Support for managers

Will our staff training/management training programmes be adapted to reflect the different needs of managing remote workers?

Yes, the Organisational Development team are continuously reviewing development programmes to ensure they reflect any changes as well as developing new programmes of support.

How do we encourage colleagues not to make formal flexible working requests during the bedding in phase? 

We will need to monitor the situation carefully to establish whether we are seeing a rise in flexible working requests in lieu of Dynamic Working arrangements. Engaging proactively and constructively with team members, in order to try to reach an agreed Dynamic Working arrangement, will help to avoid this situation. 

What new models for reward / recognition, alternative ways of offering flexibility / benefits of Dynamic Working of equivalent value could be offered to colleagues that can’t work dynamically? 

This is something that will be considered at a later stage of the project. 

How do we reduce the impact of different financial implications for those not able to work dynamically e.g. greater cost of transport and childcare?

There have always been differences in individual circumstances relating to work, some colleagues have childcare costs, commutes vary, clothing and uniform costs may differ.  Where Dynamic Working may have an impact, we will review the corresponding policies and approaches.

How do we ensure that our staff that end up working more remotely don’t become isolated?

Maintaining regular contact with all team members when they’re working remotely will be very important. You might want to consider requiring team members to attend campus on the same day on a regular basis to enable them to work together in person as a way of maintaining relationships. You may be able to think of other ways of maintaining contacts for your team.

How do we avoid managers being less present for those either off or on campus? 

This will be each manager’s responsibility to manage their time so that they are present on campus at times that enables them to meet up in person with all of their team members. Maintaining relationships with team members will be a key performance measure in PDRs. 

How do we avoid retention issues for staff who may not be able to work dynamically? 

It will be important to be clear at recruitment stage when recruiting new staff what is and isn’t possible. For existing staff, clear communication around the reasons why Dynamic Working is not possible will help the employee to understand the rationale.

I suspect some of my team are not working at 100% when working remotely and therefore feel I need them in the office. What should I do?

During Covid-19 we found that colleagues working remotely worked very hard. To try to avoid the situation described in this question, it will be important from the outset for managers to make clear their expectations on delivery. Managers should have regular catch ups with their team to assure themselves of progress and outputs and any concerns should be discussed with them at the earliest opportunity. Where available data or information on output levels established prior to Covid may be useful as a rough benchmark to help to assess performance, managers should be clear with the employee where this information is used. Where a genuine problem is identified, managers need to assess whether it is a general performance issue or one that specifically relates to Dynamic Working before deciding on the best course of action.