# Vice director outlines ‘whys’ behind agency’s shifting telework policy

/ Published Oct. 6, 2023
FORT BELVOIR, Va., 
The Defense Logistics Agency’s adjusted telework policy announced last week sets the conditions to help meet future challenges at a pivotal point in the nation’s history, the agency’s vice director said. He noted the policy is in alignment with the Master Labor Agreement signed in September 2022.

The policy requires telework-eligible employees to be at their assigned worksite at least 60% of their approved work schedule and marks Mondays and Fridays as the only approved regular and recurring telework days. The policy is effective starting Nov. 5 for supervisors and Jan. 2 for non-supervisory employees.

“We’re making what I would consider to be a basic change to how we’re going to operate in our workplace, and that is for telework-eligible folks who choose to telework to be here slightly more than half of their work time,” Brad Bunn said.

The vice director lumped the “whys” for the recent change into three categories: mission performance, workforce development and culture.

## Mission performance

“Let’s just make this clear right now: DLA is and remains a high-performing organization,” Bunn said, noting that the agency’s competitive edge can’t be taken for granted and isn’t sustainable without constantly reviewing the processes, resources and structures that enable success.

While DLA clearly meets its mission as a combat support agency, it’s not where it needs to be to meet future demands, he added.

“When I look across our enterprise at the environment that we’re in, in what the secretary of defense calls a ‘decisive decade’ and where we need to overcome problems, I believe we can be better positioned for future success,” Bunn continued.

Meeting new threats demands that employees proactively resolve challenges rather than scramble to fix things that could’ve been fixed months or years ago. And material support for weapons systems is lacking in some areas, according to DLA’s performance measures. Though external factors can drive shortcomings, Bunn said, it’s up to DLA to overcome those shortfalls.

“It’s going to take our innovations, our strength and the work that we do to pull out of a downward trend. We don’t have a choice here,” Bunn said, adding that Defense Department leaders expect DLA to help solve contested logistics problems.

“In a virtual world where we are predominantly separate and dispersed, the conditions aren’t right to create that collaborative environment or for teams to work together across cross-functional and organizational lines to bring about those solutions,” he continued.

Bunn’s comments echo those of senior Defense Department leaders. Air Force Gen. Charles Brown Jr., new chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said in an Oct. 2 message to the joint staff that the nation needs a DOD workforce that’s ready to fight today’s battles while it prepares for tomorrow’s wars.

“We must prepare by modernizing and aggressively leading with new concepts and approaches,” Brown said.

At DLA, that includes modernizing IT infrastructure as outlined in DLA’s Digital-Business Transformation strategy. Bunn noted the effort extends beyond revamping old technology to adopting technology tools now in development.

“This is going to take our technical community and our IT community working together. That requires interaction, and doing that in a predominantly virtual environment is not going to work,” he stressed.

## Professional development

Professional development is another driving factor of DLA’s new telework strategy. Bunn noted that more than 30% of the agency’s workforce has turned over since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic due to normal attrition through retirements and the standard flux of employees leaving for other opportunities.

Unlike employees in many military environments where new entrants receive dedicated, full-time training preparing them for new roles, new DLA members often find themselves “on the floor on Day One.”

“The vast majority of learning that happens in this agency, whether you’re in the procurement world, inventory management, planning, finance, human resources or IT, is on the floor. It’s done by doing,” Bunn said. “And we’re doing a disservice to our folks if all of their training is virtual.”

Professional growth is most often a result of informal interactions and face-to-face coaching and mentoring, he added. Such encounters can be more difficult in virtual environments but happen naturally when people are together, Bunn continued.

## Culture

The third “why” for more on-site work is culture. DLA’s ability to overcome challenges over its six decades is a testament to the strength of the agency’s culture, but Bunn said that’s perishable. Seeing the results of their labor and having in-person encounters with customers drives employees to go the extra mile, he added, while being separated from the workplace reduces cohesion.

“So when our people can sense what we do and see the results and be in a different environment from their home office – in my view – that’s what builds loyalty to the mission,” he said.