Policy 828 – Virtual Office

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author- Alex Dirks

Organizational Development Consultant

AHCCCS Human Resources and Development

602-417-4638

 

 

828 – Virtual Office

Table of Contents

policy

 

Procedures

Authority

Revisions

Introduction

The implementation of a Virtual Office business model increases AHCCCS’ flexibility to meet changing business needs, decreases agency costs, improves productivity, decreases employees expenses, improves air quality, and increases employees’ flexibility in managing work and family responsibilities.

This policy provides guidance and procedures for establishing Virtual Office (VO) arrangements that balance individual flexibility with AHCCCS’ collective business strategies.

 Definitions

 

Assistant Director

Assistant Director, in this policy means the Assistant Director of the Division or the Assistant Director’s Designee, from the Division in which the employee works.

Virtual Office

Creating a fully functional worksite that is not bound to a specific location but is portable and scalable, connecting employees to the work process in the most advantageous setting, rather than employees having to come to a central office site to connect to the work process. 

 

Virtual Office Agreement

 

The written agreement detailing what has been agreed upon in order for the employee to be a successful virtual office worker to meet business needs.

 

Virtual Office Coordinator

AHCCCS employees responsible for planning, managing & implementing the Virtual Office for a specific division.

AHCCCS Virtual Office

Employees working at home or at a remote location for the entire work week.  No designated individual workspace is provided at an AHCCCS office. An employee working from a virtual office will be known as a “Virtual Worker”.

 

AHCCCS Teleworking 

 

 

 

 

Virtual Office Steering Committee

Working at home or at a satellite location for some portion of the work week.  Distinguished from VO in that the employee still has a workspace at the office and reports to the office a minimum of one day per week. This employee will be known as a “Teleworker”.

 

A committee that plans, advises and helps to implement a Virtual Office program for their organization.    

 

Policy

·        AHCCCS Virtual Office will be regarded as different from AHCCCS Teleworking and, as such will have its own policies, procedures, etc.

·         AHCCCS employees, (original probation, promotional probation, limited, permanent status and uncovered) may be eligible for virtual office work. The division’s management will determine measurable work performance standards. Management’s decision to not allow an employee to work in a virtual office environment is not a grievable issue.

·         Each AHCCCS division must participate in a pilot prior to moving large numbers of positions to VO.  Each pilot must capture and document performance measurements, benefits, and lessons learned prior to expansion beyond the pilot.

 

·         Continued Virtual Office participation is determined by consistently meeting the measurable work performance standards established by the division’s management.

 

·         High speed internet access is required for participation in VO.  Other business requirements must be established specific to the division/unit prior to participation in a pilot.

 

·         A Thin Client device will be used for all VO computer connections.  Printers will not be distributed for VO workers.

 

·        The AHCCCS Virtual Office program cannot be implemented and will not be supported by AHCCCS unless their business area(s) has been identified as a Virtual Office candidate by the division’s executive management.           

Procedures

·         Since every Virtual Office implementation is different, the information provided in the “Procedures” section of this policy should only be used as a general guide to a successful, Virtual Office program. The Virtual Office Steering Committee will help facilitate and guide the participating AHCCCS division through their own, specialized Virtual Office implementation needs.        

I.                   Initiating the Virtual Office Process

 

1.        If an AHCCCS unit has been designated as an area that may qualify for a Virtual Office implementation (as indicated by the division’s executive management), the supporting manager must contact the HRD Assistant Director to be scheduled for the Virtual Office Steering Committee’s meeting agenda. The AHCCCS Virtual Office Steering Committee has been formed to advise, guide and help orchestrate a Virtual Office implementation from start to finish. The AHCCCS Virtual Office Steering Committee members consist of Human resources, Information Technology and training experts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                II.      Gathering Requirements

 

Job Analysis

 

1.        An analysis of the entire employee’s work processes must be completed. The job analysis is used to ensure that processes, procedures, hardware and software requirements that currently support the business unit will not hinder an employee’s ability to perform their work duties from a remote office location. Basically, positions that do not require face to face communication with customers and do not require any process or procedure that must be physically performed at an AHCCCS office location, would qualify. Position examples would include:

·         Data Analysis

·         Programming

·         Writing and Reviewing Policy

·         Report Analysis

·         Telephone intensive positions

·         Data Entry

·         Word Processing

·         Investigations

·         Budget Analysis

 

Exceptions to this position description would be for combinations of VO at home and VO in an office.  Generic workspace for staff could be established for those employees to come into the office to meet certain job requirements, such as face to face contact with customers.

 

            Initially, having several employees “pilot” working from home one to four days per week 

            will help to clarify immediate process issues with the position in consideration for a

            Virtual Office program.

    

Productivity Measurements

 

2.        Baseline productivity and improved productivity measurements as a result of a Virtual Office implementation need to be established and measured. Productivity, quality and attendance are the (3) main measures of Virtual Office success or failure. (Attachment #1) illustrates an example of how improved productivity standards were established using quality, productivity and attendance as a baseline measurement. Once baseline and improved productivity measurements have been established, a document similar to (Attachment #1) should be created as a communication tool for employees participating in the program. Initial productivity improvement estimates may have to be adjusted once the Virtual Office program is implemented and running for at least 6 months.         

 

             III.      Communication Plan

 

3.        Continuous communication is the key to a successful Virtual Office implementation. A Virtual Office communication plan needs to be established and updated regularly as the participating unit progresses from the VO pilot through full implementation. A communication plan that includes the steps outlined in this procedure would be required at a minimum.

