ML22272A007

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Hybrid Environment Assessment and Review Team (Heart) Final Report
ML22272A007
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Issue date: 09/30/2022
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U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Hybrid Environment Assessment and Review Team HEART Report September 2022

Executive Summary The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commissions (NRCs) Executive Director for Operations directed the creation of the Hybrid Environment Assessment and Review Team (HEART) to provide recommendations to agency senior leadership on how to optimize organizational health in a hybrid work environment, now and in the future [HEART Charter]. The HEART, a group of NRC employees with diverse perspectives and experiences from across the agency, performed extensive research and outreach - both internal and external - to identify best practices and recommendations to improve the NRCs hybrid working experience.

The HEART has four recommendations based on an extensive review of external resources; benchmarking with other organizations, including government agencies; and internal outreach, including one-on-one interviews, an open discussion in a Microsoft Teams channel, and focus groups facilitated by an independent external organization.

The four recommendations are:

1. Establish a Presence with Purpose Approach to the work environment that emphasizes being intentional about connection and flexibility regarding location of where work is performed.

Employees work from in-person locations, as needed, to accomplish work that normally cannot be performed remotely (e.g., work requiring access to sensitive information). In-person interactions should be considered to help us connect, collaborate, create, and celebrate with our peers, teams, and coworkers.

2. Equip managers and staff to work in a hybrid environment. Working in a hybrid environment requires new skills and a refocus on existing skills. Everyone in the agency must work together to adopt new habits and hold each other accountable to expectations. The NRC must develop new norms for hybrid work and continue learning how to be inclusive in a hybrid environment.
3. Invest in connection through technology and space use for the future of work. Technology connects us, supports effective knowledge transfer in a hybrid environment, and has proven to be effective since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The future of the office in a hybrid environment should 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.

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-driven and communicated quickly and transparently to staff.

This report addresses each of these recommendations, provides the basis for each recommendation and the supporting internal and external research, and offers steps forward to implementation. Although this report does not specifically focus on staffs COVID-related health and safety concerns, these recommendations are expected to provide greater flexibility for staff and managers to address any health and safety concerns going forward.

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Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................2 Our Purpose..............................................................................................................................4 Our Environment ......................................................................................................................5 Our Methodology .....................................................................................................................7 Internal Information Collection ................................................................................................7 One-on-One Senior Leader Interviews .....................................................................................7 Straight to the HEART Channel .................................................................................................7 Focus Groups ............................................................................................................................7 Review of Internal Data ............................................................................................................7 External Information Collection ...............................................................................................8 Literature Review .....................................................................................................................8 Benchmarking with Other Organizations .................................................................................8 Our Recommendations .........................................................................................................8 Recommendation 1 - Establish Presence with Purpose ..........................................................9 Guiding Principles for In-Person Presence .............................................................................10 Some work can only be performed in-person - Location-Dependent ...................................10 Some work may be performed better in-person or in flexible locations- Location-Independent ............................................................................10 Actions for Implementing Recommendation 1 ......................................................................11 Be riskSMART Analysis............................................................................................................11 Policy Implications of Presence with Purpose ........................................................................11 Recommendation 2 - Equip Managers and Staff to Work in a Hybrid Environment .............12 Train All Staff to Work Effectively in a Hybrid Environment ..................................................12 Train Leaders on the Competencies Needed for Leading in a Hybrid Organization...............12 Implement Strategies to Promote Effective Communication and Accountability in a Hybrid Organization ........................................................................12 Develop Structured Support Systems to Optimize Collaboration, Knowledge Management, and Relationship-building...........................................................13 Current Staff ...........................................................................................................................13 New Staff ................................................................................................................................13 Actions for Implementing Recommendation 2 ......................................................................13 Recommendation 3 - Invest in Connection through Technology and Space Use ..................14 Actions for Implementing Recommendation 3 ......................................................................14 Recommendation 4 - Prioritize Trust through Communications ...........................................15 Actions for Implementing Recommendation 4 ......................................................................16 Our Conclusions......................................................................................................................17 3lHE AR T R e p o rt September 2022

Our Purpose By letter dated April 20, 2022, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commissions (NRC) Executive Director for Operations (EDO) directed the Hybrid Environment Assessment and Review Team (HEART) to provide, by September 30, 2022, recommendations to agency senior leadership on how to optimize organizational health in a hybrid work environment now and in the future.

