UMD Guidance for “Work. With Flexibility.”

Dear Colleagues,

I hope that your summer is going well. You have all done amazing work during the pandemic to transform how you teach, how you meet the needs of our students, and how you serve the many people that interact with UMD every day. As we continue to prepare for the upcoming semester, I am sending this follow-up to my message about Work. With Flexibility.

With input from campus leadership, the Vice Chancellors and I have developed guiding principles and planning guidance to help frame how we will implement Work. With Flexibility. at UMD. Throughout this process, we are doing our best to balance the best interests of our students while considering each employee’s perspective and unique circumstances. We acknowledge the good work done both on campus and remotely since March 2020, and we are working to create flexibility for employees as we return to more activity on campus. We will take advantage of the ways we have learned to be flexible in our work arrangements moving forward. We don't want to lose our gains in productivity, morale, and engagement as we transition back to serving our students and various public entities in an environment that is primarily face-to-face.

Supervisors are asked to take this framework, consult with their team and unit leadership, and build plans for their units. Unit plans must be communicated to employees by July 19, 2021. I am encouraging supervisors or unit administrators to organize discussion and listening sessions for the faculty and staff in their units in order to answer questions and increase understanding of how to best implement this Work. With Flexibility. approach.

UMD Guiding Principles for Work. With Flexibility.:

• UMD is a place-based institution of higher learning, and most of our students will be on campus this academic year.
• Faculty and staff work arrangements must meet student and organizational needs and ensure optimal service, effectiveness, and efficiency. 
• In determining work arrangements, both collective and individual work must be taken into consideration.
• Work arrangements are determined through dialogue between the employee and supervisor within the UMD Guiding Principles, not by the individual employee. If disagreements need to be resolved between the employee and supervisor, final determinations on flexible work arrangements are made by leadership of the employee’s Unit, for example, the Vice Chancellors of Academic Affairs, Student Life, Finance and Operations, or by the Chancellor for the Chancellor’s Unit. 
• We acknowledge that some positions are not able to work remotely due to the nature of the work.

UMD “Guideposts” for Planning:

• Faculty will be expected to deliver courses as originally scheduled with the expectation that the majority of our courses will take place face-to-face. Faculty must be available for in-person advising/meetings/office hours. We are returning to the pre-pandemic in-office flexibility, and adding what was learned during the pandemic. We now have an increased skill set of delivering content and meetings with more accountability and flexibility while leveraging new technology and new approaches to teaching and learning.
• For staff, if your workplace faces and serves students, faculty, staff, or the public, there must be full office coverage during business hours each week.
• The initial plans will be temporary or pilot arrangements, and we will review these plans periodically to determine effectiveness, examine performance, and to make any necessary adjustments. 
• We will not be able to continue many of the “heroic” actions started during the pandemic, because they are not sustainable and are no longer needed as we return to in-person work. For example, the Mail Room cannot continue to shoulder all reception services for the campus.

In instances where remote work has been approved, the expectations are as follows:

• Work schedules should accommodate the business needs of the department. Supervisors may require specific time periods/events where all staff must be in the workplace with no exceptions, if the business needs of the department require it. For many, this will involve activities at the beginning or end of the semester, but it may apply to other times as well.
• The supervisor may require meetings to be in person without offering the hybrid option. 
• There will be no new costs to the department for equipment, office furnishings, etc.
• While prioritizing the needs of the unit, plans can include multiple hybrid options. For example, working remotely one day a week, two days a week, or one week on campus and one week remotely. 
• Units need to ensure fair and equitable use of remote work, especially around holidays and weekends while continuing to meet unit and campus needs.
• Remote work should occur from a home office. Any alternate locations, for example, vacation locations, cabins, etc., must be approved by the supervisor. 
• Individuals approved to work remotely must be available and reachable by phone during normal business hours and have access to video conferencing.
• Employees working remotely must have reliable internet access to ensure functionality.
• Disability accommodations may be requested through the Disability Resource Center.

Other related resources:

• UMD Human Resources Department Liaison Contact List
• Office of Human Resources (OHR) Work. With Flexibility website
• Preliminary operational guidelines from OHR

If you have questions or would like to discuss this further, please contact your supervisor, Vice Chancellor or me, if you are in the Chancellor’s Unit.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

Salary Increases for Fiscal Year 2022

Dear Colleagues,

As you know, in years past the University has used a merit increase pool to award raises to eligible employees. The extraordinary circumstances and financial challenges of the past year have affected the size of this year’s pool, which is recommended to be 1.5% for fiscal year 2022 (July 1, 2021–June 30, 2022).

