The pilot program will affect the library’s 105 full-time employees, who have the option of participating in the compressed scheduling.
Employees in Lauinger, Woodstock Theological and Bloomer Science libraries may take advantage of the policy during the slower summer period of May 28-Aug. 15.
Under the guidelines, staff members would work 10-hour days in exchange for a three-day weekend each week. This would leave them with either a Monday or a Friday off depending on departmental needs.
The idea originated from Deirdre Francis, director of personnel and staff development for the library.
“I think it’s a simply wonderful idea,” said Artemis Kirk, university librarian. “I give all credit to Deirdre, who, first and foremost, looks at staff issues and looks for ways we can improve people’s lives.”
Francis said she saw an opportunity to increase morale which wound up serving as the primary driver of the idea. But there were practical reasons that contributed to working out a compressed schedule, she said. Staff members could schedule things such as medical or repair appointments without having to take leave time.
“Gas also is getting more expensive and will probably go higher in the summer months,” Francis said. “This can help staff members save on money and commuting time throughout the summer months.
“We’re also looking at [the fact that] the library [is] a performance culture. We’re not focusing so much on time, but on the quality of the work.”
The library is the first to work with the Department of Human Resources to craft an official policy.
Mary Anne Mahin, vice president and chief of human resources, said that while there is no universitywide policy on the issue, neither is there a prohibition on departments to create alternative work schedules. She is in the process of developing a university policy that would provide guidance for departments looking to institute such procedures.
“Any department that is considering alternative work schedules should be talking to its human resources generalist,” Mahin said. “There are significant issues that need to be considered … and these arrangements may not work for all jobs and for all departments because of the nature of the work.”
In many ways, the library serves as a good barometer for such a policy, saidLori Varma, human resources manager for Main Campus. The libraries keep longer hours than most university offices — Main Campus libraries are open 24 hours a day during the academic year and until midnight during the summer, creating unusual work schedules for some employees. Also, the libraries serve and cater to, perhaps, the most diverse cross-section of Georgetown compared to any other university offices. Clients include faculty, staff, students, university retirees, external scholars and local residents. And the sheer size of the library’s staff also will provide plenty of data.
“This is a great test case. If it works here, it will probably work everywhere,” Varma said.
Francis began working on the pilot program with library department heads, human resources and payroll soon after joining Georgetown in February. She found a great deal of questions had to be addressed along the way.
“One of the issues was how holidays would count, in this case the Fourth of July,” she said. “We decided we will go back to a regular work schedule for that week. There also is the issue of travel time for professional development. It’s hard to say you’ve put in 10 hours of work on those days, so we’ll revert back to the regular schedule then, too.”
Not every library employee will be able to take advantage of the compressed schedule. Departments with fewer employees may find it more difficult. Any staff member who is the only employee to perform a particular function also may not be able to participate.
Francis anticipates other staff members won’t want to participate for reasons varying from disinterest to logistics such as working out child-care arrangements. She conducted an informal survey earlier this year to try to circumvent such issues.
Throughout the summer, Francis plans to monitor the library’s operations with Kirk and department heads to ensure the quality of work and service remains high. If the pilot is successful, library users should not notice any disruption in service.
At summer’s end, Francis plans to distribute another survey to gauge employee response to the pilot. If the response is positive, she said, the compressed schedule may return annually.
“It’s a creative idea they have,” Varma said, “and we’re looking forward to a lot of feedback so other departments can benefit if they’re considering a similar project.”
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