To accomplish this mission, the Office of the EDO formed a team of NRC employees with diverse perspectives and experiences representing a cross-section of the agency (see Appendix A for the team composition). The HEART sought to gain insights on what has worked well and what could be improved in the initial implementation of the NRCs new hybrid work environment following re-entry from mandatory and increased telework due to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). The HEART performed extensive outreach to staff and management via focus groups, one-one-one interviews, a Teams channel, and other direct communications. The HEART also conducted external research and benchmarking, including literature reviews and interviews with other federal agencies and private sector organizations, to identify trends and best practices when working in hybrid environments. See Appendix B for definitions. In conducting its evaluation and formulating its recommendations, the HEART used three key tenets to keep in balance to help optimize organizational health: our mission, our culture, and our future.

Based on the tasking from the EDO, the HEART assumed for the purposes of its recommendations that the NRC would continue to operate in a hybrid work environment that combines aspects of both telework and in-person work. This assumption was used as a bounding condition for the teams assessment. In other words, it was assumed that the NRC was unlikely to adopt either a full in-office posture (no/minimal telework) or completely eliminate its in-office presence (fully remote work).

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Our Environment The NRC has a long history of operating with a distributed workforce in the form of regional offices, site inspection staff, and headquarters staff located in different buildings. The distribution of the NRC workforce expanded over time as more staff began to telework more frequently. Tools like Skype, Microsoft Teams, virtual desktops, and laptops have enhanced the ability to perform work outside of a traditional office environment. As such, the number of people teleworking on a regular basis has steadily increased since 2005.

Further, the agencys share of full-time teleworkers, also known as remote workers, has grown steadily from 1.8% in 2016 to 4.5% in March 2022. As of July 2022, that number had grown to 7%.

The COVID-19 PHE vastly accelerated the NRCs use of telework. On March 19, 2020, when the EDO directed the NRC staff to begin mandatory telework operations, the agency shifted from mostly in-office to almost entirely remote operations in a single day. In June 2020, the agency transitioned from mandatory telework to maximum telework and continued in maximum telework status through most of 2021. During this transition, NRC leadership took proactive steps to increase engagement with the staff, tackle technological and process challenges, and maintain strong working relationships. Staff perceptions of the agencys actions during this time were largely positive, as can be seen through responses to the questions on COVID-19 response in the 2020 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS). Throughout these workplace changes, the NRC continued to meet its strategic objectives and performance goals for Fiscal Years 2019, 2020, and 2021.

The NRC exited maximum telework on November 7, 2021; however, based on the rise of new COVID-19 variants, the NRC used existing flexible workplace options to continue increased telework through March 15, 2022.

The communications from NRC management about the basis for the re-entry decision stated a desire to resume in-person interactions to support relationship-building and enhance the agencys ability to achieve its mission. For re-entry, the NRC adopted a hybrid work policy that permits approval of four (4) in-office days and six (6) telework days per pay period at the first-line supervisor level.

Other telework arrangements up to full-time telework are permitted with additional levels of management approval.

Prior to the PHE, norms and expectations regarding telework varied among offices and 5lHE AR T R e p o rt September 2022

regions at the NRC. Telework was infrequent among supervisory staff. In the 2019 FEVS, 37% of respondents indicated they teleworked 1-2 days per week, 32% teleworked less frequently, 8%

teleworked more frequently, and 22% did not telework at all.

The prolonged experience of maximum telework during the COVID-19 PHE drastically changed expectations for what was possible and what was acceptable regarding telework. The hybrid work model adopted by the NRC upon re-entry was an expansion of generally accepted norms that existed prior to the pandemic. However, as evidenced by the HEARTs internal outreach activities, many staff did not perceive the fixed hybrid model as an expansion of flexibilities based on their telework experiences prior to and during the PHE (see Appendices G, H, and J).

Partly due to the timing of the NRCs re-entry decision during the rise of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, many staff also felt that decisions to resume regular in-person schedules did not adequately consider their well-being or diverse needs and situations (see Appendix K). The HEARTs internal outreach activities also revealed that some staff perceived that management was taking a very restrictive approach to approval of more than six days of telework per pay period, including special circumstance and full-time telework agreements. Overall, many staff felt a loss of autonomy and lack of trust from the agencys senior leaders.

The NRCs communications and decisions about re-entry substantially contributed to declines in FEVS survey scores from 2020 to 2021 and resulted in the agencys significant drop from 12th to 20th in the Partnership for Public Service Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings for mid-size agencies in 2022. This decline represents a risk to organizational health in the form of decreased employee engagement, which has been shown to affect productivity and organizational commitment, and can lead to increased turnover [Gallup].

