Both teleworking and flextime arrangements can offer a variety of benefits to both
the employee and the employer. Here at UGA, these arrangements are established by
each college or unit based upon their needs but each must include a justification
as to how it benefits the unit, school, and/or institution. As such, the information
below serves as a general guide. Each unit may have its own set of principles and
stipulations for teleworking arrangements.
GUIDELINES
Teleworking arrangements work best when there is an established set of guidelines for all parties involved. Some best practices for employees and supervisors include:
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Clarify expectations. Be sure to lay out clear expectations around job performance and responsiveness.
Be specific. Employees should fully understand what is expected of them when they telework. Outline communication and system tools and expectations (such as shared Outlook calendars with notes including telephone numbers) to deliver on work and projects in the same way that you require when the employee is onsite.
Agree on expectations. Ask the employee to reflect what they understand as telework expectations to ensure your agreement and alignment. A teleworking self-assessment (PDF) is a great tool in establishing these expectations between supervisors and employees. -
Plan ahead. There are several issues—workspace, work hours, expected productivity, IT support, among others—that need to be decided and discussed with teleworkers to ensure a positive start to a telework program or arrangement. Work with your unit’s IT group to ensure the provided technology is effective, efficient, and operates consistently. Ensure that teleworkers have the direct contact information for your unit’s IT in case of questions or emergencies.
Designate “office” space. Encourage teleworkers to create a quiet place to get their work done. While it need not be an elaborate set-up, a dedicated area helps teleworkers concentrate on their work, minimize distractions, and ensure that phone calls and video conferences are effective.
Establish communication guidelines. Set up guidelines around responsiveness. For example, you may establish the expectation that emails be responded to before the end of the workday, and any missed calls should be returned within two hours. These guidelines should be clearly communicated and should be compatible with the operational needs of the agency and the work that employees are expected to complete.
Reinforce expectations around work hours. As part of the telework arrangement, be clear about when teleworkers are expected to be completing tasks and when they should be responsive to incoming calls or emails.
Get IT support. Teleworkers are dependent on fast, reliable, consistent connections. Work with your IT group to ensure the provided technology is effective, efficient, and operates consistently. Ensure that teleworkers have email and phone numbers to contact IT in case of questions or emergencies. -
Communicate regularly. Effective teleworker management requires strong communication and collaboration practices. Set guidelines regarding response times, shared calendars and documents, and preferred communication methods for various situations.
Establish a virtual presence. Transparent communication tools and team norms like shared calendars can be useful. One tip is to require that teleworkers’ calendars indicate they are working from home and show a phone number where they can be reached. UGA EITS also provides great resources such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams which have a wide range of functionality allowing for impromptu meetings and quick communications.
Engage your teleworkers daily. Regular interaction and engagement provides opportunities for managers to clarify expectations about the work to be done, helping to ensure that the time working away from the office is productive.
Be available to teleworkers. You don’t want to micromanage teleworkers, but you do want to be available and supportive, track progress, and keep them in the loop. The same goes for employees working in the office—make sure they are available to collaborate and communicate with teleworkers as needed.
Use reliable technology tools. If teleworkers can't access files or struggle to make themselves heard on a conference call, the telework arrangement will hinder the employee’s productivity. Make sure teleworkers have access to reliable tools to make collaboration possible. Again, Microsoft Teams is a great tool for file sharing and collaboration. -
Foster effective teamwork. If more than one employee is working remotely, treat telework as a team activity rather than an individual one. Develop a team schedule and a teleworking system that is consistent with the needs of your unit.
Help teleworkers avoid multi-tasking. With your teleworkers, figure out ways to avoid multi-tasking. Video conferences instead of phone conferences work well. Encourage people to stay in working mode and off email back-and-forth as much as is feasible while still ensuring agency operational goals are met.
Establish strong relationships with teleworkers. Check in as needed using collaboration tools, shared docs and spreadsheets, phone calls, chat, and video. Invest in your professional relationship by showing you are supportive of their success and want to help them achieve their goals rather than just check on their progress and numbers.
