Project Management Question:

HHRR Case study Bates Inc. Bates Inc (fictional name) is a company working on the health insurance service and other health -related support. After the Covid -19 outbreak, the company decided to move to remote work for 95% of their employees. The new situation showed some advantages on the operational side, but HHRR was not ready for the new issues which were not considered before and should be taken into account now. Operational More than half (56 percent) of employees say they are better able to balance their work/life schedules when they work from home. Nearly one-fourth are not working the typical 8 a.m.-5 p.m. schedule to accommodate caregiving responsibilities. Others report that they can better meet the demands of their regions because they can adapt their hours to different time zones. The company found those working from home were more productivesome teams saw a 25 percent increase in productivity and sales teams had a 13 percent increase, Additionally, the call center has experienced the lowest attrition rate in three years. Extension of the working from home policy after COVID Outbreak Because the company was seeing better connectivity, more productivity and better "employee connection" during a time of great uncertainty, it made sense to allow some employees to continue working from home. The chief operating officer sends biweekly updates to the entire company asking for employee feedback on how the company can support its workers during the pandemic. Bates Inc. expects to develop a hybrid approach to work that may allow employees to decide between working in the office or at home or to choose which option they would prefer to use most of the time. Bates chairs a cross-functional WFH task force aimed at creating a long-term strategy for remote work. The task force solicits employee input and assesses leadership's needs for successfully managing people working remotely. It also allocates resources, such as providing reimbursements for office setup, and determines proper IT gear to send home for employees' use while working. HHRR challenges As HHRR manager of the company, you need to develop a policy to apply to the new situation, which was not foreseen before. All employees are considered critical in the team structure of the company, which is divided in teams of 6 member per project.

CASE Questions

Under the new situation, how do you allow some employees to work from home? Who can and who cant? Who authorizes it? How will you ensure the productivity of the team won't reduce in the team? How many hours should an employee log when working from home? Same as in presential mode? Less? Should be the working schedule the same as in presential mode?