Making Telework Work: Tips From WordPress Founder

Federal agencies increasingly are learning to operate with a distributed workforce, thanks to the 2010 Telework Enhancement Act and other efforts to expand technology and flexible work options for federal employees. So what are the keys to making those efforts successful?

Speaking at the Next Generation of Government Conference on Friday, WordPress Founder Matt Mullenweg said his company currently employs about 120 people spread out across 90 cities, meaning most employees work from their homes and do not have a colleague in the same geographic location. “The advantage is you can hire the best people in the world regardless of geography,” Mullenweg said. “The disadvantage is that there is something particularly powerful around brainstorming or how bandwidth collaboration works best when you are in person.”