Category: Diamond Award for Organizational Leadership U.S. General Services Administration, Auburn Bill DuBray, Executive Director Laura Bradley, Transportation Operations Specialist

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Federal agency's smart use of work options results in lowest SOV rate in Auburn
The US General Services Administration (GSA) is a federal procurement and property management agency that provides services and solutions for the workplace operations of over one million federal workers located in government-owned and leased buildings in more than 2,000 U.S. communities and overseas. One solution the agency found for reducing commute trips to its Auburn site was to promote telework among employees. The resulting CTR program has won GSA a 2003 Commuter Challenge Diamond Award for Organizational Leadership.

As a federal agency, GSA is limited in the types of incentives it can offer employees. Senior management has used every tool allowed under federal regulations to reduce the number of commute trips employees make. They have altered the working culture by offering aggressive use of compressed workweeks and telework. GSA has been an organizational role model in CTR to other employers in Auburn and other federal agencies. The ETC often assists other agencies in developing their CTR programs. It was the first employer to sponsor a telework center for both GSA employees and the public and was one of the first employers to set up on-site day care facilities back in 1995.

Of the approximately 290 employees at the Auburn facility, 100 are core users of the telework program. Another 153 are situational teleworkers. GSA encourages the use of alternate work schedules and telework, plus provides employees the maximum transit subsidy allowed under federal regulations. The organization has encouraged liberal use of compressed workweeks and has allowed the ETC to use her time to fully implement the CTR program. Despite its difficult location, GSA consistently obtains the lowest SOV rate in the City of Auburn.

*Some definitions: An “ETC” is the staff-level employee transportation coordinator responsible for the daily administration of the transportation program. “SOV” stands for single-occupant vehicle, and “CTR” for commute trip reduction. 

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