Based on its research, staff feedback, and management input, the HEART believes that the current state of the NRCs hybrid work environment does not optimize organizational health. Feedback from staff suggests that when implementing the current hybrid work model, strict compliance with in-office days, as specified in ones telework agreement, appears to take precedence at the expense of intentional use of the office as a resource to accomplish work and facilitate in-person connections. Further, many staff expressed concerns about personal health and safety when in-person as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, which may impede full realization of a new normal hybrid work environment.

Because of the unpredictable nature of the pandemic and its impacts on the future of work, the HEART did not specifically focus on the health and safety impacts of COVID-19 as part of this report or in its recommendations. However, the HEART believes that implementation of its recommendations may reduce some of the burden on staff pursuing workplace flexibilities related to their personal health and safety. The HEART encourages NRC senior leaders to continue to exercise and extend understanding to staff while COVID-19 remains a serious concern for the health of employees and their loved ones.

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Our Methodology Internal Information Collection The HEART performed numerous outreach activities across the agency. It received direct feedback from the staff through presentations, email, conversations, and coordination with various special working groups. In addition, the HEART performed one-on-one interviews with senior leaders, opened a Teams channel to promote feedback and conversation, and facilitated focus group interviews to obtain information on best practices and areas for improvement in the hybrid work environment.

One-on-One Senior Leader Interviews The HEART conducted 26 one-on-one interviews with senior leaders across the agency to understand their perspectives and learn about their experiences in the hybrid work environment. The HEART engaged senior leaders from all levels of leadership, including from all four regions, program offices, corporate and mission support offices, as well as commission-level offices.

Straight to the HEART Channel The HEART created a channel in Microsoft Teams called Straight to the HEART. Six hundred forty-nine (649) staff voluntarily joined the Team to participate in 11 open-ended questions and 7 poll questions posted roughly weekly. The channel received 314 written comments from 73 individuals, more than 1000 reactions (thumbs up, heart, etc.), and an average of 97 responses per poll question. See Appendix H for a summary of the written comments and poll responses. The HEART used information from the channel to formulate recommendations and shape questions to support further interactions.

Focus Groups The HEART leveraged a contract with Pacific Research and Evaluation (PRE) to independently facilitate agencywide focus groups from the following categories of staff:

Employees hired since January 1, 2022 (i.e., relatively new Administrative Professional Inspection Staff (Resident) employees) Staff Employees with full-time telework arrangements Inspection Staff (Non-Resident) Technical Staff Branch Chiefs and Team Leaders (i.e., first-line supervisors) Managers and Senior Leaders Corporate Support Staff Nuclear Regulator Apprenticeship Network participants Random Selection All staff were invited to volunteer to participate in the focus groups. Volunteers were sorted based on pre-defined categories so that the focus groups could include people with similar job duties or work experiences. Focus groups were limited to 8 to 12 participants. If more than 12 people from a particular category volunteered, a random selection of volunteers from that category was chosen to participate.

Moreover, to provide assurance that the focus groups represented the views of staff from across the agency, two focus groups were set up based on a random selection of staff. For the random groups, staff that had already volunteered for a focus group and managers were excluded. The results of the random focus groups did not differ from the other staff-level or supervisor-level focus groups in a material way.

See Appendix G for PREs focus group summary report.

Review of Internal Data The HEART studied lessons learned, employee feedback surveys, and reports from various agency working groups that evaluated topics such as re-entry, the hybrid environment, recruitment and retention, culture, and organizational effectiveness. These agency working groups found similar vulnerabilities in the NRCs organizational health, and the HEART captured their recommendations for addressing the identified issues. See Appendix C for a complete list of recommendations HEART received (not all are represented in this report), Appendix J for a summary of the results of other NRC working groups, and Appendix K for a summary of the internal data review performed by the HEART.

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External Information Collection To generate ideas for improving the NRCs organizational health, the HEART performed extensive literature reviews and scans of industry and other government agencies for trends and best practices when working in hybrid environments.

Literature Review The HEART reviewed more than 100 scientific journal articles, reports, news articles, podcasts, webinars, workshops, etc. to understand the best practices and lessons learned when implementing hybrid work models. A summary of the literature review appears in Appendix D.

