Create a Workplace Policy Guidelines and Rubric
As our world changes, the workforce is continually changing with new legislation/laws, employment practices, and ways of doing business. As these changes occur, organizations must evolve and adapt to stay compliant and relevant to continue engaging, attracting, and retaining employees. At times, these changes must be documented and become a standard of how the organization operates. As a human resource professional, you may be required to write policies, enforce them, and provide clarity to employees.
In this module, you responded to managers and non-managers regarding a request to work remotely. This conflict has created a need for clear and accurate communication regarding remote work, in the form of a written work-from-home (WFH) policy. In this assignment, you will draft a WFH policy describing the organization’s point of view and process on remote work. This policy is for all employees. As you begin this assignment, spend some time thinking about how organizations have responded to remote work and what policies were needed to address this change. For example, you may consider policies related to work hours, such as registering or showing as present when working remotely, as well as remote work expectations.
Directions
To complete this assignment, write a remote work policy. As you develop your policy, consider the following questions. You will need to research existing policies to find criteria for these questions.
Why is the company developing a new policy?
How is remote work defined for the company? (You might define this as fully remote, hybrid, flexible, and more.)
When will the policy go into effect? Is there an end date?
Consider the employee and organizational expectations for your policy.
What are the expectations of employees? Consider pay, hours worked, work schedules, benefits, job status (full/part time), and job performance.
How does an employee request to work remotely?
What are the responsibilities of management?
How do you apply the policy fairly?
Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:
Purpose: Explain the purpose of the work-from-home policy change in a way that clearly illustrates the rationale for employees.
Expectations: Describe specific expectations, benefits, requests, and responsibilities of the policy.
Consequences: Explain what the consequences are if the policy’s expectations are not met.
Full Answer Section
How is remote work defined for the company?
For the purposes of this policy, remote work is defined as work that is performed outside of the company's office. This includes work that is performed from home, a co-working space, or another location.
When will the policy go into effect? Is there an end date?
This policy will go into effect on [date]. There is no end date for this policy.
Employee and organizational expectations for the policy
Employees who work remotely are expected to:
- Meet all of the same performance expectations as employees who work in the office.
- Be available during regular business hours.
- Communicate with their manager and team members in a timely manner.
- Maintain a professional appearance and demeanor.
The company expects that employees who work remotely will:
- Have a dedicated workspace that is free from distractions.
- Have a reliable internet connection.
- Have the necessary equipment and software to do their job.
Policy Guidelines
The following are the guidelines for remote work at [Company Name]:
- Employees must request to work remotely in writing.
- Employees must have the approval of their manager to work remotely.
- Employees who work remotely must have a dedicated workspace that is free from distractions.
- Employees who work remotely must have a reliable internet connection.
- Employees who work remotely must have the necessary equipment and software to do their job.
- Employees who work remotely must meet all of the same performance expectations as employees who work in the office.
- Employees who work remotely must be available during regular business hours.
- Employees who work remotely must communicate with their manager and team members in a timely manner.
- Employees who work remotely must maintain a professional appearance and demeanor.
Rubric
The following rubric will be used to evaluate employees who work remotely:
- Performance: Employees who work remotely will be evaluated on their performance in the same way as employees who work in the office.
- Communication: Employees who work remotely will be evaluated on their communication with their manager and team members.
- Availability: Employees who work remotely will be evaluated on their availability during regular business hours.
- Professionalism: Employees who work remotely will be evaluated on their professional appearance and demeanor.
Conclusion
This policy is designed to ensure that all employees who work remotely have a consistent and fair set of guidelines to follow. The company expects that all employees who work remotely will meet all of the same performance expectations as employees who work in the office.