The Foreign Service Journal, February 2007

plishments required to benchmark success? Is each position presently in place at an embassy a necessity, con- sidering the available technology of both audio and video communica- tions? Is it more prudent, from a security standpoint, to maintain a much lower profile in a country — for example, by assigning just 30 American employees, as opposed to 300, to produce the same product? Can most of their work be performed at their residences (telecommuting), which would lessen security con- cerns? Are all the other agencies real- ly needed to attain the goals of the U.S. government as a whole, or would regional presences be sufficient? Admittedly, the answers are not necessarily obvious, but I believe these questions constitute a fresh approach to the evaluation of em- bassy functions. Keep in mind that diplomatic missions were around long before the invention of the telephone, in an era when representatives were necessary to convey and interpret the wishes of their respective govern- ments. There were no instant com- munications. One has to wonder whether the modern concept of an embassy would have even been invented, much less implemented, if kings and emperors could have picked up a phone and talked to each other. Having said that, it is not enough to have new technology. One must apply it in the most propitious man- ner. And to be able to do that, an atmosphere in which employees feel free to suggest innovations is essen- tial. A couple of examples from my experience at Embassy Seoul demon- strate the point. A family member employee, Jae Hoon Lee, pointed out that when consular officers conduct visa interviews at the window, they have to move their hand between six and 10 times from the mouse to the keyboard’s ‘enter’ key each time they type data about the applicant. Considering that each officer con- ducts an average of more than 300 interviews a day, that represents a lot of extraneous movement! So he sug- gested that we add a pedal-operated ‘enter’ key to the computer. I first asked the IRM local employ- ee in charge of consular systems, Young Soon Kim, to help me build one. But she came up with a better solution: purchase a mechanism that is already available for the disabled. That is exactly what we did. To provide an environment where employees feel free to approach their leadership with suggestions for inno- vation without fear of ridicule requires trust. It allows the employee not only to be part of the process but to feel like a shareholder in it. If this kind of atmosphere had not existed in Seoul, Mr. Lee would never have approached me, and a good idea would never have come to light. Or consider another initiative with even wider application. The technol- ogy known as the Voice-Over-Internet Protocol uses the existing Internet infrastructure as a telephonic applica- tion. Last year, when Seoul was look- ing at possible uses of VoIP, Infor- mation Program Officer James Harri- son came up with a novel idea. By investing capital in markedly expand- ing the bandwidth of the existing Opennet lines that run over the Internet, posts located in high-tech- nology countries such as Korea may be able to obviate the need for a full- blown Private Branch Exchange sys- tem in the mission. (PBX provides multiple users with advanced features such as caller ID, call transfer and call forwarding, and enables various tele- phone systems to function as a single network that can serve offices in Seoul, Washington and London.) Is this approach feasible? Maybe not. But think of what would be gained if it were! By utilizing VoIP technology, expensive hardware could be located at a central point, perhaps back in Washington, saving money and possibly enhancing communica- tions security in the process. So I am pleased to report that a recent cable from IRM announced that the bureau is looking into this and other VoIP technology possibilities. Staffing Considerations Some overseas positions could be replaced by a real-time, online video connection. Current technology al- ready permits an employee to deal with a human resources officer based back in Washington by simply walking up to a 52-inch screen with the image of the HRO. That person could be the HRO for half a dozen embassies across the world, without ever having to leave his or her office at Main State. With high-level videoconferencing, HROs could attend the weekly man- agement meetings of the embassies for which they are responsible. There are other positions within an embassy where technology could reduce the need for an onsite presence, as well as the need for the support and security services they entail. It is also worth taking a fresh look F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 7 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 17 S P E A K I N G O U T The purpose of experimentation is not necessarily to change the way we do business, but to learn first and then, if it is advantageous, change.