From a study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO):
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has reduced its physical footprint and expanded delivery of services remotely, including online. SSA reduced the total square footage of its facilities by about 1.4 million square feet (or about 5 percent) from fiscal years 2012 to 2016, according to GAO's analysis, by applying new standards for determining the size of offices and consolidating facilities. ... SSA has also expanded the services it offers remotely, and online use has increased for certain services such as disability and retirement applications. Despite this increase, in-person contacts at field offices have not changed substantially, with about the same number in fiscal year 2016 as in fiscal year 2007 (approximately 43 million). This may be due to growing demand for services as well as certain services not yet being fully available online. ...
SSA is taking steps to make remote services easier to use, for example by adding new features to its website and offering alternate approaches for accessing services, but does not consistently evaluate them, which could limit its ability to shift more services online and further reconfigure its footprint. For example, SSA has added features allowing online customers to interact directly with SSA staff. However, SSA does not track staff follow-ups to deal with any errors in online benefit applications in order to improve them, as called for by federal internal control standards. To enhance access to remote services, SSA has introduced alternate service approaches such as videoconferencing in third-party sites; however, it does not have performance goals for these approaches. GAO has previously identified performance goals as a best practice, which may help agencies improve their customer service. ...
11 comments:
It was a President Management Agenda item to reduce office space during the last administration. There were goals and a lot of emphasis from above to cut back on real estate, square footage and on leasing private space. SSA wasn't unique in this activity.
Software is replacing. .server rooms...robots are replacing humans....and Artificial Intelligence will eventually replace our brains so a little office space should be the least of our worries!
I think we've net lost employees since 2012 and I know for certain way, way more of us are teleworking (and teleworking a lot). Losing 5% off our footprint is peanuts. I wish they'd get more aggressive about cutting space now that AFGE and NTEU have office sharing in their contracts for at least folks working more than 2 days at home so that we can save on facilities and, you know, hire more people. Ah well.
It's ludicrous to be renting so much office space when so many folks are teleworking so often. And, who exactly are management folks supervising while all these folks are working at least three days at home? Maybe SSA should look into getting rid of management folks at hearing offices and using the money being wasted on salaries of management folks that are not needed for something else (hiring more support staff for instance).
@ 4:11, completely agree. 5% is nothing. Walk into any ODAR office and most of the office is dark. We could lose 50% of our office space and never miss it.
All this empty real estate taxpayers are footing the bill for year after year. Add costs to heat, cool and clean empty space.
4:11 here
I was in management when our office began working with Region and GSA since our lease was coming up in about two years, the time this process usually starts, during the 2012-2016 timeframe. This was an ODAR field office of pretty decent size, where all but one or two of our 20+ writers/SAAs teleworked three days once they could. The plan that was actually decided on called for cutting only about 200 square feet from the much greater than 5,000 square feet (keeping it vague for anonymity purposes, but it was a lot more than 5k) we had. That's not even two decision writer offices' worth of square footage, when we could easily implement office sharing or hoteling and cut our decision writer office need by about half without even trying. That's not even counting the SCTs who work three days from home across ODAR and the decrease in cubicle space we could easily see if they office shared or hoteled.
We're already suffering all the negatives from all this telework, the agency might as well tap into the few benefits.
It would be great if someone could provide a plausible explanation as to why a HOD AND multiple group supervisors are needed at hearing offices when so many folks are teleworking? What exactly do the HOD and group supervisors do all day?
@6:42 Great question. In my office our Paralegal GS's don't write decisions. Neither does the Paralegal HOD. Seems that the agency call to action and all available writing personnel write decisions does not include these supervisors.
They have the same training as attorneys, get paid the same 6 figure salary as attorneys yet are exempted from writing any decisions.
With 3 days of telework and a 4th on it's way, just what DO they do all day? It's certainly not reducing the backlog.
@10:05, What negatives from Telework? Why all this talk about DW offices? Why does the HOCALJ need an office three times the size of everyone else? Why not cut ALJ offices, since they're in hearing rooms most of the day? Ohhhh, because you management types love ALJs. Actually, now that I think about it, why do supervisors need offices???
@6:42 I know there are GS's and HOD's who are not attorneys who never write decisions. What exactly is the point of having a GS or HOD who cannot even write decisions yet supposedly supervise folks who do write decisions. If a HOD or GS cannot write a decision they should not be a HOD or GS in the first place. If ODAR wants to improve maybe they should look into getting rid of HOD's and GS's who serve no useful purpose in reducing the backlog. Why no one is analyzing the unnecessary HOD and GS jobs throughout ODAR is mind boggling, particularly with a backlog that keeps getting worse.
Amen, 6:34 & 6:42!
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