more than just a telecommuting day or flex work schedule.

An Aging Workforce: The average age of State employees is 45.7 years and half of the larger state agencies are expected to have over 25% of their active workforce eligible to retire in the next five years.
Absenteeism and Turnover: The State of Arizona experiences higher rates of absenteeism and turnover than the private sector and other state governments. The State’s turnover rate in SFY 2007 was over 17% and the cost is estimated at $57.7 million.
Compensation: State operations and programs continue to expand within the context of budget constraints that limit full-time positions and salaries and challenge recruitment and retention efforts.
Changes in Job Complexity: As technology replaces routine work, a shift toward higher-skilled “knowledge worker” jobs is occurring.

The Workforce Issue

The population of the State of Arizona continues to grow at record-breaking rates, which will continue to contribute to significant growth of the pressures on State operations to do “more with less.” Some key issues related to the State’s workforce include:

Savings resulting from:
No Gasoline expenses related to commuting
No unnecessary wear and tear on personal vehicles
No need for costly business attire
No need for after school care for children
No unnecessary time tax
Other benefits:
Increased morale due to trust, flexibility, comfort, less stress and improved work life balance

Previous Goal Achieved

In May 2007, AHCCCS achieved the goal of having 160 virtual office workers, eight months earlier than the projected date of December 2007.

AHCCCS now has over 300 virtual office workers, which is more than 24% of its workforce.

Initial Pilots

Setting the Bar Higher

AHCCCS plans to have approximately 350 virtual office workers by June 2008, over 27% of its total workforce.

Virtual OfficeToolkit Overview

Melissa Brickey, Deputy Director

The Office of Efficiency Review, Governor Janet Napolitano

Virtual Office Toolkit Overview

The Virtual Office Toolkit was designed to provide all state agencies information about virtual office concepts and to provide the tools necessary to implement it in a flexible way, without each agency having to “reinvent the wheel.”

The Virtual Office Toolkit was prepared by the Office of Efficiency Review, Governor Janet Napolitano, in conjunction AHCCCS, ADES, and ADOA.

Virtual Office Toolkit Overview

Summary of Contents

Virtual Office Overview

Virtual Office Policy Analysis for the State of Arizona

Virtual Office Implementation

Implementation Checklist

Other Tools for Implementation

Business Case Example

Virtual Office Policy Template

The Toolkit is available on Arizona’s Telework Website at www.teleworkarizona.com.

Implementation Steps

Diane Shook, Assistant Director

Human Resources and Development

Implementation Steps

Determine Management Readiness
Assess Technology Requirements
Complete an Operational Review
Develop Metrics
Consider the Educational Component
Create Pilot Proposals
Implement, Evaluate, and Adjust

Page 13 of the Toolkit includes an Implementation Checklist for agencies to use as they move through the Implementation Steps.

Implementation Steps, Cont…

Implementation Checklist (Page 13)

Determine Management Readiness
Workplace Flexibility (Page 14)

- What level of flexibility does my agency currently have?

Organizational Readiness Questionnaire (Page 15)

This questionnaire prompts thinking about multiple topic areas including workflow, policy, communication, etc.

Assess Technology Requirements (Page 17)

Complete an Operational Review
Review Agency Policies
Job Analysis Checklist (Page 20)

What jobs are better suited to become virtual?

Contact with the Public
Office Hours
Nature of Duties
Productivity Measurements
Equipment to Perform Work
Sensitive Documents

Develop Metrics
Standard Measurements Guide (Page 21)

ADOA’s Telework Program Office highlighted the following four standard measurements that should be addressed by each agency that implements virtual office:

Turnover
Sick Leave
Productivity
Space Reductions

Other measurements include reductions in pollution, fuel cost savings, and commute time savings.

Educational Component
The Arizona Government University (AZGU) is working to ensure that E-Learning is available for all mandatory classes and is willing to work with agencies to establish agency specific on-line training classes.
AHCCCS has developed training materials for VO workers.

- VO Supervisor and Worker Training Materials (Page 24)

Pilot Proposal
Each position or group of positions should be proposed as a pilot before full implementation to ensure the possibility of success. A proposal will help address any challenges or needs that may need to be worked out before hand and create a formal decision process for executive staff to approve Virtual Office Efforts.
AHCCCS Pilot Proposal Example
Pilot Action Plan Guidelines

Implement, Evaluate, and Adjust
Implement the VO pilots approved by management.
Survey VO participants and non-participants - Each position transitioned into Virtual Office should be evaluated after an adequate amount of time (1-3 months) as to the effectiveness of making the transition permanent.
Make Adjustments (i.e., technological changes, additional training for employees, new measurements, etc.), if needed, can be made during this evaluation.

Virtual Office Testimonial

Linda Skinner, Assistant Director

Division of Member Services

Testimonial

Initially Managers and Supervisors are Hesitant to Take on VO
Switching from visual performance cues to managing through data.
Some employees don’t see their work as measurable. It is!
Developing electronic communication skills.

Testimonial, Cont…

Tips for Implementation

Create a Steering Committee with motivated executive level managers to meet regularly for the purposes of controlling all aspects.
Start with jobs that have easily identifiable productivity measurements.
Consider the training and travel components.
Validate benefits with an external review.
Establish policies and procedures for all aspects.

Where to Find the Virtual Office Toolkit

The Virtual Office Toolkit is located on Arizona’s Telework Website at www.teleworkarizona.com, along with additional information on VO and telecommuting.