Establishing Work Arrangements

See the Workplace Flexibility section for information about establishing and reviewing remote work, hybrid work, alternative schedules, and similar arrangements.

Colleges and administrative orgs establish local practices for flexible work arrangements in keeping with university policy. They determine which jobs are suitable for remote work or other arrangements and ensure work options are managed fairly and equitably.

Most work arrangements start with a conversation about unit and team needs, employee preferences, and practical considerations. Employees and supervisors document plans using the Work Arrangement Application and pledge to review arrangements at least once per year.

Supervising Remote Employees

External resources especially for supervisors and managers:

• What Psychological Safety Looks Like in a Hybrid Workplace from the Harvard Business Review
• 10 Quick Tips to Make Remote Meetings Work: Four-minute video on planning leading effective meetings

Schedule formal one-on-one meetings with remote team members to review their work status, accomplishments, etc., at the frequency that makes sense. Meetings can be conducted via phone or video call—whatever works for you and your team.

Recognize that remote work requires adjustment. Some people will adapt quickly. Others will struggle. Be especially intentional about checking in with team members who've adopted new work arrangements. Ask open questions like ”What’s working well for you?” or “What’s not working well? Where do you need help?”

Use tech tools (Skype, Zoom, etc.) and remote/hybrid meeting methods to maintain a routine around staff meetings. Consider having team members share simple status reports on a regular basis—simple bullet points are fine. This can help connect team members working from different locations and provide a partial substitute for hallway conversations about work projects.

Take advantage of Microsoft Teams and set up group chat options (Posts) as another way to stay in touch with one another. Model your own use of Teams or Skype by keeping your status current and responding promptly when someone messages you.  

Computing Resources and Data Security

Make sure your remote team members have the equipment and computer resources they need to complete their work. ITS has a great checklist for getting set up for remote work. Use this tool to help identify needs and test remote work tools your team members will use.

Ensure that remote team members know how to maintain the security of university data and records. Employees who have access to confidential data annually sign a confidentiality statement, agreeing to utilize that data only for business purposes. 

In addition, remote workers should understand how to properly store university data and records to ensure security and privacy of those records. For example, university records should not be stored on a personally-owned computer—they should only be stored in university systems.

Review the ITS Security Office's Top 10 Data Security Considerations document with your remote team members and ensure they understand how to store university records.

Using Stay Interviews to Build Engagement

One-and-one meetings are essential tools for supervisors to stay in touch with team members working remotely. Supervisors can use these meetings for “stay interviews”—structured conversations that build engagement and provide a roadmap for development.

Consider stay interviews with your team and use the conversations to inform individual development plans. 

• Stay interview resources: Ideas and templates from the UI Supervisors’ Toolbox—scroll down and look for stay interview links.