State agencies in Missouri are working on their plan for distributed work teams. The Governor’s office has set the baseline expectations.
Before the pandemic, the Governor’s Office and the Office of Administration were working with state agencies on policies for staff that works outside the office.
Gov. Mike Parson will approve the distributed work plans before the agencies implement them.
Governor Mike Parson’s Baseline Expectations
- Managers who will lead distributed teams are expected to incorporate two MOLearning courses: Leading at a Distance and Managing Virtual Teams. Department-specific training on remote teams will also be conducted for the managers.
- Team members are expected to incorporate two MOLearning Courses: Remote Work Foundations and Building Relationships While Working at Home.
- New distributed employees would need to start in an office. They would become eligible for remote work after successfully completing two professional development sessions with a supervisor. The supervisor will also be present in-person.
- Distributed employees need to be in an office at least once a week. They will have the same responsibilities and standards whether they work in the office or remotely.
- They also need to attend important meetings in-person. This includes all professional development and department or division management meetings.
- While working remotely, employees need to have timely communication. Their department will set the specific expectations of what’s considered timely.
- Remote workers need to keep their out-of-office message and shared calendars up to date. The video mode should be turned on during virtual meetings.
- Agency plans must also include details on the eligibility criteria for distributed work, with suitable positions based on the number of professional development sessions completed and the Leadership Academy chart.
The governor’s guidance notes and expects that the Director’s Office team members should remain in-person.
“It’s a very small amount of government workers that actually fall into the categories of distributed work.”Kelli Jones, Communications Director for the Governor’s Office
According to Kelli Jones, the distributed team policy is not related to any pandemic concerns.
“I think the narrative right now is a little confusing for some because they’ve been talking about distributive work for quite some time and then COVID hit, and then we had to send quite a few workers home to work remotely. The distributed plans were never confirmed by the Governor as far as being a permanent type of setup. This is still a work in progress, and no time table has been set.”Kelli Jones, Communications Director for the Governor’s Office
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