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OPM ROWE Pilot Update

Jan 24, 2011 » by Cali & Jody

Last April, we announced the Office of Personnel Management would be piloting the Results-Only Work Environment for 400 employees. To refresh your memory, the OPM is the human resources agency for the executive branch of the federal government. Employees in the pilot were from Retirement Claims, The Office of the Director, Communications, and HR Services. Pilot groups were located in Washington, DC and Boyers, Pennsylvania.

Deloitte conducted an independent analysis of the pilot and those results are due to the OPM later this year.

Initial results of the pilot have been positive. Based on these results, OPM has extended the pilot through FY2011 and is working to better align performance standards with the principles of operating in a ROWE (i.e., managing to results).

Data from the pre and post-surveys conducted as part of the ROWE migration process indicate:

  • A significant increase in employee satisfaction and support for ROWE during the early transition period.
  • There was a significant cultural shift showing both employees and managers now exhibiting behaviors focused on specific results that they need to achieve rather than hours worked. Managers and employees in the pilot are now working together on creating the necessary standards and processes to most effectively achieve and measure results.
  • Both managers and employees have reported that the results of their work are more measurable now that they are operating in a ROWE.
  • Other significant perceptions that act to reshape culture include a shift in the overall perception that leadership is proactive (vs reactive), priorities are clearer (vs lacking direction) and reinforcement is more consistent (vs inconsistent).

We are so excited about moving forward with this incredible opportunity. More updates to come…

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  • Concerned Employee

    This is great!
    I wish this important news would be included in the State of the Union speech. ROWE will save the government billions. This is HUGE!

    • Cali

      We’re definitely very excited about these first statements from OPM about their ROWE experiences. When the independent evaluation from Deloitte is released, we’ll be sure all of you see that as well!

      • http://blog.conmergence.com Ed Dodds

        Deloitte should be your next ROWE ally; they already think along these lines. John Hagel III and John Seely Brown of the Deloitte Center for the Edge http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_US/us/Insights/centers/centers-center-for-edge/ thrive on investigating innovations of this sort.

      • Cali

        We’re working on it…their evaluation of the OPM ROWE pilot has been a good step…as the final report gets put together, there will be more opportunities to meld minds and join forces in various ways…

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  • Persephone K

    Obviously y’all know how closely I’m following this story. What great news. I can’t wait to hear the full report and then to see ROWE grow to the rest of the GOV.

    Are you able to discuss any obstacles you’ve met so far, such as the silly rules that OPM itself is actually responsible for that control the Federal workforce?

    • Cali

      We can say that as ROWE continues to move through OPM and other federal agencies, it will become very clear that there are some rules that simply don’t make sense in the 21st century and aren’t focused on results. This is one of the reasons we’re so happy to be working with OPM – what better place to be than with the people that can make a real difference with all of those rules?

      One of the major obstacles we’re finding in every government entity we’re talking/working with is the hours requirement. As you all know, this a major rub with ROWE. We’re working with it as best we can right now, but sooner rather than later, that will have to change. The hours requirement also puts taxpayers’ views on the wrong side of the table. Instead of thinking “I’m paying you to deliver results and provide me with excellent service as a citizen”, many taxpayers are thinking “I’m paying you to sit at your desk for 8 hours a day – and you’d better be there.” So we’re working on the eradication of Taxpayer Sludge with government employees, too – how to direct the conversation to results and not fan the flames of these outdated perceptions.

      • PersephoneK

        Yes, there are so many rules that are not in the tax payers interest, yet they currently believe they are, so I like that you mention taxpayer sludge eradication. And in my experience the same rules have done a major disservice to the many hard working federal employees who because of the insane rules that exist (try to fire someone or promote them based on merit) have a reputation for being lazy and ineffective that it often drives the very best to turnout and/or become jaded over time with a “why bother” mentality.

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