HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 7/19/2022 - Memorandum From Karen Burke Re: Future Of Work1
Human Resources
215 N. Mason Street
2nd Floor
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.221.6535
Date: July 14, 2022
To: Mayor and City Councilmembers
Through: Kelly DiMartino, City Manager
Teresa Roche, Human Resources Executive
From: Karen Burke, Director of Human Resources
RE: Future of Work
This memo aims to update the Council on the Future of Work plan developed for the City.
the Flexible Work Practices which provides a general overview, and the second is
our Hybrid Remote Policy detailing this specific flexible work practice.
Our goal was to provide high-quality service to the community and ensure we attract and retain
competitive talent as an employer of choice in this new world of work.
The design of the Flexible Work Practices framework to preserve public trust by discovering new ways
to partner with and serve the community, provide staff flexibility when possible, and establish equitable
policies across the City.
Much work was done to research competitive and applicable practices across the country in all sectors,
and several sessions were held with City managers at all levels to co-create what aligned with our goal.
Knowing this work was transformative, we have spent time attending to the change leadership required
to be successful.
To help our managers lead well in this new way of working with today’s talent, we hosted two cohort
sessions with the NeuroLeadership Institute to help them develop the specific mindset, processes, and
skills to be effective in a hybrid world. We also just launched our Transformative Leadership series this
week, and we are offering topics for the rest of the year on upskilling leaders to build resilient teams.
Additionally, we have created many performance support tools to help them.
We began hosting employee sessions on Flexible Work Practices in June, continuing through July, allowing
time for questions and feedback. Development sessions to help our employees are held twice a month,
and all are recorded for 24/7/365 viewing for those unable to attend the workshop.
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Flexible Work Practices (“FWP”)Policy
Every employee and their manager (with guidance from the service area director when necessary) will
partner to determine the work setting and schedule that mutually benefits their customers and
community members, the employee, their performance, and their work teams in alignment with the
following policy and related guidelines.
The City Manager may, in their sole discretion, override any FWP arrangement.
DEFINITIONS
Workplace Categories Defined
All City employees fall into one of these workplace categories:
1.Essential onsite work – those whose job roles and responsibilities do not allow for remote or
hybrid work; their work must be performed at a City facility, job site, or location.
2. Workplace at choice—those who choose to work at a City facility or location even though their job
roles and responsibilities make it possible for them to work from a remote location.
3.Hybrid work—those whose job roles and responsibilities allow them to work, part-time, from a
remote location within the state of Colorado. Hybrid employees split their time between their
remote locations and City facilities.
4. Remote work—those whose job roles and responsibilities allow them to work entirely from a
remote location within the state of Colorado. Remote employees may come into a City location for
a specific purpose only.
Note: Employees are currently not permitted to work out of the state of Colorado; this requirement is
currently under review. As required by the City Charter and City Personnel Policy Section 3.4, some positions
must meet residency requirements.
Schedule Types Defined
These schedule flexibility options can apply to any workplace category above based on the discretion of
the manager. Service requirements and team collaboration needs must first be met.
a. Standard Operating Hours – the employee works the “typical” or standard hours as specified by
the department’s standard operating schedule (for example, standard operating hours are
Monday - Friday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm). An employee who works standard operating hours typically
does not deviate from this schedule. This is the baseline, normal schedule without any flexibility
built in.
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b. Flextime – allows the employee to choose their own hours based on their personal needs within
boundaries and guidelines established by the manager. Some examples of flextime include:
1. Variable hours – An employee may begin work earlier or end later than their typical
schedule to accommodate personal needs, and this may vary day-to-day.
2. Compressed workweek – allows employees to work a standard 40 hours per week over
fewer days, e.g., four 10-hour days or 80 hours in nine days with one full day off.
3. Atypical hours – work routinely performed outside the department’s typical standard
operating hours (see point a., above) to meet the needs of the employee. (This is not a
requirement of the position or eligible for shift differential pay.) For example, an employee
may be approved to work evening or weekend hours.
c. Reduced full-time equivalent (FTE) – positions that are less than full-time, i.e., less than 1.0 FTE.
d. Job-sharing – wherein two or more employees share the tasks of one full-time position, dividing
the responsibilities and compensation.
Note: If an employee is non-exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act, the employee is entitled to overtime
or comp time for working more than 40 hours in a single week. Non-exempt employees are required to
record all time worked. The City workweek is defined as Monday through Sunday with no exceptions.
Each City employee will have a selected and documented combination of Workplace Category and
Schedule Type as approved by their manager.
POLICY
Each service area and department best understands its own service delivery standards, organizational
goals and objectives, operating demands, and workforce needs. Therefore, each department’s FWP
options are determined by the department manager in consultation with their service area director. Not all
FWPs are suitable for all departments, and not all positions within a department may qualify for certain
FWPs, at the discretion of department managers.
Suitable FWPs for each department and role are based on factors such as (but not limited to):
Customer service and service delivery needs
The nature of work to be performed
Individual, team, and workplace safety requirements and considerations
Interdependence of tasks on team members and other processes
Established performance metrics
Legal requirements
Employee’s work performance
Each employee and their manager will discuss which FWP arrangements suit the employee’s role,
customer service requirements, and the needs of the team. This conversation is documented by
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electronically submitting the simple Flexible Work Practices Declaration Form. The employee’s schedule
type and workplace setting are reviewed annually (at minimum) as part of each employee’s review process
(at one of the quarterly performance appraisals) and may be modified as needed.
Service Area Directors are expected to meet with their managers to discuss appropriate FWPs for each
department setting and to provide feedback, guidance, and assistance as necessary. They are also
expected to provide oversight to ensure business needs and customer service expectations are met and
help managers course correct FWPs as required.
Managers are expected to follow the FWP Guide for Managers.The City reserves the right to modify any
employee’s work schedule or setting at any time based on departmental or operational needs, safety,
staffing requirements, the employee’s performance, and/or other factors deemed pertinent by the
department manager, in consultation with the Human Resources Department if necessary/appropriate.
Employees are expected to review and follow the FWP Guide for Employees, understand which FWPs are
available to them and appropriate for their role, discuss options with their manager, and come to an
agreement about their workplace and schedule based on the criteria outlined for managers above.
For employees whose workplace category is Essential Onsite, please refer to the Onsite Employees Flex
Time Off Policy for information on taking incidental time from the regular workday for personal needs and
activities.
For employees whose workplace category is Hybrid or Remote, please refer also to the Hybrid/Remote
Work Policy for additional clarification and requirements.
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Related policies and guidelines:
Policies
Hybrid/Remote Work Policy
Onsite Employees Flex Time Off Policy
Dress Code 8.7
Inclement Weather Policy 5.1.4
Injury Reporting Policy 6.7
Overtime Pay and Compensatory Time Off 5.2
Return of City Property 10.1.6
Travel Time 5.1.3
Cybersecurity policy is currently under development and will be linked in the future
An ergonomics policy is currently under development and will be linked in the future
Guidebooks
Flexible Work Practices Guide for Employees
Flexible Work Practices Guide for Managers
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Hybrid/Remote Workplace Policy
This policy is a subset of the Flexible Work Practices (“FWP”) Policy, pertaining to the City of Fort Collins
(“City”) employees whose workplace setting is categorized as Hybrid/Remote.
Hybrid/Remote Work – Allows employees to perform City work from home or other remote locations,
(within Colorado) either partially or fully. Hybrid/Remote arrangements may be:
1. Hybrid work—those whose job roles and responsibilities allow them to work, part-time, from a
remote location within the state of Colorado. Hybrid employees split their time between their
remote locations and City facilities.
2. Remote work — those whose job roles and responsibilities allow them to work entirely from a
remote location within the state of Colorado. Remote employees may come into a City location for
a specific purpose only.
Employees may be designated to work remotely full-time, or at a combination of remote and City locations
(hybrid). Hybrid and remote workers may be eligible for flexible schedules in accordance with the Flexible
Work Practices Policy.
The City Manager may, in their sole discretion, override any FWP arrangement.
Note: Employees are currently not permitted to work outside of Colorado; this requirement is currently
under review. As required by the City Charter and City Personnel Policy Section 3.4, some positions must
meet residency requirements.
Availability of Decision-Makers and Resources
It is the responsibility of each manager and employee to ensure that customer service and community
service delivery standards (both internal and external) are met. The ability to provide timely, responsive
service must not be impacted by hybrid or remote workplace arrangements. A leader or responsible team
member will be designated and available to address appropriate questions, requests, and escalation of
issues that may arise and require attention or decision-making.
Primary Workplace and Equipment
Each employee who is approved for hybrid work must declare their primary workplace as either:
1. Primary workplace at a City facility, or
2. Primary workplace at a remote location (home or other)
This designation will be determined by the employee and manager based on typical work patterns based
on where the employee spends the majority of their time.
