Piloting hybrid working

You’ll all hopefully have seen an email from Barry Neilson regarding returning to campus  (September 2021). There’s lots of helpful information included, so please take the time to look through the University’s Hybrid Working Programme and Framework. Off the back of that, we wanted to update on future ways of working for Finance staff working in Charles Stewart House. Many of you were on the Team Finance call on Monday 30th August, where Lee and Terry gave an update on hybrid working. 

 

Many of you were on the Team Finance call on Monday 30th August, where Lee and Terry gave an update on hybrid working. We have made progress in our approach for how Finance teams working in CSH may return to the office and this email outlines our progress to date. However, I’d like to reiterate that this is not a call for us all to return to the office immediately; this is a skeleton plan for when it is safe to return based on government guidelines and University recommendations.  

We had good attendance at the two exploratory sessions we held in June. Since then, we have consulted with Finance Managers within CSH via a Manager Survey, to get a better picture of the needs of the different teams. This feedback will inform the work of four workstreams that form the first iteration of an approach for future ways of working.  

 

Changes to ways of working and ways of using our spaces 

For larger teams in CSH within Finance, we anticipate that these colleagues will return to their pre-pandemic locations but with a reconfiguration of spaces they use to work. Some of this reconfiguration will have happened by the time we return, and some of it will be implemented in a phased way in the coming months. This will include things such as: 

• a reduction in the number of desks;   

• an introduction of new collaboration spaces; 

• replacement of pedestals with lockers for personal belongings; 

• a shared-desk approach within team with a clear desk policy;  

• broadly 70% of desk space retained in traditional form; 

• locally agreed work patterns (within parameters agreed for the wider department). 

 

For smaller teams (including the Directorate) we envisage a flexible approach to your location of work within the office, with the provision of lockers in CSH for storage of personal belongings. There’ll be a range of spaces for these colleagues to work in – (larger teams can use too when needed) such as: 

• bookable collaboration spaces; 

• hot-desking options for ‘quiet’ work and ‘not so quiet’ work (e.g. Teams calls); 

• use of collaboration spaces in larger offices if not in use; 

• Lee to retain office/meeting space for high level Finance meetings – but other Directors to vacate dedicated offices. 

Please note: There will be some exceptions to the above – but these are our initial broad principles 

Defining our equipment needs 

This is a complex workstream to unpick as we will now all be working from multiple locations. A quick reminder that the University has a Single Device Policy that helps us to reach our sustainability goals. 

To understand equipment needs for Finance staff working within CSH, we’re working with Managers to determine what team members need to do their jobs effectively. As I’m sure you’ll appreciate, it’s not possible (or economical or ecological) to replicate full workstations for all staff at home and at work. 

The expectation at the moment is: 

• staff will have one device that they will use for work, regardless of location; 

• staff will be required to bring that laptop to and from work; 

• workstations in CSH will have the right equipment required at that location;  

• hot desks and collaboration spaces will be equipped with docking stations, mouse, keyboard and screen. 

 

Working better together 

We want everyone's time in the office to be as productive as possible, e.g., for in-person collaboration, brainstorming and effective teamwork. We’re fully aware of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion aspects of hybrid working and the desire of some staff members to lock in the advantages that home-working can bring. We’ll be aiming to obtain the best out of both home and office working. We must also remember that Finance is a service, and we want to continue to deliver a world-class Finance function to allow the University to deliver core business. 

 

Communications and messaging 

We’ll aim to keep our Finance teams informed in a clear and concise way, but will be led by University guidance, which in turn is influenced by Government advice. We will refer to the University’s Hybrid and Home Working Group resources as appropriate and make sure that guidance for our Finance group of teams is in accordance with the University approach. 

 

What can I do now? 

Charles Stewart House is still open and available for those who would like to come into the office to familiarise yourself with the office space, to break up your week or just for a change of scenery! Desktops are available if you don’t want to bring your laptop in. We are in the process of making some of the changes we’ve described above, so if you’re in the office please do be patient and flexible if there is any disruption or if all desks aren’t fully configured yet. 

Do remember if you intend to come into the office to complete your Cardinus training and contact reception to arrange your induction before you come in. 

 

Next steps and timings 

• We’re in the process of receiving helpful information from Finance managers within CSH through the Manager Survey; we’re getting a better understanding of specific team needs  

• We’re organising a series of meetings with the CSH Finance managers to think about how we can redesign and develop our larger offices.  

• We’re having meetings with colleagues in Estates to consider how we can deliver other space types in the areas we have identified. 

• We’re getting a better understanding of how quickly we can fit collaboration spaces and provide lockers, when can we reorganise our offices and ensure all necessary kit is provided etc 

 

When will teams come back?  As stated before, there’s no immediate instruction to return; we’re very aware of current Government advice and status of the ovid infection rate. If you have any questions or concerns, flag these initially through your manager and these can be fed into the survey response. And finally, please remember, this process will evolve, and we won’t get it all right first time, we’ll have to make changes as we learn more.