Weekend Round-Up August 11th

Developments @ CPSRenewal.ca

We may be doing our first podcast in the near future, we have an interview lined up and have been graciously offered the technical support to do it.

We would most likely be interviewing a recent hire to discuss his/her experience with the on-boarding (hiring) process.

Any thoughts?

Events

I just want to draw your attention to barcampOttawaGov. It is:

A chance for Government of Canada employees to get together and talk about what they're doing with social media and new technologies. A chance to meet others in communications, marketing, web development, design (and any other job description) to find some inspiration, some motivation and help build a community.

if you haven't seen it yet, check out the wiki here. Remember that this is not an official Government of Canada event - see you there.

News

Chamika sent in an interesting article in BusinessWeek entitled Six Reasons to Run from a Job Interview, and apparently Canadians are working less?

CPSRenewal.ca Weekly Column: Technology in the Workplace

I recently had the opportunity to collaborate with a technical advisor in order to give input into an Information Management/Information Technology (IM/IT) environmental scan that is being done by my departmental IT services group. This was a difficult undertaking because we had to concretely qualify driving forces and challenges to IM/IT without over-generalizing the need for ‘web 2.0’ because, for some reason, web 2.0 has become slang for ‘put up a wiki and problem solved’. However the IM/IT challenges faced by Government are significantly larger than any wiki can solve.

Gen Y has grown alongside information technology. We remember when the web was entirely text based, what it was like to wait more than a few seconds to download a single still image, and a when ‘Google’ wasn’t a verb. We have seen the exponentially increasing rate at which information can be found, managed, packaged and shared. We have also seen the similar growth in the breadth and depth of the tools and services with which we manipulate this information. Ubiquitous access to information is now the norm.

Herein lies the problem: the IM/IT infrastructure of the workplace simply cannot satiate our technological desires customs. Outside of the workplace, we continue to live our entire lives being able to appropriate new technologies as they emerge. We organize our lives in such a way that technology blends seamlessly into it. Yet, at work we are asked forced to do things the way we used to do them 5 to 10 years ago.

We are stuck using outdated operating systems (OS); we are relegated to using antiquated tailor-made applications with unintuitive interfaces written by companies that no longer exist; we can’t install our own software applications; we lack the physical capacity to view streaming media; and we are routinely frustrated by filters that limit our access to legitimate information. In short, our use of technology at work is completely counter-intuitive to our use of it everywhere else. I can’t help but wonder how much of the problem stems from an inability to provide the capacity and how much of it stems from an inability to trust the end user to act responsibly with their IT resources. Capacity is a matter of resource allocation, responsible use of IT resources should be standard practice. Does your boss really need to tell you what not to look at at work, or that you shouldn’t be on youtube or facebook all day?

Speaking from personal experience, I left a private sector job where I had uninhibited access to information, remote access, an internal instant messenger service, a client relations management software, an inventory system, and the latest OS – all of which interfaced seamlessly with one another – to take a job in government only to find myself working (at the time) in an information environment riddled with filter issues, on a bulky and antiquated OS, and hosting a bunch of different applications that didn’t speak to one another. It was like stepping into a time warp that immediately reinforced all of the negative stereotypes I had heard about the pace at which the bureaucracy moves.

I don’t know what the solutions are to the government’s IM/IT woes, but maybe there comes a time when we need to concede that we can’t catch up, and that we should stop duplicating our efforts. Perhaps we should wipe the slate clean, align ourselves with some of the big IM/IT players, sign the requisite non-disclosure agreements and pay them to administer it.

Though, in many cases, I suspect solutions don’t even have to be that grandiose. Work in a busy office and need to keep tabs on people for approvals etc but not sure where everyone is? Why not just set up twitter accounts (and hook them into Firefox and your mobile devices):

• Nick is on lunch 12pm-1pm
• Mike is in a meeting 10am-2pm @ TBS
• Etienne is in his office, drop in if needed
• David is busy with a firm 3pm deadline for PCO
• Liz is working on end of fiscal, please have everything in by 2pm today

Or take the ongoing issues with the speed and physical capacity of government email servers. A widespread reluctance to delete email has lead departments to institute automatic email archiving policies and/or practices. Archiving has become increasingly frequent because email servers just can’t keep up, yet employees refuse to self-regulate while complaining about how slow the email servers are. How many of your daily email exchanges are purely perfunctory?

• Thanks for sending me the document.
• Got it.
• See you then.
• No problem.
• Okay thanks.
• Oops, I forgot to send the attachment.
• What’s the number?
• Drop in to discuss.

Over half of my daily email could be replaced with simple Instant Messenger (IM). So why not deploy an existing IM with file transfer capabilities (eg. MSN Messenger) to take the weight off of our email servers? Just think about all of the email space you could free up with an IM service, not to mention avoiding the duplication involved in managing documents via email:

• The message in your email folder (when you received it),
• The attachment in your temporary files folder (for when you need to download it)
• The attachment in your download folder (when you downloaded it)
• The file on your desktop (when you worked on it and saved it)
• The file on your shared drive (if you aren’t around and someone needs it)
• The file back in your temporary files folder (for the email attachment)
• The new message in your sent box (when you send your revisions back)

Unfortunately for some reason, IM programs are widely seen as a bane of productivity, right up there with social networking and streaming video sites, when in all honesty smoke and coffee breaks probably take up way more time. I understand that an increasingly mobile and knowledge based workforce makes it challenging to provide secure, reliable and remote access. I know that access to corporate networks and to information management tools that meet the expanding needs of an organization is difficult.

The kicker is that everyone else knows it too, talking about the need to move and moving are two very different things. Too much of the former drives new Gen Y hires away from Public Service, following through on the latter is what will keep them engaged in it.

Round-Up August 7th

There is a great news article on innovation in the Montreal Gazette that I want to draw your attention to, I was going to try to work it into tomorrow's weekly but haven't been able to. Here is an excerpt:

"You'd think the popularity of the [application] would get bureaucrats to say: 'Hey, people want this. And we don't have to make it ourselves,' " Poncsak said.

Poncsak learned he has to start small before going big.

He's now in Regina, developing a similar system for that city's transit system. Smaller cities and companies, he says, are more open to outside technology.

"The big ones want to be innovative, but they're too conservative to be innovative."

And just for some comic relief Lifehacker has a link to the Cubicle Warrior's Guide to Office Jargon.

Round-Up August 6

Kathryn May has a great article in the Ottawa Citizen where she reports on an Angus Reid poll that indicates that fewer Canadians think that the Public Service is an 'honourable' place to work.

You can find her article here, the summary of the Angus Reid poll here, and the full report from Angus Reid here.

Happy reading!

Round Up July 26 - August 5th

Here we go ... time to hit the ground running post vacation.

First of all we got a response from Philip Lillies, a union activist and president of a union local out in Moncton, to our second column on the role of unions. We would like to thank Philip for his contribution and encourage you all to check it out.

Barring some unfortunate incident, weekly columns will resume this Friday, with an editorial on the use of technology in the workplace.

In the News

Senator Hugh Segal, a member if the standing committee on agriculture and forestry wrote a special to the Sun on the Senate report, Beyond Freefall: Halting Rural Poverty. Among the report's recommendations is moving federal government jobs to rural areas. The National Post subsequently published this letter from a reader.

David Zussman published this piece on public service delivery and innovation.

While the E.X. files shared a story called Seeking Guidance.

The July 28th edition of the Hill Times has two articles in it that are of interest. The first is by Jack Cole, entitled Want to know the best place to work in Canada’s federal public service? Here is an excerpt:

"Do you know someone looking for a career in Canada’s federal public service? Do you want to know which agency is the best one to work for? Or are you a public servant already working in Canada’s public service? Are you looking for a change, perhaps to a better place within the federal public service? Do you just want to know the best place to work there, where the employees are the most engaged? These are good questions and with a little research, you might find answers, at least partial answers. You can readily find the best companies to work for in Canada through a few different sources as the private sector gives up its “who is best” secrets rather easily. But the public sector seems to want to keep this information hidden away, even though it’s publicly available with a little digging. That digging is what I did a few years ago along with a few other colleagues, when I worked in the federal public service."

While Cythnia Munster's column contains some great quotations from James Lahey (PCO) on renewal:

"[G]iven that it takes ten years or so, even in the most ambitious cases, for people to become executives, and longer than that to become deputy ministers, we can reasonable expect that virtually all of the people who will be executives and deputy ministers of the federal government in 2015 and beyond are already here, which says to me that the most important thing to do with renewal is how do we deal with the people who are already here? How do we challenge them, how do we develop them, what kind of workplaces, what kind of work do we have? Do they feel inspired and challenged and eager to come to work in the morning? Or do they feel frustrated, suppressed, unable to act on their best ideas?”

Remember - you can probably find a copy of the Hill Times in any senior office.

In the Blogs

The New Zealand Minister of Labour, Hon Trevor Mallard, gave this speech on improving workplace productivity (thanks Etienne for the link).

Colin McKay asked the question, Is a Bad Blog Better than No Blog?

Jim Mintz posted a guide to Common Sense Communications.

Peter Smith wrote on the calamity of old versus new technologies in a post on RSS Feeds vs. Email Updates.

Conference Board of Canada

The CBoC dropped two reports that may be on interest:

1. Bridging the Gaps: How to Transfer Knowledge in Today's Multigenerational Workplace
2. Workforce Renewal: New Opportunities to Transform Health and Safety Culture

You will need to register in order to access these documents but registration is free for employees of most government departments.

Canada School of Public Service

Armchair Discussion – National Capital Region
Ottawa - Wednesday, August 6, 2008
1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (ET)

National Managers Community Focus Group

Bilingual Presentation

The National Managers Community (NMC) would like to hear from you!

As a follow up to the electronic polling (e-polling) survey conducted at the National Managers’ Community Professional Development Forum held from April 20-23, 2008 in Vancouver, the NMC are conducting focus group sessions with Managers throughout the country to get their thoughts on the results captured from this survey. This will be an opportunity for Managers to provide feedback and suggestions for action.

You are invited to attend one of three focus group sessions taking place in the National Capital Region (August 6, 13 and 20, 2008).

We hope you will take the opportunity to participate and have your voices heard.

You are invited to attend this Armchair Discussion on-site at 65 Guigues Street (Ottawa).

To register, please visit the School’s Web site:

http://www.csps-efpc.gc.ca/events/armchair/program_e.html

Discussion informelle – Région de la Capitale nationale
Ottawa – Mercredi 6 août 2008
13 h 00 à 16 h 00 (HE)

Séance de discussion de la Communauté national des gestionnaires

Présentation bilingue

La Communauté nationale des gestionnaires (CNG) veut connaître votre opinion!

Un sondage électronique a été effectué lors du Forum de développement professionnel de la communauté nationale des gestionnaires, qui a lieu du 20 au 23 avril 2008, à Vancouver. Pour y donner suite, la CNG organise des séances de discussion avec des gestionnaires de tout le pays en vue d’obtenir leurs opinions sur les résultats du sondage. Les gestionnaires auront alors l’occasion de fournir de la rétroaction ainsi que de faire des suggestions quant aux mesures à prendre.

Nous vous invitons donc à assister à l’une des trois séances de discussion qui auront lieu dans la région de la capitale nationale (6, 13 et 20 août 2008).

Vous êtes invités à assister à cette Discussion informelle en personne au 65, rue Guigues (Ottawa).

Pour vous inscrire, veuillez consulter le site Web de l’École :

http://www.csps-efpc.gc.ca/events/armchair/program_f.html