Employees:
• Be familiar with the policies and procedures governing flexible work particularly those areas that govern:
• Dependent care (see Telework FAQ)
• Office closing (see Telework FAQ)
• Follow appropriate procedures when initiating, implementing, and undertaking a Flexible Work arrangement. This includes meeting with your supervisor to discuss your options, submitting required paperwork, obtaining necessary approvals, and acquiring and setting up the appropriate technology to successfully and securely conduct work.
• Remember that the Flexible Work policy requires a 90-day review of the agreement with your supervisor. This is an opportunity to determine whether to continue the plan as is, make modifications, or discontinue the arrangement based on clearly stated goals and objectives. An agreement can run as long as 15 months — a 90-day (3 month) review followed by a 12 month agreement.
• All employees participating in a Flexible Work arrangement should:
• Take the initiative to be present at key meetings.
• Be flexible; supervisors/colleagues won’t always be able to work around your schedule. You may have to come in on some days that you ordinarily work elsewhere or you may have to alter your hours to accommodate work needs.
Supervisors:
• Establish expectations for and supervision of employee performance.
• Determine if your department will provide equipment to the employee to use at an alternate work site. (see Technology Tools)
• Establish how the Teleworker/Remote Worker will maintain regular contact with office coworkers and supervisors.
• Determine how the department will handle restricted-access materials, highly sensitive data, security issues, and movement of paper records to and from the primary work place. (see Information Technology Security)
• Review tools and resources for managing Teleworkers/Remote Workers and ensure that your team has a clear understanding of expectations. (see Resources)
• Ensure that each employee’s request for Flexible Work is considered in relation to the department’s operating and customer needs. Have a consistent approval process to ensure equitable evaluations.
• Thoroughly review the Flexible Work Agreement or Remote Work Request Form with the employee.
• Approve or deny the agreement according to your unit’s guidelines.
• Monitor the employee’s progress in setting up a suitable work space with the agreed-upon technology tools.
• Flexible Work and Remote Work arrangements may limit the supervisor’s ability to directly observe an employee’s performance. In such instances, the supervisor needs to develop alternative methods of performance evaluation.
• There may be times when temporary adjustments to individual Flexible Work arrangements must be made in order to meet the operational needs of the department.