FT Remote Work Arrangement Communication Guide

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4	MAKE A COPY OF THIS SHEET TO YOUR DRIVE
5	NOTE: Full-time remote work is an arrangement to work from a site further than 150 miles from the Lab. Depending on the situation, remote work may have pay, tax, and/or benefits implications for the employee. An arrangement for full-time remote work must be approved by an employee’s Division Director and Associate Lab Director.
6	Employee name: [if filling out for single employee]
7	Employee role/title: [if filling out for single employee]
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10	FT Remote Communication Guide
11	Use these communication checkpoints to plan for your conversation with the employee or your team on the new mode of work. This is an opportunity for you to create clarity around work expectations with the individual or your team, taking the time to consider many factors that lead to succcess in this particular work mode.
12	Checkpoint	EQUITY WATCH!	Draft your responses or jot down your notes here...
13	Checkpoint	EQUITY WATCH!	Draft your responses or jot down your notes here...
14	✔ Define your decision & rationale/business case
15	What work mode do you propose to the employee? FT Telework or FT Remote work? NOTE that some on-site presence may be required on occasion/as needed (up to 12 days of the year)	Ensure that what you propose to this employee is the equivalent of what you propose to any other employee who holds the same role or function. You are making this decision based on business need and the role itself, not on a personal preference.
16	What rationale or business case lead you to that decision? (you can cite the considerations and the FWA Toolkit)
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18	✔ Define the expectations for job execution
19	What's the expectation for telework/remote meetings? For example, does the employee need to be on camera and log in through a computer for most meetings?	It's reasonable to expect most employees to work and be available within the regular business hours of 9am-5pm PST. Consider the schedule needs of those who are providing care to family members, those whose regular tasks require them to work outside of the standard business hours or may be on a different time zone, and those who are parenting children who are schooling from home.
20	Determine the schedule and availability expectations. What hours of the work day do you expect the employee to be available for calls, meetings, email responses?
21	Determine how the employee will participate in training activities and opportunities expected of employees in your unit. If there is an on-site training or event, what are the employee's options to attend? Come to an agreement.	To ensure that the employee gets the most out of an on-site, in-person training or event, encourage the employee to attend on-site, of possible. Remind them that the event wouldn't only be an opportunity to learn, but also to engage and network with colleagues, and meet new colleagues. Be vigilant about missed opportunities to network with colleagues and optimizing employee learning. Come to an agreement about this from the start of the new FWA to avoid any misunderstandings down the line if the employee decides to not attend the training/event.
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23	✔ Determine equipment and facilities needs
24	Determine what office and ergo equiment the employee needs.	Be careful about granting one employee a piece of equipment and not to another who requests the same. If you can only grant one of the employees this item, be prepared with your business case for your decision.
25	If you determined from the considerations grid that this employee's job duties are sometimes tied to a particular facility or tied to a system only accessible onsite ('varies'), determine how often the employee needs to access the facility. If the employee needs to be on-site on a regular basis, consider developing a HYBRID WORK ARRANGEMENT instead.
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27	✔ Determine communication, collaboration, team and stakeholder engagement expectations
28	Discuss the potential impact on the employee's stakeholders and decide how to notify them of their flexible work arrangement.
29	If there are on-site activities required for your stakeholders for which the employee will not be available on-site, determine who will be the onsite staff who will support the stakeholder on-site and set up a meeting to make introductions.	Ensure that the additional staff member involved agrees to this role and that they have a on-site or hybrid work arrangement.
30	Determine what information the employee needs that is only available on-site and how employee will access the information.
31	Ask the employee to inform team members where their critical work information is kept (e.g., network drive, addresses and contact information, their calendar).
32	Establish regular check-in meetings — either by phone or video conferences – to talk about what’s working, what’s causing challenges and how to resolve them. Encourage feedback on how their remote or telework arrangment is working for them. How often will you meet with this employee to check in?
33	Determine how and how often the employee will update you on their projects/tasks.
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35	✔ Close the Loop: Document the Conversation
36	Send a follow-up email to the employee summarizing the conversation: the agreed upon work arrangement, the business case for this decision, the performance expectations, the equipment and facilities access plan, and the communication, collaboration, team and stakeholder engagement agreements/expectations. Once a work arrangement has been identified as acceptable and appropriate for the position, the Employee initi- ates the Work Arrangement Approval process by clicking here to formally track and document the arrangement. REFER TO pg. vii OF THE FWA TOOLKIT: PROCESS GUIDE FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS ON THIS PART.		[you can draft your email here by consolidating your responses and notes from above!]
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