Benchmarking with Other Organizations The HEART benchmarked 39 external organizations - government and non-government - through interviews and literature reviews. The HEART also followed the Presidents Management Council meetings on government-wide re-entry and hybrid working environment issues. Appendices E and F capture the summary of external organization benchmarking findings.

Our Recommendations Based on the confluence of our environment and our methodology, as laid out in the appendices to this report, the HEART has four primary recommendations to help optimize the overall hybrid experience, not just the environment, now and in the future. The four recommendations are: 1) establish a Presence with Purpose approach; 2) equip managers and staff to work in a hybrid environment; 3) invest in connection through technology and space use; and 4) prioritize trust through communications. Each recommendation is discussed in more the proceeding sections of this report. A complete list of recommendations can be found in Appendix C.

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Recommendation 1 - Establish Presence with Purpose The NRC should adopt a Presence with Purpose approach that emphasizes connecting with intentionality and flexibility with location based on work activities. Under a Presence with Purpose approach, employees go to in-person locations, as needed, to accomplish work that cannot be performed remotely (e.g., work requiring access to sensitive information). In-person interactions should be encouraged to help us connect, collaborate, create, and celebrate with our peers, teams, and coworkers.

The appropriateness of different types of hybrid work schedules varies greatly by organizational function, team, role, and individual. There is no ideal one-size-fits-all answer. Therefore, the decisions on when, where, and how to engage in in-person activities is best made at the team and branch levels.

A Presence with Purpose approach is a philosophy, more so than a work model. Under a Presence with Purpose approach, staff and their immediate supervisors are encouraged to routinely engage in meaningful dialogue about the teams need to engage in in-person activities. While immediate supervisors may bring staff into the office when needed, a Presence with Purpose approach leverages trust to facilitate a common understanding of the need for in-office presence and drives commitment for meaningful in-person interactions. A Presence with Purpose approach promotes flexibility with a teams in-person connections to maximize the benefits of being in their coworkers presence.

The HEART heard feedback from staff and managers through its solicitation efforts that the staff have feelings of isolation while working in the office as a result of the current telework posture, frustrations with attending a string of virtual meetings from their assigned workspaces on their scheduled in-office days, and feelings that they are missing out on valuable in-person activities on their scheduled telework days (e.g., impromptu meetings, celebrations, after-hours get togethers, etc.). See Appendices G, H, and I.

A Presence with Purpose approach aims to address these scenarios, as well as others, to build better connections and optimize in-person presence.

For example, the HEART found that some staff and managers adhere to a fixed two-days-per-week in-office schedule due in part to the layout and interpretation of NRC Form 624, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Telework Program Participation Agreement. The form prompts users to specify a start and end time, then indicate the days of the week for working at the regular office or the approved alternate worksite. While there does not appear to be any policy restrictions that would prevent supervisors and staff from changing their in-person days in any given week to support purposeful in-person interactions, the HEART received direct feedback that some supervisors require their staff to adhere to the fixed, routine telework schedule provided on NRC Form 624 because of a perceived lack of flexibility once the telework agreement has been signed.

A Presence with Purpose approach aims to build a culture of commitment versus compliance. The NRC should strive to create a work experience where staff are committed to being in-person for the moments that matter, and this can best be achieved by promoting flexibility and allowing adjustments to the staffs schedules as needed (in the current posture) to maximize in-person interactions. The office and in-person connections should be viewed as tools to accomplish the mission.

A Presence with Purpose approach can be scalable. It can be implemented immediately under the agencys current telework posture by empowering staff and their immediate supervisors to exercise flexibilities with their scheduled in-person activities. It can also be scaled to any future changes in agency telework posture or policy.

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Guiding Principles for In-Person Presence The scalability of a Presence with Purpose approach is derived from establishing guiding principles to provide sidelines and goalposts to help teams and immediate supervisors identify the moments that matter. One set of potential guiding principles identifies the four key categories of moments that matter as connect, collaborate, create, and celebrate. This framework is based on the HEARTs literature research and external benchmarking. It is presented in the following image as an easy-to-remember mnemonic device: the 4 Cs.

The 4 Cs guiding principles can be used as the foundation for discussions between staff and their immediate supervisor regarding in-person activities. The HEART acknowledges that another key driver in the conversations between staff and their immediate supervisors is the nature of each individuals work.

The HEART offers the following insights regarding the assessment of individual work assignments to help facilitate a Presence with Purpose approach:

Some work can only be performed in-person - Location-Dependent During mandatory telework, roughly 330 people, including contractors, had specific duties that could only be performed on site at NRC headquarters, such as security operations, facilities cleaning, and maintenance. The NRCs inspection programs also maintained location-specific, in-person presence during this period. However, with over 2,000 staff members on mandatory and then maximum telework, the NRC continued to meet its strategic objectives and performance goals during this period.

