Flexible work plan might cut productivity, hurt downtown bounce back: Winnipeg councillors
Employees who can work from home have to prove they can be productive
As a new flexible workplace policy rolls out at the City of Winnipeg, some councillors worry it could decrease productivity and ruin the downtown economy.
"This is a very big change for the City of Winnipeg workforce," Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverely West) said during Wednesday's innovation committee meeting. "I think we should take baby steps in it before we jump in completely,"
The city has about 10,000 employees, making it one of the biggest employers within Winnipeg. However, only about 1,800 had the chance to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. As of earlier this year, most are back in their offices, but city staff have recognized the need to continue flexible work options.
As of Monday, the city started a flexible workplace policy that allows employees to work with their managers on the schedule that is best for them. If all parties agree, the employee could theoretically work from home all the time. City staff say employees have until June 1 to apply for the program.
Pilot project urged
That's a big change to happen all at once, Lukes says. She's asking for a pilot project to see how employees do working from home for a maximum of two days a week.
"Until we get more into the recovery of COVID, I think two days a week is a good start," she said during Wednesday's innovation meeting. "No one has lived through a pandemic like this before. I think we should be cautious."
Lukes also wants the city's chief administrative officer to review how the original flexible work program affects productivity and customer service.
Coun. Markus Chambers (St. Norbert-Seine River), Innovation committee chair, supports holding city staff accountable. He says he doesn't want to see staff take advantage of working outside the office. In 2019, the city fired or suspended 15 employees who abused work hours to run errands and take lengthy breaks.
"There's always been that spotlight cast upon civil servants, and whether or not taxpayers are getting value for dollar," Chambers said in an interview.
There's always been that spotlight cast upon civil servants, and whether or not taxpayers are getting value for dollar. That's one of the things that we want to ensure — that they're getting value for dollar because our staff are continuing to work at a high productivity level.- Coun. Markus Chambers
"That's one of the things that we want to ensure — that they're getting value for dollar because our staff are continuing to work at a high productivity level."
The city's CAO, Michael Jack, said the city "effectively addressed" the issues that came up in 2019, and the current work flexibility program is built to avoid such situations. There's a list of criteria the employee has to meet, including proving they've done their job well remotely and showing their home office setup.
"I don't think that the notion of flexible or remote work should raise fear or concern," Jack said in an interview.
"If an employee isn't doing their job properly, we will always have a way to at least gauge or manage and determine whether or not they're being effective … We want our employees managed properly, and being effective regardless of the environment they're working in. I don't see that as being an issue."
If the motion passes, Jack says he plans on speaking with councillors about the two-day-a-week pilot project he would lead because he wants to understand their concerns before then.
Other councillors say they don't want remote work to affect downtown Winnipeg's economy; fewer people in the area means less money for shops and restaurants.
During the meeting, councillors decided to add homework for city staff: Work with the Downtown BIZ and other groups to measure how remote work affects the area.
The goal there, they say, is to have no impact at all.
Councillors floated other ideas during the meeting, including having staff who normally work in suburban neighbourhoods replace downtown staff on their remote days. If an employee normally works in Transcona, for example, they could be told to work in a downtown office a few days a week.
"We'll let the public service or the city administration work out those details, but we need to have people in the downtown area," Chambers said.
"It's critically important to our economic recovery as a city that we support the activities downtown to make sure that the businesses that are downtown have a good pool of people patronizing their business."
The committee unanimously voted to send the motion to executive policy committee next week, which would have the final say.
Remote work not only lesson learned through COVID
The need for a flexible workplace isn't the only change city staff want to see after COVID-19.
In a presentation to the committee on Wednesday, innovation director Tyler Gooch told councillors the city has expedited things such as resident registrations for swimming lessons and tax payments since the pandemic hit.
Gooch says staff save time since everyone can meet virtually, and going paperless out of necessity saved a chunk of change.
"Our annual print costs decreased by nearly $85,000 or 20 per cent, since 2019, and our high-volume printing has decreased by 35 per cent, saving the city another $40,000 per year," Gooch said during the meeting.
The city is also investing $1 million into improving "the customer experience" of certain services such as 311, according to a city report.
Gooch says staff are trying to reduce wait times for the call centre by having residents go online rather than pick up the phone. "The best call to 311 is the one that never has to happen because the citizen is able to find the information on their own."
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