Take a Walk on the Wild Side at The National Wildlife Federation

March 8, 2001 —

Interviewee: Patty Khalifa, acting senior director of IT

Company: National Wildlife Federation, a nonprofit conservation organization

Main location: Reston, Va., plus 11 field offices nationwide

Number of IT employees: 18 in Reston, plus five at a catalog sales fulfillment center in Winchester, Va. The majority of the staff provides end-user technical support.

Number of employees (end users): 633 nationwide

Mission-critical systems: "The e-mail system [GroupWise, running on a Novell NetWare network], because we're a communication-intensive organization, both internally and externally.

"We have 11 field offices, and the goal is to share information because each one is working on similar projects, like restoring wetlands. But we're geographically challenged -- we have to get out to where constituents are but still all be able to work together. The public Web site is also key to our communication efforts."

Major initiatives: "We've recently gone through some outsourcing and now outsource our contributor [membership/donation tracking] system.

"We're looking at IT projects that will directly support our conservation efforts and improve communications, so we're expanding our telecommuting abilities, getting into document management and getting more into Web-based activities. . . . We've also implemented a document archiving system and are scanning all of our personnel files in [human resources].

"We'll also be upgrading our hardware out in the field to support distance learning -- internally for things like IT training, and externally for educational outreach."

IT training: "Probably Web technologies and some training in the new financial system."

Bonus programs: An annual bonus program rewards selected employees for exemplary performance throughout the year. A short-term incentive plan offers cash awards of as much as $500 for smaller projects.

Compensation: "All nonprofits pay a little less than the commercial sector, but our HR department does a tremendous job of keeping up with the market."

Perks: "You work with people who genuinely care about wildlife and the environment. We're encouraged to volunteer to participate in educational activities, like the annual Family Summit, which is held in a state or national park.

"Leadership understands the balance between work and life, and I think that's important."

Workday: "We have coverage from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. But we usually work an eight-hour day within that."

Dress code: Business casual

Kind of offices: "We just moved into a new building [on Feb. 5] that we built, and we've gone to an open-cube environment for everyone, including the president, to foster collaboration.

"We chose a site that backs up to a county park with nature trails, and it's close to a major bike path that connects with other bike paths in the Washington metro area, so we can encourage people to bike to work -- there are bike racks and solar-heated showers.

"We have a fitness center on-site, and the parking lot has bioretention ponds so that when it rains, water collects in the ponds and is cleaner when it leaves the property."

Percentage of staff that telecommutes on a given day: "It's hard for IT to telecommute because such a large percentage of the staff does tech support, and you need to be here. But we can dial in from home when there's a problem after hours."

Would employees feel comfortable e-mailing the president and CEO, Mark Van Putten? Yes.

Computerworld