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• Remote Work Guidelines v1.4 - updated April 4, 2023
• Eligibility List by Position - updated April 5, 2024
• Remote Work Agreement Form - due by September 30, 2022
• Remote Work Eligibility List Change Request Process - updated September 27, 2022

PPS REMOTE WORK
September 1, 2022

Dear Colleagues, 

The back-to-school season is here and, as you continue to support our PPS students, educators and families,  we want to share some important updates regarding customer service expectations, remote work, and central office operations. 

Over the last year, the Superintendent’s Leadership Team listened to your feedback about remote work and each cabinet-level leader worked with their teams to recommend a supportive work environment that is rooted in our core values, differentiated to meet the needs of a variety of central office roles, and provides the care and service our schools and community deserve. Below you will find more information about the implementation of our customer service expectations and remote work guidelines. 

Customer Service Expectations 
Over the summer, each team developed customer service expectations. These commitments are critically important for us to demonstrate, especially as we provide central office staff with flexibility and remote work options. 

As part of our continuous improvement, throughout the course of this year, the Superintendent’s Leadership Team will review direct feedback from schools, analyze metrics and escalations (if service expectations are not met). Teams will then update their customer service expectations based on the analysis. 

As our Superintendent shared in his opening of schools message to school leaders, raising our level of service to schools will remain a top priority for us as central office staff. If you have not already, please begin to implement with fidelity the shared PPS service expectations and your department-specific expectations to support school staff and families.  Customer service expectations for all departments can be found here. If you have additional questions, please reach out to your supervisor or cabinet-level leader. 

Remote Work 
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations like PPS became more adaptive and flexible, demonstrating our collective ability to be highly productive while working remotely. It reshaped the way we engaged, both virtually and in-person, with one another. We believe that through thoughtful implementation of the lessons learned from the last two years and a consistent set of customer service expectations, we can continue to provide excellent customer service in service of our mission and provide the system more flexibility to meet today’s workforce demands.

Eligibility 
Cabinet-level leaders reviewed each individual position, considering a variety of factors to determine the level of eligibility. Each position is unique and requires careful consideration of factors, such as, but not limited to, if the role provided direct support to students required access to tools, equipment or other requirements that are located on-site, type of job responsibilities, etc. Additionally, in coordination with Human Resources, the level of eligibility was determined based on recruitment efforts to date and an understanding of current workforce needs.

Please note: Employees in positions that are eligible for flexible or remote work are not required to work remotely; employees are welcome to work from the central office. 

Below are the categories of work eligibility for central office employees:

The approved eligibility level for each central office position is available here. If you have questions or would like to discuss this further, please contact your supervisor.

Guidelines 

Please review the updated PPS Employee Remote Work Guidelines here. 

This document includes important information about the remote work best practices, expectations, and supports. 

Please note changes to guidelines from a previous version:

• Every office must ensure a physical presence in their department Monday through Friday. This is to support our educators, colleagues and community members who need in-person support at the PEC. Supervisors or cabinet-level leaders will work with teams to ensure there is appropriate coverage. 

• Every PPS staff member must be available for any in-person standing or ad hoc staff meeting required by their supervisor or cabinet-level leaders.

• Workspaces must clearly indicate if an employee is working remotely and how to contact them and an out of office message is placed on email and voicemail when appropriate and directs staff who to contact during your absence (see guidance and templates in the remote work guidelines).

Important Next Step
All central office staff working in any remote eligible position (ad-hoc, hybrid, or full remote) must submit the updated remote work agreement form to their supervisor before an employee can begin their new schedule (or continue in their regular schedule if there are no changes), or by September 30, whichever comes first. The form is available in the PPS Employee Remote Work Guidelines (v1.2), Appendix A. Completed and signed forms must be uploaded .

September 16, 2021

As we continuously upgrade our safety measures, our transition to in-person work is now moving into the next phase. Eligible employees who would like to regularly work remotely up to 2 of their scheduled days per week need to review and submit their proposed schedules to their supervisors, and then forward the approved agreement to Human Resources. 

The Central Office Remote Work Guidelines, position eligibility list, agreement, and exception forms have been finalized and are available here. 

Due dates and roll-out phases are as follows:

Thursday, September 30 - After discussion and with your supervisor, remote work agreement form(s) are due to HR.
Week of October 4 - Return to central office a minimum of one day per week.
Week of October 11 - Return to central office a minimum of two days per week.
Week of October 18 - Return to central office, begin regular remote work schedule.
Monday, October 18 - Statewide vaccine requirement in effect.
January & June 2022 - Review of remote work protocols.

Please connect with your supervisor and review the Central Office Remote Work Guidelines for suggestions on how to create a hybrid schedule that maximizes service to our schools, collaboration across teams, and coverage and teamwork within your immediate team.  

 

August 10, 2021

Targeting September 17 Implementation/Expectation of Schedules.

We announced last month that there will be options for remote work schedules, including as many as 2 remote days a week. Here is a look at our Central Office Remote Work Guidelines, which are very close to final. Our remote work option is scheduled to go into effect September 17.  During the transition between now and October 1, there remains flexibility to do some of your work remotely.  You can work with your supervisor on your schedule.

As we stated before, this remote work plan will continue to be assessed and, as needed, refined by January 2022 and again by July 2022 and will be guided by the success of the plan, fidelity of implementation and staff feedback.

Please stay tuned for more information and a calendar of our upcoming PPS HQ Community Days.