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The City of Fort Collins will equip the workspace for each employee at their primary workplace. This will
include:
(1) Ergonomic office chair
(1) Laptop computer with charger
(1) Monitor, 24” LCD or larger with required cables
(1) Wired / wireless keyboard and mouse
(1) Webcam
A desk is not standard issue for a remote location; however, upon review, SRM may choose to provide a
desk under specific circumstances. Exceptions or unique needs will be addressed by the service area
director, manager, and the IT department.
For those employees whose primary workspace is a home office or other remote location, the City will
provide the equipment listed above to be used for the employee’s remote office.
Employees who are not working at a City facility will be expected to have a dedicated safe and ergonomic
workspace. As part of establishing their remote workspace, employees will work with SRM to remotely
assess their setup. SRM may make recommendations for improvements, and an image will be saved of the
final setup.
City IT staff are not available to travel to personal homes for delivery, support, set-up, or any assistance.
Hybrid/remote staff will be responsible to ensure their setup is fully functional, and to bring any
equipment into a City service center for physical assistance.
Hybrid employees whose primary workplace is a remote location will be able to reserve a suitable
workspace (cubicle, private office, or collaborative/ meeting space) as needed for the time they spend at a
City location as they will not have a dedicated workspace. Hybrid employees are responsible for bringing
their laptop computers and any needed equipment or peripherals from their home office. Monitors and
ergonomic chairs will be provided in City shared workspaces.
The City will provide a fully equipped and furnished, suitable dedicated personal workspace (i.e., cubicle,
office, counter) for each employee whose primary workspace is at a City facility. These employees will be
able to take their laptops with them to work from home or another location as needed. Equipping a
secondary workspace location will be the employee’s responsibility; the City will not provide duplicate
equipment or furnishings at a secondary location.
Whether using City equipment or personal equipment, while working on City business, the employee will
conform to City software, licensing, and security standards as adopted by the City Manager and
maintained by the Information Technology Department.
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The employee will be responsible for any damage to, or loss of City equipment caused by the intentional
acts or negligence of the employee and should take necessary and reasonable steps to ensure the safety
and security of City equipment. The City will work with the employee on any costs related to the repair or
replacement of damaged or lost equipment.
Tax implications related to any off-site work area are the responsibility of the employee, who is advised to
consult a tax professional.
Employees who want to protect the privacy of their cellular telephone number in making or receiving
phone calls related to City business may contact the IT department to have a “softphone” configuration
established.
Hybrid Schedule, Work Hours, and Compensation
The hybrid/remote employee will have scheduled work hours agreed upon with the manager, including
specific core hours in which each can be reached live by phone, Teams, video, or chat. The amount of time
the employee is expected to work per day or per pay period will not change due to workplace location.
Overtime rules still apply to flexible schedules. Non-exempt employees may not work more than 40 hours
per week without advance approval from their manager, including hours spent working remotely. Please
refer to Overtime Pay and Compensatory Time Off 5.2.
Employees who are working remotely must be engaged solely in work on behalf of the City in accordance
with the arrangement with their manager. Remote work is not a substitute for the employee’s use of sick
leave or other paid time off.
Compensation and benefits are not affected by the workplace arrangement.
Regardless of work location, employees must continue to abide by City Personnel Policies and Procedures.
Safety
Employees who are injured while working remotely, regardless of severity, must immediately report the
injury to their manager and the Safety and Risk Management Department (“SRM”) through the Injury and
Illness Reporting system, which is located on CityHub; they must comply with the City’s Workers
Compensation guidelines program.
The City will not be responsible for property damage or injury to family members, visitors, or others at the
remote work site. Employees are expected to install and use all work-related equipment as specified by
the manufacturer and IT.
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Security
City-owned devices are issued to the employee to use for City business. These devices are not authorized
for other parties (e.g., family members) to use. It is the employee’s responsibility to secure their devices
both electronically (with appropriate passwords and VPN access) and physically (taking theft-prevention
measures). Employees working from a home office must take basic security measures to secure their home
modem configuration with password protection.
Related policies and guidelines:
Policies
Flexible Work Practices Policy
Onsite Employees Flex Time Off Policy
Dress Code 8.7
Inclement Weather Policy 5.1.4
Injury Reporting Policy 6.7
Overtime Pay and Compensatory Time Off 5.2
Return of City Property 10.1.6
Travel Time 5.1.3
Cybersecurity policy is currently under development and will be linked in the future
An ergonomics policy is currently under development and will be linked in the future
Guidebooks
Flexible Work Practices Guide for Employees
Flexible Work Practices Guide for Managers