Among the Texas government agencies that have shifted perspective on working from home, or telework, the
Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) continues to see about 60 percent of approximately 4,700 employees working virtually.
“We’ve been really pushing to retain our employees as the pandemic has gone on,” said
Jerry White, TWC’s director of human resources. While retaining employees, the agency also continues to
hire new staff.
“One thing we've noticed is onboarding has changed pretty drastically over the last few years, especially in the last two,” he said during the
Texas Digital Government Summit in Austin. “We weren't using any sort of electronic signature at first, and there were like 14 forms. I've been at TWC for years. Going through that process was like, seriously, this is so much information to know. So we made the transition where they need a badge and need to be able to get into the computer system, and we want them to be charged up about working there. We are down to about an hour and a half onboarding, and we do offer a system that allows for electronic signatures.”
Aside from digital culture and online efficiencies, creating a sense of workplace camaraderie and togetherness remains important.
“Something I personally miss from having folks in the office is the chit chat. I mean, the idea of being able to talk without a purpose. I think Teams calls throughout the pandemic had a very specific agenda – they were on target and done,” he said. “We had to really force our way into remembering what it is to be in the office and how to share experience outside of ‘we need to get this project done.’ I think a lot of it was really being very deliberate and trying to establish the parts of the culture that make you what you are.”
Rae D. DeShong is a Dallas-based staff writer and has written for The Dallas Morning News and worked as a community college administrator.
