Flexible Scheduling Tips from Michele Gasiewski, Mecklenburg County DSS
When the Department of Social Services in Mecklenburg County went remote in the spring, some policies were already in place to support flexible schedules, but as Michele shares, “We had to really rethink what this was going to look like to make flex scheduling work for individuals and also for the business.” Some of Michele’s top tips for supporting employees through flexible schedules:
Encourage and proactively OFFER flexible scheduling. Michele’s team encouraged supervisors to connect with team members, find out how they were doing, and ask what they needed to make their schedules work and feel sustainable. “We wanted to change it from a permission structure, where people had to ask for a flex schedule, and offer the opportunity to really make work work for them , as long as we could meet the business needs.”
Be open and transparent about expectations and employee needs. Michele led the way by having conversations with her own team members, designing the right schedule for each person, and creating a master team schedule. The master schedule is super-helpful when team members need to schedule a meeting or be reminded when someone is working, and also reminds the team that they’re all in this together. “We are a team, trying to meet the business needs together… it’s not just about each person individually getting what they need.”
Expect more change. Part of what makes Michele so good at supporting employees’ unique needs right now is that she GETS IT- she’s single mom working full-time and supporting her two young kids’ remote learning. As the pandemic continues to unfold, she’s focusing on embracing- not resisting- change at work and in her life. “Over the years, having gone through a lot of loss and trauma, I keep coming back to this Lao Tzu quote: ‘Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them.’
Watch my full 8-minute interview with Michele here for more context AND a spin-through of her Grey’s Anatomy themed flex scheduling spreadsheet template!