Some work may be performed better in-person or in flexible locations- Location-Independent Performing work that can only be done on site (i.e., inspection, security, facilities, sensitive information, etc.) is not the only reason for in-person presence. There are other work activities that, while not requiring an in-person presence, may nevertheless see measurable improvement from an in-person presence. Therefore, when considering when in-person presence is beneficial, staff and leaders should consider the type of work they do, who they interact with regularly, and how their team operates.

Factors to consider when establishing team-specific guidelines for a Presence with Purpose approach include whether team members work interdependently or independently:

  • Highly interdependent teams rely on one another to do the work and may need more regular in-person time for collaboration and other synchronous activities.
  • Highly independent teams primarily complete their work individually and asynchronously.

Independent teams can afford to have more flexible schedules or locations but still need to be intentional about establishing in-person time for the 4 Cs.

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In addition, there are work activities that may be best accomplished when staff have the autonomy to choose where to perform those activities. By supporting flexibilities that allow staff to use work location as a tool for mission accomplishment, a Presence with Purpose approach could potentially increase overall individual productivity, improve the employee experience, reduce infrastructure costs, reduce absenteeism, and enhance employee recruitment and retention. These expected outcomes, which result from the increase in workplace flexibility, are strongly supported by the literature. See Appendix D.

As previously noted, the appropriateness of different types of hybrid work schedules and work location varies greatly by organizational function, team, role, and individual. A Presence with Purpose approach allows teams the flexibility and autonomy to establish a schedule or rhythm around in-person activities that makes sense for their assigned duties, responsibilities, and interdependent work. As we learn to navigate through this new work environment together, teams should be empowered to experiment in order to optimize their own in-person presence and rhythm to best support the agencys mission and the organizational health. A Presence with Purpose approach, coupled with guiding principles such as the 4 Cs, could help address Recommendation 7 from the Corporate Support Working Groups report, issued on September 19, 2022.

Actions for Implementing Recommendation 1

1. Establish agencywide guiding principles, such as the 4 Cs, for in-person presence.
2. Empower staff and immediate supervisors to adapt in-person schedules, as needed, based on the individuals and the teams assigned duties, responsibilities, and interdependent work.

Be riskSMART Analysis The HEART performed an analysis of this recommendation using the Be riskSMART framework. The remaining recommendations in the report are independent of this recommendation and could be implemented without the adoption of a Presence with Purpose approach. However, the HEART believes that the remaining recommendations compliment the Presence with Purpose approach and by virtue are included in the Be riskSMART analysis as they mitigate the identified challenges and support the identified opportunities. The HEARTs Be riskSMART analysis serves as a comparison between the current telework posture immediately following re-entry and the adoption of a Presence with Purpose approach. Appendix L contains the complete discussion of the Be riskSMART analysis. Based on this analysis, the HEART determined that the greatest opportunity of a Presence with Purpose approach would be flexibility. This opportunity is expected to lead to improved recruitment and retention. The HEART determined that the greatest challenge would be managing consistency when determination of in-person presence is delegated to immediate supervisors. However, Recommendation 2 includes tools that help mitigate this challenge. In summary, the HEART determined that the identified opportunities would have substantial and lasting benefits for the relatively small and manageable risks of the identified challenges.

Policy Implications of Presence with Purpose The HEART was not chartered to revise NRCs policies nor, by extension, the agencys Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). As previously noted, a Presence with Purpose approach can be applied within the context of existing NRC policies and the CBA. However, the HEART believes and recommended to senior agency leadership that NRC policies and practices need to be revised to further increase flexibility in the use of telework and to expand the use of remote work options (inside and outside of the locality) to realize all the potential benefits of a Presence with Purpose approach. In response, the EDO chartered the Telework Policy Implementation Working Group (TPIWG), composed of Senior Executives.

See the TPIWG Charter. The HEART worked closely with the TPIWG, sharing its research and recommendations, and looks forward to seeing their recommended policy changes.

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Recommendation 2 - Equip Managers and Staff to Work in a Hybrid Environment Working in a hybrid environment requires new skills and a refocus on existing skills. Everyone at the NRC must work together to adopt new habits and hold each other accountable to expectations. As such, the NRC should take the steps outlined below to better prepare managers and staff to work effectively in a hybrid environment.

Train All Staff to Work Effectively in a Hybrid Environment As the NRC moves toward a more digital environment with e-concurrence and project tracking, the staff and managers must learn to leverage these tools to work effectively and manage their workloads in a manner that facilitates progress tracking. In the hybrid work environment, especially where the staff are located across numerous time zones, the capability to collaborate and track the progress of asynchronous work becomes more important. Digital tools such as SharePoint document libraries, Microsoft Teams Channels, and others help teams to work effectively regardless of schedule or location.

Not all staff and managers feel equipped to take advantage of the tools that are available. See Appendices G, H, and I. To facilitate the continued shift toward more digital ways of working and empower staff and managers to work effectively in a hybrid environment, the NRC should make training available to staff and managers that will help staff transition away from legacy systems of file management (network drives) and information collection (PDF forms) toward more dynamic and interactive ways of performing work.

Equipping staff and managers with the skills they will need is key to the success of NRCs future.

Train Leaders on the Competencies Needed for Leading in a Hybrid Organization The NRC should select and develop supervisors and managers (i.e., leaders) based on the competencies needed for leading hybrid organizations. In an effective hybrid environment, work must be tracked and evaluated based on deliverables, not based on physical office coverage. This may represent a change in management style for some leaders. The hybrid environment requires leaders to implement new techniques for fostering communication, staff engagement, and trust. As such, NRC should provide practical training to all leaders on the skills required to lead in the hybrid environment. Prioritizing the development of leaders with these skills is important to the success of NRCs future.

Implement Strategies to Promote Effective Communication and Accountability in a Hybrid Organization The NRC should use strategies that support effective communication and accountability. Effective communication and accountability in a hybrid environment require intentional touchpoints between staff and their immediate supervisor. The frequency and formality of touchpoints may depend on the nature of the work and individual work style preferences. For example, touchpoints may be more frequent for new staff. What is important is that staff and their immediate supervisors have regular, intentional one-on-one interactions to promote effective communication and accountability. One strategy for structuring one-on-one meetings is using a 5P meeting format, as presented by Dr. David Arrington at the NRC Executive Leadership Seminar on September 21, 2022. The 5P meeting format consists of discussing:

1. Progress: Up to three things you have achieved in the past period (e.g., week, month)
2. Plans: Up to three things you plan to do in the next period
3. Problems: Up to three problems you have encountered with which you need outside help
4. Prevail: How you will overcome those problems
5. Priorities: What you think you need to focus on Having intentional touchpoints between staff and their immediate supervisors is important for organizational health in hybrid organizations.

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Develop Structured Support Systems to Optimize Collaboration, Knowledge Management, and Relationship-building To support continued growth and development of the current staff and to successfully onboard new staff to the agency, NRC should develop structured support systems to optimize collaboration, knowledge management, and relationship-building.

Current Staff Deliberate and intentional in-person interactions play a key role in professional development and relationship-building. This in-person connection does not occur only in the office. It may occur during work travel, inspections, conferences, training, etc.

In-person time for the current staff would be primarily project-based work and meetings. There is no concrete formula for how often to meet in-person for these activities. Meeting in-person must be based on the work, people involved, comfort with technology, etc. The HEART did not see conclusive research indicating that interpersonal connections can only be built in-person. For instance, in the Straight to the HEART discussions, a number of staff indicated that some of their strongest working relationships were with people they had never met in-person. See Appendix H. Research has shown that the more flexibility employees have, the more connected they feel toward their organizations, and hence, the better the culture (Gartner).

The current practice of bringing remote staff to the office periodically, a few times a year, for check-ins and meetings is reported to have significant value. See Appendices G and H. Remote work should not exclude meeting in-person. The in-person meetings should be purposeful and the local or in-office staff should be available when the remote workers return for their check-ins. The frequency and duration of check-ins should be team dependent.

New Staff Many newer staff indicated that in-person interactions were critical for their professional development, relationship-building, and understanding of NRCs culture. See Appendices G and H. A Presence with Purpose approach includes being intentional with onboarding activities to create a sense of belonging and connectedness for new employees. The Nuclear Regulator Apprenticeship Network, NRAN, serves as an excellent model for onboarding staff into the agency and orienting them to the NRCs culture. The NRC does not have a program like this for all staff joining the agency. Therefore, the NRC should expand existing orientation programs, such as the NRC Ambassadors Program, to include a cohort system for new hires that incorporates intentional, organized in-person and virtual activities. In addition, supervisors should ensure that branch and team members are present in-person, to the extent needed, to provide training, orientation, and relationship development for new hires.

