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Achieving Mission While Managing Telework
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Achieving Mission While Managing Telework

Full or part-time telework is now part of the business landscape throughout the Federal and private sectors. When an organization makes any significant change, such as installing a new system, upgrading a process or introducing a new service, expected user acceptance and usage rates may be elusive due to this culture shift. Teleworkers may miss many of the office-based communications, briefings from management, and peer-to-peer conversations.

While the foundations of change management are solid, special approaches are needed to reach both traditional and teleworking employees to move them through the change process. Tailor your change management strategy starting with these ideas:

Reach Teleworkers at Home. Gain awareness and buy-in by a consistent and steady stream of communications on the intranet and email. Regular online surveys both measure interest and communicate messages. Consider setting up a specific intranet site for the change project to answer questions and receive feedback.

Visible Sponsors make a Bigger Impact. Strong sponsorship lends any change the critical credibility for success. If employees are regularly teleworking, an increased level of sponsor communications is needed to ensure the culture reaches them at home, not just in the office. A steady stream of events, webinars and articles from the Sponsor with benefits of the change, status updates and addressing concerns are the tipping point to overcome resistance with a far-flung team.

Target Managers. Teleworkers may not partake in many organization events, but they regularly interact with their managers. In some organizations, the manager/first-line supervisor is the teleworking employee’s only regular touchpoint to the company culture. Focus your change resources on managers, including providing tools for their teams.

Mix training with online communications and in-person sessions. Training is a consistent line item in any change budget. Most sponsors believe in training even if they are on the fence with change management as a whole. For teleworking employees, create a campaign of training, mixing tips, teasers, shortcuts, and benefits with in-person classroom training. When employees come in for training, ensure they leave with effective cheat sheets, reminders and other physical reminders to reinforce training and improve retention.

Marnie FienbergMarnie Fienberg is Vice President at ASM Concepts. Marnie is an experienced Change Manager and Strategic Communicator who has worked on projects throughout the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and has led many projects specifically communicating to teleworkers. She is now Vice President of ASM Concepts, a management consulting company specializing in change management, strategic communications and unique approaches to feedback and metrics. Learn more about ASM Concepts at www.asm-concepts.com

The GSA-DHS OASIS MOU: A Game-Changer at DHS
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The GSA-DHS OASIS MOU: A Game-Changer at DHS

In July, DHS and GSA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) enabling greater use of GSA’s OASIS contract vehicle across all of DHS. DHS expects to increase its contract awards under OASIS from $11 million in 2015 to $250 million in 2016. This agreement is a game-changer for the DHS contracting community.

Under terms of the MOU, GSA agreed to lower the contract access fee for DHS from 0.75% to 0.25%, and DHS in turn agreed to include OASIS as one of its “Strategic Sourcing” contract vehicles covered under its “Mandatory for Use” Management Directive. This means that current DHS contractors, particularly those under TABSS and EAGLE II, will need to work harder to shape opportunities onto their respective contract vehicles, and OASIS contractors (at least many of them), will have to figure out how to navigate the world of DHS acquisitions.

This sets up a new contracting environment at DHS that could have broad ramifications for industry. GSA’s OASIS is being promoted at DHS as the replacement for TABSS, and the Program Management contract vehicle of choice. This is a body blow to TABSS contract holders and an immediate opportunity for OASIS contractors. With TABSS sun-setting in two years, DHS contracting officers will immediately see OASIS as a preferred contract vehicle, fully endorsed by acquisition leadership. With its wide variety of available NAICS Codes, 21 in Pool 1 alone, this is a huge boon for OASIS contract holders.

Many OASIS contract holders focus on DoD and have less experience at DHS. This may be a partnering opportunity for experienced DHS firms with complementary skills. Small businesses in disadvantaged socio-economic categories with DHS experience are in especially good position to take advantage of partnering.

EAGLE II contract holders should also take notice of the OASIS MOU, even with more than five years remaining in EAGLE II’s full period of performance. IT-focused Program Management requirements are still supposed to be released under EAGLE II. Because of the decentralized acquisition model used by DHS, exactly what constitutes “IT Services” under EAGLE II may be interpreted in a variety of ways by different Components. EAGLE II contract holders must continue to educate Component contracting officers and demonstrate how upcoming requirements fit on the NAICS codes in EAGLE II while being aware of the new latitude offered for Program Management services under OASIS.

The net result: Understanding the unique terms of these contract vehicles, as well as the tendencies of contracting officers in each DHS Component will be more important than ever in 2016.

Dennis Murphy President Applied Social Media

About Dennis Murphy, President, ASM Concepts
Dennis Murphy is a former senior executive with DHS and U.S. Customs Service and was a principal with Booz Allen Hamilton. He also served as Assistant Commissioner for Public Affairs and as the first Communications Director for DHS Border and Transportation Security. He is now president of ASM Concepts, a management consulting company offering clients unique ways to merge marketing with business development to differentiate them from their competitors to both grow and scale their business.
Read the full ASM Concepts analysis of the OASIS MOU on the ASM Concepts website . For questions or further information, contact Dennis Murphy at [email protected].