Based on the size of this year’s pool, the University is proposing that it be awarded as an across-the-board pay increase. The increase will be applied to the employee’s base salary as it was prior to the pandemic furlough and pay reduction programs. This means all eligible employees will receive the same increase, rather than differing increases based on performance, as in recent years. It is important to note that the University still supports performance-based (also known as merit-based) pay increases in future years.

The proposed salary increase plan is pending the Board of Regents approval, which we expect to receive on June 29.

To be eligible for the 1.5% across-the-board pay increase, an employee must have been actively employed in an eligible position as of January 1, 2021, and have remained employed in an eligible position on June 21, 2021.

Employees covered by collective-bargaining agreements are not eligible for the pay increase as they have compensation plans negotiated into their collective-bargaining agreements. This includes non-UEA represented faculty at the Duluth campus. Undergraduate students, temp/casual positions, and most graduate assistants and professionals-in-training are also excluded from the pay increase. There are also unique populations within the civil service, P&A, faculty, and graduate assistant groups that are not eligible for the increase; these will be determined by each collegiate or administrative unit.

Pay increases will be withheld for employees with the following performance concerns:

1. The employee has a “needs development,” “does not meet expectations,” “unsatisfactory,” or equivalent rating on their FY21 annual performance review; and

2. During the review period, the employee has received documented disciplinary action or performance management. The documentation must inform the employee that continued noncompliance or failure to improve/meet expectations could result in further disciplinary action.

The pay increase will take effect on June 21 and be reflected on the first 2022 fiscal year paycheck on July 14.

If you have questions about this year’s salary increase plan, your collegiate or administrative unit’s HR department can help.

Our employees are our greatest asset and this last year has truly demonstrated how strong and devoted our workforce is. Thank you for all your work and dedication to our students and UMD.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

Details About the University’s “Work with Flexibility” Guidelines

 Dear Faculty and Staff,

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we live, learn, and work. Yet, this pandemic did not degrade our success or destroy our spirit, thanks to your dedication, flexibility, and determination to pursue excellence through the most uncertain and difficult times. We want to take a moment to acknowledge our employees who worked on campus during this period, for their dedication and commitment to our university mission and for sustaining our campus operations.

A lesson from COVID-19 is that work is not as much about where it happens. Work is first about what we do, followed by how, when, and then where.

Work. With Flexibility.

As we look ahead, we are pleased to announce new guidelines for the way we work going forward. Human Resources has created an approach called Work. With Flexibility. which provides systemwide guidance for legal and policy compliance, while allowing for local flexibility in its application. We developed this guidance over several months in collaboration with the HR community and senior leaders, and in consultation with University of Minnesota Senate governance groups, the General Counsel’s office, and others.

Our preliminary guidelines describe various options for flexible work, including full-time in-person, full-time remote, and a mix between the two. It addresses topics pertaining to working out of state, remote work for hourly workers, office technology, accommodations, and much more. Importantly, we will measure, assess, and refine the guidance over the next year by continuing to gather feedback from employees, students, and the HR community to maximize its effectiveness.

Planning for Returning to Campus

In the meantime, the Chancellor and Vice Chancellors will define how best to use this guidance to develop plans that meet the needs of their specific unit. Supervisors will evaluate all Work. With Flexibility. requests and make decisions that are in the best interest of the work they oversee, staying within bounds of the University and Chancellor/Vice Chancellor guidance.

Plans will be communicated to employees by July 19, 2021, and when possible, before that date to provide time for employees to make appropriate arrangements.

Employees should understand that although department leaders and supervisors are responsible for making final decisions about individual flexible work arrangements, they will do so by thoughtfully considering each employee’s perspective and unique circumstances. Indeed, with support from HR, supervisors will have the tools and resources they need to foster transparency, set clear expectations and ensure equity in the development of flexible work plans.

Resources to Support a Flexible Workplace

To learn more, please visit z.umn.edu/WorkWithFlexibility which houses information and resources, including the guidelines themselves, case studies of how they are already being applied in certain areas, an FAQ, supervisory training materials, and more.

Leadership and Talent Development in the Office of Human Resources developed resources to help supervisors build the skills needed to make these decisions and manage flexible teams. Training resources and other supervisory materials are currently available on the Work. With Flexibility. and at supervising.umn.edu. More information on supervisory training is forthcoming.

We recognize the incredible strength and patience you summoned during the past year as we navigated uncharted waters. Amazingly, we are entering new territory once again—a post-pandemic reality—that undoubtedly will require continued patience and agility, at least for the near-term. For that, we are grateful. We also are hopeful that this new phase brings great excitement for the future of work at the University.

For specific questions about the systemwide guidelines, please contact your supervisor or HR representative.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

Mark Yuran
Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources