ML22271A897
| ML22271A897 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 09/29/2022 |
| From: | Aaron Mccraw, Sean Peters NRC/EDO/AO, NRC/RGN-III |
| To: | NRC/EDO |
| Peters S | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML22271A894 | List: |
| References | |
| Download: ML22271A897 (8) | |
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C-1 Appendix - C - Complete List of HEART Recommendations Recommendation 1: Presence with Purpose - Revise policies and implementation procedures to develop a Presence with Purpose Approach -
where the staff work from specific locations for a purpose.
Sub-Recommendation Organizational Health Basis Source Policy Change Required Proposed Assignments Encourage and support more flexibility and team autonomy within the current hybrid work model (6-4)
- Empower staff and first-line supervisors to use in-person and out-of-office time in a manner to best support the mission by promoting project-based telework flexibilities Builds trust between work groups and their leaders by optimizing flexibility and team input in work modes, times, and locations. Optimizes staff productivity and engagement HEART No EDO - Office Directors and Regional Administrators Increase telework and remote work flexibilities on a position-specific basis
- Set a timeline for carrying out functional analyses by the first line supervisors for each position to determine full extent of maximum telework possibilities. Encourage an "Excellence from Everywhere" approach.
- Use existing tools (i.e., from State Dept, NASA, etc.) to evaluate job specific in-office and telework requirements Improves recruitment and retention. Optimizes staff productivity and engagement External Research and Benchmarking, Presidents Management Council No OCHCO, First Line supervisors Establish agency-wide guiding principles to communicate expectations for in-person presence
- Adopt a team-based approach to implement those criteria. Teams should consider the work that people do and define when being in person makes a measurable difference.
- Enable experimenting and piloting at team levels to define moments that matter in their work.
Builds trust between work groups and their leaders by optimizing flexibility and team input in work modes, times, and locations. Optimizes staff productivity and engagement.
External Research and Benchmarking
?
OCHCO, First Line Supervisors, Team Members Encourage the practice of multiple office visits per year for remote workers for focused events (i.e., team building, management briefings, initiating a new project team, conference-style meetings)
Promotes impromptu conversations, relationship and team building Straight to the
- HEART, External Research and Benchmarking No EDO - Office Directors and Regional Administrators
C-2 Sub-Recommendation Organizational Health Basis Source Policy Change Required Proposed Assignments Provide full-time telework options for rotational and detail assignments Promotes cross-organizational development, more opportunities for HQ/Regional experience Sr. Leader Interviews, Straight to the HEART No Office Directors and Regional Administrators Increase resident inspector "non-scheduled" telework hour limits beyond 8 to include regularly scheduled hours/meetings (i.e., plant status meetings)
- Push the decision level down to the first line supervisor.
Optimizes staff productivity and engagement Direct staff feedback Yes Regional Administrators Embrace that the hybrid environment is here to stay and cease using hybrid terminology Improves staff engagement and trust TPIWG Listening Sessions No EDO - All Offices
C-3 Recommendation 2: Equip managers and staff to work in a hybrid environment - Working in a hybrid environment takes new skills. Everyone in the agency must work together to adopt new habits and hold each other accountable to expectations. We must adopt new norms for hybrid work and learn how to be inclusive in a hybrid environment.
Sub-Recommendation Organizational Health Basis Source Policy Change Required Proposed Assignments Commit to norms and expectations for hybrid meetings and make people accountable to them
- Develop/utilize/enforce existing "norms"/etiquette and clear expectations for hybrid meeting behaviors
- Use engagement techniques to make meetings and discussions more open and collaborative
- Prevent solidly booked Teams Meeting schedules by setting 1) "no meeting zones", 2) blocks of time for training, 3.) time for personal, informal chats
- Create built-in break periods by updating the agencys Outlook settings to default to a 25-or 50-minute schedule/meeting norm (i.e., have them start 5 or 10 minutes late or end 5 or 10 minutes early)
Enhances agency culture, optimizes staff productivity, engagement, and wellbeing Agency Culture Team, HEART, Sr. Leader interviews, direct staff
- feedback, Straight to the
- HEART, External Research and Benchmarking No Agency Culture Team, First Line Supervisors OCIO Train staff to work effectively in a hybrid environment
- Utilize/Develop training, guidelines, and tools around leading in hybrid organizations, building relationships, respecting boundaries
- Advertise existing resources, best practices, tools and techniques to optimize the hybrid meeting experience.
- Schedule team training so teams learn together how to be inclusive in hybrid meetings
- Build awareness of OCIO resources for conference room equipment use. Require training on the conference room technology. Advertise the "IT concierge" to facilitate meeting room set-up.
Enhances organizational effectiveness Focus Groups, Straight to the HEART, Senior Leader Interviews No OCHCO, OCIO
C-4 Sub-Recommendation Organizational Health Basis Source Policy Change Required Proposed Assignments Develop structured support systems to optimize collaboration, knowledge management, and relationship building
- Structure activities for new employees to meet needs for onboarding, relationship building, and knowledge management. Develop new employee communities/cohorts that meet regularly (similar to NRAN, but for non-NRAN participants, expansion of Ambassadors program)
- Dedicate resources (i.e., job positions or assigned duties) to assist teams with coordinating virtual, hybrid or in-person activities to optimize collaboration and team building.
