Discussion Regarding Updating the Employee Telecommuting Policy. 

The purpose of this discussion is for the City Council to consider expanding the telecommuting policy to certain union positions.  Please note, due to a lack of time, this discussion was scheduled for, but not held on both May 25, 2021 and June 8, 2021.   

The current policy has been in place for many years.  As written, only non-union employees are eligible to apply for the program.  A marked up draft policy is attached to this case.   In summary, staff would like the City Council to consider expanding the policy to union employees that work in the office or primarily work in the office.  As a reminder, the City Administrator and Department Head must agree to all telecommuting arrangements and the arrangement may be revoked at any time if there are problems with performance or the City's needs change.  

Telecommuting is a management strategy where employees work a combination of off and on site.  Regardless of location, a remote worker remains responsible for all job duties, responsibilities and obligations associated with their position.  They complete their work and are evaluated on performance, not presence, focusing on results.  Staff feels telecommuting increases the organization’s performance while creating the right climate for people to manage all the demands in their lives; always driven by a focus on results.  Staff feels the following information summarizes the benefits of expanding the telecommuting policy:

• Temporary expansion of the telecommuting policy has proven how effective remote work is and many employees would like to continue such a policy into the future  
• Telecommuting has a very strong focus on efficiency   
• Maximizing employee efficiency and eliminating downtime due to weather, illness, traffic and other factors
• A strong, positive impact on employee engagement, satisfaction, and retention
• Ability to attract candidates from a broader geographic range
• Reducing traffic and associated maintenance
• Positive environmental impacts from reduced car travel
• Telecommuting may help retain long-term employees that would otherwise consider early retirement, causing a loss of institutional knowledge.  It may also allow greater freedom in succession planning.
• It has become increasingly clear that our employees want to see results and efficiency, have greater autonomy, and take ownership of their work in the environment that is most conducive to productivity.

Approximately 10 minutes.

Not applicable at this time.

Colleen Lasher, Administrative Services Director
Tim Gladhill, Deputy City Administrator/Community Development Director

For the City Council to, by consensus, direct staff to update/expand the City's telecommuting policy and bring it back to a future Council meeting for formal adoption.