According to a study published by the Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines agréés (CRHA)[i], at the time when the province was hard-hit by the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the great majority of businesses still had no coherent policy in place to adapt to the telework revolution.
According to a poll conducted by the firm VMWare Canada carried out in June 2020, solely 8% of Québécois working currently from their homes had any desire to return to the workplace of their employer in the future.
In the wake of that new reality, thousands of organisations in Quebec and worldwide are asking themselves how best to apply telework in order to bridge the gap between worker preferences and organizational needs.
It’s a fair bet to say that telework is “here to stay” in many if not most businesses, but the issue remains as to how to structure, plan and protect against traps and obstacles for the unwary or unprepared in this unprecedented transformation.
Whether you opt for a 100% work-at-home model, or a hybrid formula, it is crucial to lay down your markers through the implementation of an effective telework strategy.
The bedrock of this process is the drafting of a solid telework policy. This brings focus to company objectives and goals and aligns them with conduct expected of the teleworker and compliance with rules, policies and procedures of the organization.
The employer shall in particular establish clear guidelines addressing the following points:
Eligible employees
Who should be eligible for telework?
Any company contemplating the implementation of telework should first examine the nature of its job positions to verify to what extent it is practical to transfer work to remote locations. Obviously, a preliminary assessment has to determine whether the change risks being detrimental to company operations. We should recall in this respect that the decision to allow teleworking remains that of the individual employer, whether or not certain employees argue that they are more productive working at remote locations. The employer remains best positioned to assess the risks and benefits of such a change.
Obviously, the suitability of an employee for remote work has to be examined. That involves an assessment of job duties as well as interactions with clients and internal colleagues during the course of a workday. In the telework context, an employee has to be autonomous, disciplined and productive in addition to having good organizational skills. These are qualities to be sought out and emphasized during recruitment campaigns.
Work schedule
When can an employee carry out telework?
Based on the formula chosen by the business, the employer has to decide whether it will impose a strict schedule or whether the employee has to determine his or her own work hours, while guaranteeing presence during agreed-upon time windows.
Some employers define specific days when the employee has to be present, whereas others allow flexibility with respect to choice of days, but impose a more global requirement. For example, 2 – 3 days/week in the workplace, and the remainder at home.
It is also imperative to design policy so that overtime is authorized and booked. The employee naturally has to be familiar with the system in order to take days off. Telework does not mean that the employee can be absent without notice as he or she sees fit. This also applies to keeping to schedules and deadlines.
Equipment supply and reimbursement of costs
The employer has to ensure that the remote worker has any and all work tools necessary for the accomplishment of his or her duties so that he or she can be efficient and productive.
Given that, you don’t have to satisfy every last creative impulse of your employees who for example, might wish to renovate their office at home, inspired by decoration magazines. The employer first has to approve expenses and can choose the manner in which he or she will procure equipment necessary to carry out tasks.
It is therefore crucial from the outset to determine who is responsible for paying costs related to telework, such as telephony, internet, insurance, suppliers etc. This avoids heated discussions at a later time.
Issues related to data security and confidentiality
Keeping company data confidential falls within the general duty of loyalty owed by employees to their employer pursuant to the Civil Code of Quebec. Within the context of telework, the employer has less control over a broad range of workplace variables. This increases the risk of data security and confidentiality being compromised. An ounce of prevention, as they say, is worth a tetrabyte of after-the-fact data recovery…In order to avoid losses for the organization, the employer has to establish clear markers governing protection of confidential data.
Communication
Maintaining communication is a top priority within the context of telework, not only to ensure the proper running of operations, but also to maintain the sense of belonging to the organization, and to favour the exchange of ideas.
The employer shall establish an order of priority of means of communication between colleagues: emails, telephone calls, instant messaging, sharing of documents, video-conferencing or other methods, in addition to guidelines related to the time when such tools can and should be used to address unanticipated issues, carry on daily monitoring, hold team meetings, respond to emergencies etc.
By creating regular meetings with the teleworker, the employer can maintain consistency in communication and consequently, ensure efficient follow-up of completed missions, favour healthy management and prevent conflicts arising.
Performance management
Whether in the workplace or by remote contact, the employer has to determine the work plan, explain clearly established targets and schedules to the employee, and ensure that the worker has any and all tools necessary to perform his or her work. It is important to not lose that from view when teams are working from remote locations.
Training for Telework
Telework is a new reality for numerous workers. Just as in other spheres of employment, this new work structure requires certain forms of knowledge that in turn require training. Training has to include apprenticeships to master know-how (the use of equipment and software for example), but also self-management skills (management of priorities, time-management, communication etc.) necessary for optimizing telework, particularly where certain members of personnel are lacking training in the subject matter.
A telework policy should also provide the process for orientation and integration of any new resource within the context of work from a remote location.
Health and safety remain relevant!
In the world of telework, work accidents and occupational disease can still occur.
Even though the teleworker is not working on company premises, the employer is required, pursuant to the Civil Code of Quebec and the Act respecting Occupational Health and Safety, to ensure the employee’s health and safety and his or her physical integrity. It is also the employer’s duty to participate in the identification and elimination of risks of workplace accidents and occupational diseases on work premises, even where those premises are remote. Everyone has a role to play in prevention.
The telework policy therefore has to define in clear terms health and safety standards applicable to the employee’s home workspace and arrange to provide the organization with the resources necessary in order to ensure that the workplace is safe.
For example:
- Provide ergonometric advice for work at home;
- Ask your workers for a photo/video of their work environment;
- Carry out reviews and assessments of workstations by an ergonomist of their work space/environment wherever an issue is raised by a worker;
- Advise employees regularly to eliminate the cluttering of their work space/environment (after a preliminary determination of the area of the workspace);
- Inform personnel on psychosocial risks (recognize warning signs: changes in mood, irritability, insomnia, aggression, inability to stop work, etc.) and on the preventive measures implemented (creation of health breaks even during telework, determination of a precise work schedule, working in the same room to dissociate the work from private life, existence of an EAP etc.)
- Comprehensive dissemination and disclosure of company policy on telework, accompanied by information provided to employees on roles, obligations and responsibilities in all fields of prevention will allow you to minimize your risks related to health and safety in the workplace.
Policies and procedures in the event of accidents should also be reviewed in the same manner.
Taxation
Certain expenditures related to telework can be deducted pursuant to the Income Tax Act at the federal level and the Quebec Taxation Act. These terms are generally advantageous to the employee. We invite employers to disclose advantageous tax benefits to employees related to their telework policy.
Conclusion
For numerous organizations, telework is a sea change in the manner in which human resources are now managed. This profound revolution can not and should not be cobbled together an ad hoc basis. Telework implies a change in organizational culture that requires excellent communication and a global review of management models.
For workers, at a time when Quebec has been hit by the fourth wave of this pandemic, uncertainty with respect to the workplace/telework ratio and its structure is a cause of concern and irritation for many.
A good telework policy both informs and reassures employees with respect to their rights and obligations within the framework of telework while protecting the employer against potential conflicts and disputes.
If you would like to discuss any of the rapidly evolving challenges brought on by telework, our professionals in human resources would be pleased to accompany you in the development of your telework policy.
[i] Findings of the Baromètre RH inquiry report, published in June 2020 by the Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines agréés