- Create and promote virtual communities to encourage cross-team interactions (Slack Channels, Virtual Coffee Breaks, Guilds) Example - technical subject guilds.
Regular meetings to discuss technical issues or interesting topics. The meeting times are charged training.
Promotes impromptu conversations, relationship and team building, enhances organizational effectiveness, improves efficiency and data tracking, enhances agency culture Direct staff feedback, NRR Hybrid Working Group, Straight to the HEART, Senior Leader Interviews No
- OCIO, OCHCO, All Offices Incorporate the competencies needed for leading in a hybrid organization into supervisory and staff Elements & Standards Improves implementation and accountability HEART, TPIWG No OCHCO, All Offices
C-5 Recommendation 3: Invest in connection through technology and space use for the future of work - The future of the office in a hybrid environment will focus more on collaboration spaces while also continuing to meet the needs of staff who prefer the office environment for independent, high-concentration tasks. Collaborative spaces should be available for in-person connection and optimized for inclusion of virtual participants.
Sub-Recommendation Organizational Health Basis Source Policy Change Required Proposed Assignments Utilize space as a tool for work/mission accomplishment
- Develop a space planning strategy to reduce office space to facilitate co-location and in-person interactions
- Build spaces to promote collaboration including temporary team spaces
- Build quiet areas for staff that need to do heads-down work.
- Promote the use of electronic records management tools, digitization of historical paper files, and shared cloud-based workspaces to reduce the amount of file cabinet and file server spaces needed
- Maximize staff involvement in the space strategy and design processes Promotes impromptu conversations, relationship and team building. Reduces feelings of isolation while in the building External Research and Benchmarking No ADM Evaluate worksite features to enhance the in-office experience (i.e., noise, lighting, food options, etc.)
- Improve conference room equipment, furniture, and layout to optimize hybrid connection and collaboration.
- Utilize noise eliminating technologies (use of headphones for meetings/noise cancelling headphones and ambient sound reducing technologies/architecture)
- Increase the timing for lights to automatically shutoff
- Bring in food options in common areas Enhances staff wellbeing and organizational effectiveness Straight to the HEART, direct staff feedback No ADM
C-6 Sub-Recommendation Organizational Health Basis Source Policy Change Required Proposed Assignments Invest in technology tools and equipment to support connection, transparency, and productivity
- Develop/Utilize applications to coordinate in-office time (work schedules)
- Develop capabilities to identify who is in the office and who is teleworking on any given day (both for individual teams and the agency as a whole).
- Pursue robust cloud storage for accessing and managing sensitive information
- Leverage available technology-based knowledge management tools for broad staff use Promotes impromptu conversations, relationship and team building HEART No OCIO, ADM Improve the telework experience
- Improve awareness of available tools and equipment to support productivity (e.g., monitors, headphones, collaboration software)
- Perform ergonomic checks, assess the need for monitors and access to printers, etc.
- Develop a home office in a box Enhances staff wellbeing and organizational effectiveness HEART No OCIO, ADM
C-7 Recommendation 4: Prioritize trust through communications - Communications related to the hybrid environment need to be authentic and demonstrate openness to listening. Decisions about the work environment should be data-based and communicated quickly and transparently to staff.
Sub-Recommendation Organizational Health Basis Source Policy Change Required Proposed Assignments Communicate with the staff, with the understanding that the staff is not a singular entity. It is a large and diverse group that has disparate views and needs.
Communicate/think about issues as if the staff is not a monolith.
Enhances effective communications, promotes understanding HEART No All Managers Acknowledge that trust has been broken and needs to be repaired. Acknowledge the mental health challenges created by the pandemic and re-entry decisions. Promote resource available to staff.
First step to rebuilding trust Agency Culture Team, HEART, direct staff
- feedback, Senior Leader Interviews No
- EDO, Senior Leaders Continually engage staff as partners in defining and designing the future of work.
- Coordinate communications about next steps with HEART and TPIWG recommendations
- Host open sessions with all employees on the hybrid working environment so that senior leaders can address concerns
- Demonstrate listening and perspective-taking in small group meetings between senior leaders and staff
- Advertise agencywide actions to show that senior leaders are listening to feedback and committed to improving the employee experience
- Clarify EDO vision and expectations for all NRC managers and staff on the new telework policy, flexibilities, can/cant dos, authorities/decision-makers, etc. Clearly explain the rationale for being in the office and expectations going forward.
Restoring Trust in Leadership and transparency with employees, Addresses concerns there is mis-alignment among leadership on interpreting and implementing telework policy Sr. Leader interviews, HEART focus groups HEART No EDO, HEART, TPIWG
C-8 Sub-Recommendation Organizational Health Basis Source Policy Change Required Proposed Assignments First line supervisors - have in-depth discussions with their staff to understand their comfort levels with in-person interactions and to identify appropriate team building activities Builds trust between work groups and their leaders by optimizing flexibility and team input in work modes, times, and locations NRR Hybrid Working Group No First Line Supervisors Recognize, in a meaningful way, front-line employees, i.e., Resident Inspectors, security officers, maintenance personnel, etc., who stayed on the job (in person) from the start of the pandemic - those who will not have maximum telework capabilities in the future Shows understanding of front-line worker issues, builds trust External Research and Benchmarking No EDO