2020 Government Innovation Awards
App helps manage work for remote staff
The Los Angeles County Department of Human Resources had been looking for a commercial solution to help manage employees’ remote work — until they found out about an in-house solution to automate the tracking of telework activities being developed by the IT division of the county’s Department of Public Social Services (DPSS).
Carlos Sanchez, a section manager in the IT Division’s Office of Automation and System Support, said the telework tracking app is still in the pilot stage, but discussions are in the works to expand it to the HR department.
Although the application is especially timely given the seismic shifts in the workforce due to the COVID-19 pandemic, work on it began in 2018. The Welfare Fraud Prevention and Investigation Section in DPSS is currently using the application, Sanchez said, adding that although employees’ activities may differ, the application’s flexibility makes it useful across DPSS.
Employees use the app to insert their tasks for the upcoming week into a digital planner for approval by their supervisors. Each day, employees can add deliverables or documents to completed tasks or add new tasks.
“It gives management the visibility of the type of work that their agents are doing,” Sanchez said.
The app can generate reports that help managers assess efficiencies in remote working and look for growth opportunities. In the future, developers might add the capability to measure productivity, Sanchez said.
The app also alerts workers and supervisors when their annual telework certifications are due for renewal.
About the Author
Connect with the GCN staff on Twitter @GCNtech.