Actions for Implementing Recommendation 2

1. Offer training on the tools to staff and supervisors to help manage work in a hybrid environment.

Training and familiarization with the tools already available, including but not limited to Microsoft 365, should continue.

2. Refocus supervisors and managers to lead in a hybrid environment based on managing work to targets and goals, not just physical office coverage.
3. Encourage use of proven strategies for effective communication and accountability in a hybrid environment, such as scheduled, intentional one-on-one meetings between staff and their immediate supervisors.
4. Schedule and manage work, as appropriate, using technology.
5. Encourage workgroups to plan for periodic in-person, project-based work and meetings, based on the needs of the team and the agency.
6. Leverage and build upon the NRC Ambassadors Program to help orient and familiarize new hires, creating both in-person and virtual opportunities for connection and training.

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Recommendation 3 - Invest in Connection through Technology and Space Use The use of technology and space plays a key role in creating a more inclusive and productive work experience in the hybrid environment. Recent technological advances (i.e., Microsoft Teams) have significantly increased the ability to collaborate and the methods to interact for the NRCs geographically distributed teams. While many staff were grateful for the investment the agency has made in its Information Technology infrastructure and tools, the NRC should continue to leverage available technology and equipment to enhance the office and virtual experience. See Appendix H. One such example has to do with accessing certain types of sensitive information that current practice requires physical presence at an NRC facility to handle and manage. Other organizations have created secure, paperless, remote frameworks for managing sensitive information. For instance, Microsoft now offers a secure cloud for the government (Top Secret).

The COVID-19 PHE has changed the landscape of office space for knowledge workers globally for the foreseeable future. For todays knowledge worker, a laptop is as much of a tool for business/mission accomplishment as a physical office space. Prior to the pandemic, people tended to spend more than two-thirds of their time collaborating, away from their office desks (GSA). With many organizations adopting hybrid or fully virtual workplaces upon re-entry, that means even more of the current office space is going unused or is not optimized for in-person presence. The NRC should optimize its physical space to promote collaboration and connection. For example, in NRC Headquarters One White Flint North building, a typical floor with 90 people has 3 or 4 conference rooms. In Two White Flint North, floors have nearly 150 people and have 7 or 8 conference rooms. The relatively low proportion of collaborative spaces can cause challenges for team interactions. Also, many of the rooms are not optimally equipped to support hybrid meetings due to fixed position cameras, central audio devices, and an inability to efficiently share traditional collaborations tools like white boards. The HEART acknowledges that the agency has made considerable strides before and during the PHE to continue to modernize the technological capabilities of our shared-use spaces.

As previously noted, the HEART heard frustration from some staff regarding their feelings of loneliness or isolation in the office space with reduced occupancy. Many of the same staff also provided comments and shared their feelings regarding the lighting, heating and cooling, and lack of convenient food services that are byproducts of the reduced occupancy. These conditions gave some staff a sense of not being valued or appreciated while in the office. The HEART provided these observations to senior agency leaders and acknowledges that the agency is addressing many of the concerns, as is the case with the recent announcement of limited food service returning to the White Flint campus. The agencys Innovation Programs platform could serve as an effective means of soliciting and gathering additional feedback and ideas for improving technology and space in the future of the agency.

Actions for Implementing Recommendation 3

1. Continue to explore and adopt viable technology-based alternatives for traditional means of conducting operations (e.g., remote monitoring and response capabilities) and further leverage the use of knowledge management tools for information storage and sharing.
2. Enhance the NRCs working spaces to promote connection and collaboration, while maintaining sufficient quiet spaces for staff work needs.
3. Use the Innovation Programs platform to solicit and gather specific staff feedback on ideas for improving technology and space in the hybrid environment.

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Recommendation 4 - Prioritize Trust through Communications The NRC should prioritize trust by ensuring that communications about the hybrid environment are authentic and transparent, demonstrate an openness to listening and making changes, and show the staff that they are valued. Experiences with full-time telework work during the COVID-19 PHE have drastically changed the staffs expectations and assumptions about the future of work. In the focus groups, Straight to the HEART Teams Channel, and interviews with senior managers, numerous mentions were made of perceived missteps in agency communication on the NRCs re-entry and hybrid work posture. See Appendices G, H, and I.