Build effective project management practices. Organization is critical for teams that mix teleworkers and office workers. If available, it’s a good idea to use cloud-based tools so that everyone can access the files and information they need at any time. These tools also offer efficient ways to communicate, organize projects across teams and set deadline reminders. -
Reflect and adjust. Over time, you are likely to face challenges related to managing teleworkers. It is important to build in time to have open and honest discussions with employees regarding telework and work performance. Solution-oriented discussions can help ensure the sustained success of telework programs and arrangements.
Establish regular check-ins. Set aside time on a regular cadence (e.g. monthly, quarterly) to discuss telework. Discuss what is working well with the current arrangement and what could be improved. Brainstorm changes to address any issues and follow up at the next check-in to see if those changes have led to improvement.
Source: Massachusetts State Government Teleworking Guidance
SUBMIT A TELEWORKING/FLEXTIME AGREEMENT
Any employee teleworking at UGA must have a completed and approved Teleworking/Flextime Agreement on file. To submit an agreement, we recommend the following process:
The supervisor and employee should complete the Teleworking/Flexible Scheduling Agreement. This agreement requests information that should be compiled jointly between the supervisor and employee.
After the appropriate unit leadership has reviewed and approved the request, University HR Workforce Engagement will review the request to ensure consistency and equity.
REQUEST WORKFLOW
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Step 1:
Employee and Supervisor complete the Telework/Flextime Request (linked below). We recommend that both the supervisor and employee complete the agreement while meeting together to avoid errors in the submission
Step 2:
Employee receives an email from Smartsheet requesting their certification of the Telework/Flextime Request. By selecting the blue Open Update Form button and then clicking the Submit button, the employee is agreeing to the terms and conditions of the Teleworking and Flextime Policy.
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Step 3:
After the employee certifies the agreement request, it is then routed to the school/college/unit approver or approvers. An email with a summary of the request details is also emailed to the designated HR Liaison for each unit at this step.
Note: If the unit has established multiple approvers, it will route to each approver simultaneously and will not move to the next step until both approvers have certified the request.
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Step 4:
After the school/college/unit approver(s) have certified the request, it is routed to University HR Workforce Engagement. Workforce Engagement reviews each request for sufficient justification or cancels the request.
Note: If Workforce Engagement cancels a request, it does not prevent the school/college/unit from revising the request and submitting again.
Step 5:
The school/college/unit approver receives an email indicating whether the request has been approved or cancelled. The approver should then communicate these arrangements with the employee.
RENEWAL OF EXISTING AGREEMENTS
Designated HR Liaisons will receive emails from Smartsheet thirty (30) days prior to the expiration and on the date of expiration for all Telework/Flextime agreements. These emails will contain step by step instructions for how these agreements may be renewed.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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Formal teleworking and flextime arrangements establish uniform guidelines and expectations for both the employee and employer. These formalized agreements also allow for consistency, policy alignment, and reporting for a variety of purposes.
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Managers have the authority to end a teleworking or flextime agreement at any time. Contact hrweb@uga.edu to change the end date that was submitted via Smartsheet.
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An email from Smartsheet will be sent to the unit approver(s) who were assigned in the request noting the outcome after the Workforce Engagement review. It is then the responsibility of the unit approver(s) to notify and discuss next-steps with the employee.
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Each unit’s designated HR Liaison has access to a report which provides a real time status of each Teleworking/Flextime Request in their unit.
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Yes, you should only submit one request.
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Any changes to a request must be done by cancelling the original request and submitting a new one.
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They should check with their HR Liaison before submitting the form.
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Yes, so long as they can perform the essential duties of the position from a remote work location.
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Any Telework/Flextime agreements can be denied by either approver or the HR Liaison. If any one of these does not approve, the request is denied in full.
RESOURCES
Teleworking Self-Assessment Guide (PDF)
Teleworking/Flexible Scheduling Agreement Request