Bacon’s Rebellion

has long promoted telework as a strategy to help cope with traffic congestion. But telework also makes sense as a tool to preserve business continuity. In Washington, D.C., Cyber Security Industry Alliance (CSIA) Executive Director Paul Kurtz testified earlier this week before the House Government Reform Committee that the federal workforce lags the private sector in its ability to work offsite in response to a large-scale crisis such as pandemic influenza.

Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) has called for federal agencies to be able to “decentralize” their critical functions in an emergency. But according to a CSIA press release, Kurtz said, “I wish I could say that this goal had been met. [Agencies] have a long way to go before they are ready to work together in a crisis like an outbreak of avian flu. Most agencies’ contingency plans are designed for a maximum downtime of two or three days; a flu pandemic could last as long as 18 months.”

Kurtz urged that the federal government invest in the capability to distribute its workforce, enabling employees to function offsite under normal as well as adverse conditions — not only at home, under the traditional definition of telework, but from anywhere, at any time. “As frightening as a flu pandemic might be, it also provides us with the opportunity, and the impetus, to change the way the government does business by breaking down structural barriers to reform like budget rules, statutory limitations and management inertia. The result will be a more agile, efficient workforce.”

What makes sense for the federal government also makes sense for state government. State government also needs to think about business continuity in the face of natural disaster, terrorist attack or epidemic.