The NRC is not unique in its hybrid work environment communication and decision-making issues. Other organizations have received similar negative feedback when communicating their one-size fits all approach to the hybrid environment. However, organizations that engaged staff early and included them in the design of their teams working environment saw much better engagement and buy-in of management decisions. See Appendix E for discussions on various organizational approaches to the hybrid environment and Appendix F for external organization work model summaries.

Going forward, when making decisions about the hybrid work environment, agency senior leaders should endeavor to gather information from the staff for consideration, where appropriate. Further, communications concerning any decisions made about the future of NRCs hybrid environment should provide a clear explanation for those decisions. Both the feedback received by the HEART and during the listening sessions conducted by the TPIWG made it clear that many staff want to understand the bases for the NRCs approach to telework and in-person time and feel that transparent communications on these topics are important for maintaining trust in agency senior leadership.

Here are some high-level concepts that are expected to improve communication, which will lead to increased trust:

1. Gather input from staff and consider that information when making major decisions involving work-life balance and the hybrid environment, to the extent feasible.
2. Specify the rationale for decisions concerning the hybrid environment, which should be based on data or research, to the extent practicable. The staff will not always agree with a decision, but if they understand the reason the decision was made and feel that their input was considered, it can improve trust.
3. Communicate using methods that allow for two-way communication and immediate feedback, when possible. Announcements and broadcast meetings do not always provide the staff with an effective means to share their opinions or concerns.
4. Be clear on who, specifically, is providing the message. Using phrases like senior leadership creates uncertainty as not all offices report to the same senior leaders. Ensuring that staff know who is providing the message will help give context for the messaging. Also, there is benefit for the staff to hear how senior leaderships vision for the future of work aligns with that of the Commissioners.

embrace this singular opportunity for change and work with the staff -- closely, transparently, with curiosity, respect, and a willingness to learn together -- to discover a new and better way to work [McKinsey].

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Actions for Implementing Recommendation 4 To begin the process of prioritizing and strengthening trust through improved communication, NRC senior leadership should:

1. Utilize the existing Agency Culture Team, OEDO communication specialists, and Office of Public Affairs communication specialists to evaluate communication tools, timeliness, messaging, and feedback to coordinate communications about any next steps concerning the possible implementation of HEART or TPIWG recommendations.
2. Use a multi-faceted communications approach to clearly explain expectations regarding the hybrid environment going forward. Such communications should be supported by a data or evidenced-based rationale and provided in a transparent manner.
3. Recognize the contributions of staff whose duties require an in-person presence most of the time.
4. Advertise any actions taken by senior leaders that demonstrate a commitment to listening and improving the staff experience.
5. Hold small group listening sessions between senior leaders and staff to bridge differences in perspectives.

Be kind. Be present. Be clear. Your job - always, forever, and in every situation is simply to be kind, present, and clear.

-Andrew Blum, Management Consultant, Trium 16 l H E A R T R e p o r t September 2022

Our Conclusions The HEART found that a one-size-fits-all model for hybrid work does not effectively achieve the intended collaboration and culture benefits for either the NRC or any other organization that has implemented it. As such, with a focus on the agencys mission, culture, and future, the HEART recommends that NRC:

1. Establish a Presence with Purpose approach to the work environment that emphasizes being intentional about connection and flexible regarding location of where work is performed.
2. Equip managers and staff to work in a hybrid environment. Everyone in the agency must work together to adopt new habits and hold each other accountable to expectations. The NRC must adopt new norms for hybrid work and continuing learning how to be inclusive in a hybrid environment.
3. Invest in connection through technology and space use for the future of work. Technology and space should be used to connect the staff in a hybrid environment.
4. Prioritize trust through communications.

Although outside the scope of the team charter, the HEART strongly recommended to senior agency leadership to revisit the agencys telework policy because of its negative effects on employee engagement. Absent a change, it could lead to more long-term impacts on agency culture, recruitment, retention, and ultimately organizational health.

The EDO has already been very receptive to the HEARTs recommendations and created the TPIWG in July 2022 to provide recommendations to help ensure the agencys telework policy has sufficient flexibility to meet mission needs. The HEART will continue to support the TPIWG so that it can achieve its mission and affect positive change at the NRC.

The HEART is grateful for the opportunity to provide these recommendations. The HEART understands that this is just one step in the process. Based on its work, the HEART believes that the work experience can be structured in an optimal fashion to support the NRCs mission, enhance staff trust and engagement, and benefit the long-term organizational health of the agency.

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