 

 

 

              IV.      Employee Pilot VO Participation Criteria / Selection

 

4.      Not all employees will qualify or want to participate in a Virtual Office program. A survey (Attachment #2) can be used to measure how many employees would want to participate in the Virtual Office pilot program as well as determine their current home work environment. An employee questionnaire (Attachment #3) can be used as a tool by the supervisor / manager to assess an employee’s ability to participate in a Virtual Office program based on their current and past work performance. Selecting your best employees for the pilot phase of a Virtual Office implementation has been recognized as a “best practice”.

 

                 V.      IT Software Assessment

 

5.        A software assessment \ GAP analysis of the participating pilot unit will be assessed by ISD to ensure Virtual Office compatibility. This assessment will be scheduled as part of the Virtual Office Steering Committee’s normal agenda.

 

              VI.      Training

 

6.        There are (3) training classes that must be completed before any employee starts to participate in the VO program from their home office.  Training is classroom based and cannot be taken via e-learning at this time. Training timelines will be established as part of the Virtual Office Steering Committee’s normal agenda.

 

a)       Virtual Office Training (Attachment #4, 4A)

b)       Virtual Office In a Box (Attachment #5)

c)       “Live Meeting” software training (Attachment #6)

 

            VII.      Pilot Rollout

              

7.        Before employees can go home with their “thin client” equipment and setup their Virtual Office environment, ISD will “stage” the equipment at the participating employee’s workstation (at AHCCCS) for (1) week. This process is used to help the employee become familiar with their “thin client” equipment as well as to ensure that there are no software, hardware or process issues. Once the “staging” is complete and successful, employees participating in the Virtual Office pilot can work from home at any time, however, participants must complete steps 8 and 9 before working from home full time. 

 

         VIII.      Required Documentation

 

8.        Participating VO employees must fill out an “Equipment Check Out Form” (Attachment #7 – single form) or (Attachment #8 – spreadsheet version) which will be used to track the Virtual Office equipment assigned to employees participating in the program. A copy of this form must be kept by the supervisor / manager, the ISD department and in the personnel file of the employee which is held by HRD. This data will also be keyed into HRIS by HRD.  

 

 

 

 

9.        Employees must read and understand the “Virtual Office Timesheet Submission Process” (Attachment #9).

 

10.     Employees must read and understand the “ISD User Affirmation Statement” (Attachment 9A)     

 

              IX.      Post Pilot Surveys

 

11.     Once the pilot has been implemented for 6 months, a survey is implemented for both pilot participants (Attachment #10) and non-participants in the same work unit (Attachment #11). These surveys are used to gauge the success of the pilot program as well as to capture best practices and unforeseen issues. All changes and adjustments should be implemented and documented before going forward with step 9 “Phased Rollout”.

 

                 X.      Phased Rollout

 

12.     At this stage, a phased rollout of the Virtual Office process should be implemented for the remainder of the staff \ unit that were identified in the beginning of this process. 

 

Appendix to the Policy:

         I.            Employees who VO must

                                1.            Adhere to the official Virtual Office Agreement. The employee is responsible for obtaining supervisory approval prior to making any changes in the schedule described in the approved Agreement.

                                2.            Adhere to the AHCCCS User Affirmation Statement (Attachment 12)

                                3.            Complete all required virtual office training

       II.            Employees who VO may at their discretion:

                                1.            Check with their tax accountant regarding any tax implications from working at home.

                                2.            Check with their auto insurer now that they are not commuting with their automobile.

     III.            Supervisors / Managers of Virtual Workers shall:

                                1.            Monitor workload and needs to ensure adequate office coverage during all normal working hours and be responsible for maintaining adequate staff coverage to meet daily workload requirements.

                                2.            Consult with the employee in completing the Virtual Office Agreement.

                                3.            Pre-approve any meetings between the employee and AHCCCS customers held at an alternative work site. Meetings with customers must not be conducted at the employee’s home.

                                4.            Ensure the Virtual Office Agreement is updated and communicated to employees as changes occur.

                                5.            Complete all required virtual office training

                                6.            Reclaim all state equipment from employees who are no longer participating in the Virtual Office program as per the “AHCCCS VO Equipment Reclamation Process” (Attachment 12A)

                                7.            Monitor performance results frequently.        

 

 

 

 

Additional Helpful Documentation

·         A Business Case for Virtual Office At AHCCCS (Attachment #13)

·         Project Executive Summary – Virtual Office at AHCCCS (Attachment #14)

·         FY06 Estimated Savings Spreadsheet (Attachment #15 - Spreadsheet)

·        SSI/MAO Employee Survey Results 061206 (Attachment #16)

·        VO Summary – DMS (Attachment #17 - Spreadsheet)

·        AHCCCS Virtual Office Architecture (Attachment #18)

·        Virtual Office Timeline / Best practices Summary (Attachment #19) 

·        Pilot Stipend memo (Attachment #20)

Authority

         I.            Human Resources & Development is responsible for this policy. Revisions to this policy are under the authority of HRD and the Virtual Office Steering Committee.

Revisions

Effective date: 06/01/06

Revision date: 11/27/06

 

 

 

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Owner: HRD
Source: AHCCCS Administrative Policy and Procedure Manual
Last Updated: 01/24/07