Hybrid Principles LMG Summer 2023 - Summer 2024

The University outlines the Key Principles for Hybrid Working. Complimentary guidelines for Central Professional Services focus on Quality Service Provision. The Library, Museums and Galleries (LMG) Department is front facing, with specialist buildings shared with our users. The LMG hybrid principles recognise this unique environment and centrality of our services to the University and high-quality student experience on campus. It puts us in a unique position amongst Central Professional Services Teams.

LMG hybrid principles are informed by business need, institutional context, staff engagement and spatial configuration. They are informed by feedback from staff focus groups (2022/23).

Hybrid work arrangements are not contractual and can be changed at any time dependent on service need. Flexible working arrangements are a separate, contractual arrangement.

Categories for LMG Teams and Roles

Campus Based

These roles need to be carried out on campus.  Remote working will only take place in exceptional circumstances if business needs allow, and with the agreement of the manager.

Hybrid

These roles are eligible for hybrid working with a minimum of 40% of the work being carried out on campus and the rest remotely, as agreed with your line manager. Business needs will determine how the time will be structured across the week and throughout the year with seasonal variations.

Remote

These roles are primarily hybrid with up to 90% of the work being carried out remotely through the year. Remote workers are expected to participate in on campus activity as outlined below.

On campus activities

Guidance has been developed by HR to make it easier for managers to determine what kind of activities should be undertaken by team members on campus.

1. Activities where face to face interaction ensures communication and interpersonal interactions are optimised.
2. Activities where it is necessary to be on campus because of the nature of the activity or the facilities/ equipment/ location needed.
3. Activities that foster effective teamwork, optimise team performance and build team cohesion.

In addition, LMG expects on campus activity to include regular meetings between managers and their direct report and regular team meetings.

As a front facing service, we have a duty of care for our service users and colleagues, so we need to ensure that Health and Safety responsibilities are factored into our plans. At seasonal points in the academic calendar, staff may be asked to spend more time on campus.

More detailed examples for each category are provided on the Quality Service Provision page and the HW On-campus Activities for PS staff document. See Appendix 1

Organising Hybrid Working Arrangements

Business needs must come first. These include the on-campus activities above.

Discuss with your Line Manager the needs of the business, with reference to team dynamics and cohesion, collaboration with other teams/ parts of the University, and how your choices could impact other colleagues. Discuss how your time could be split and why it could work in line with the guidance provided. This will be recorded in your PDR and reviewed annually to ensure that business needs are still met.

Questions to consider in discussion with managers are outlined in Appendix 2.

Communicating working arrangements with colleagues and team visibility

In a complex work environment, it is vital that working arrangements, reporting structures and mechanisms are clearly communicated with colleagues. It is every person’s individual responsibility to ensure their outlook calendar is up to date, with detail shared (subject/ location), and clearly states working arrangements, especially when desk sharing arrangements need to be managed.

Suggested practice:

• Staff should be planning 2-4 weeks in advance, as far as feasible, and ensuring their calendar is updated.
• In calendars, for hybrid workers the default status is on campus working. Days working from home or out of the office (for meetings/training or leave) need to be indicated.
• There should be defined guidelines within a team as to how this information is recorded, to ensure clarity and consistency.
• Add photo of yourself to outlook/ teams.

LMG Organogram for roles, relationships and management structures will be available on the LMG Intranet. LMG governance and reporting lines to other departments in the University can be found on the intranet.

Office availability and etiquette

Offices are configured to make optimum use of space to support the functions of on campus, hybrid and remote roles. Staff are asked to adopt working practices that enable best use of on campus space and equipment is provided to support this.

Campus based colleagues may be based at service points or in flexible office spaces. Some may have a dedicated workspace and office in a set location.  This is determined by role.

Hybrid colleagues can expect a regular workstation available for them in a shared office. This workstation may be used by another colleague on other days. Staff are expected to adopt the clear desk policy (see Appendix 3)

Remote colleagues are expected to book a desk in an office space and/ or team meeting room for days on campus. Designated ‘hotdesks’ will have (at a minimum) monitors and laptop docking stations and will be detailed on the LMG Intranet room booking system. Staff are expected to adopt the clear desk policy - see Appendix 3.

Equipment/ facilities:

• Desks in shared offices and private meeting room can be booked via LMG Intranet up to 12 weeks in advance.
• Noise cancelling headphones are provided to participate in webinars etc.
• When an online meeting would be disruptive or involve confidential content, staff should book a meeting room or private office.
• Day lockers are available to all staff.
• 2 accessible workstations are available for colleagues. They will be via room booking system and located in HCL and SJL.

Workspaces and booking systems will continue to be reviewed and modified. Needs will be monitored by a small working group (detailed on the intranet). Issues and queries will be logged by Business Support.

Principles will be reviewed annually, with an initial review after 3 months.

Last updated: 24/08/2023

Adopted: September 2023

Appendix 1

On-Campus Activities for Professional Services Colleagues

Quality Service Provision & Physical Environment

We are and will remain, a University where on campus presence and face to face interaction is a fundamental part of providing a high-quality student experience as well as an essential component of employee engagement, development and staff management.

The level of presence on campus will be determined by line managers to enable operational requirements to be met and a high quality of service to be delivered.

Managers will work together with their teams to identify suitable working patterns that enable tasks to be completed in the optimal locations and for a regular presence on campus (benchmark of 40% working commitment) to be maintained, whilst being mindful of any physical space constraints.

Determining the location of activities

In line with the University’s Hybrid Working Principles, some activities are expected to be undertaken on campus by staff, irrespective of whether they work in a hybrid manner.  To support managers in determining the most effective location where specific activities will normally be undertaken, the following guidance has been developed and it is recommended that activities of the following nature will be generally undertaken on campus:

1. Activities where face to face interaction ensures communication and interpersonal interactions are optimised:
   1. Services or meetings that are personal, sensitive or high stakes in nature, where it is important not to lose any aspect of non-verbal communication, and where it is important to ensure that all participants are able to accurately observe people’s responses in order to provide adequate response and support.
   2. Services or interactions where one or more participant has relevant individual support needs or communication needs that mean they may be less able to understand or communicate as well online as they could in person. Such needs may be ongoing or situational for example it should be noted that some individuals’ needs mean that they are able to participate more effectively on-line and this should also be considered. 
   3. Activities where there are high levels of interpersonal interaction which is inherent to the purpose, delivery and successful outcomes of the activity. Example might include development programmes, collaborative events, open days, widening participation, facilitated workshops, PDRs, coaching, networking.
   4. Problem-solving activities which are designed to encourage innovation, creativity and collaboration e.g., project meetings, workshops.
2. Activities where it is necessary to be on campus because of the nature of the activity or the facilities/equipment/location needed
   1. (obviously) Services or activities that depend on the use of campus based physical resources or that are delivered face to face to meet stakeholder needs. For example, student facing services; building and facilities management; supporting lab-based research, on-site operations such as laboratory housekeeping, laboratory support, laboratory operational management, stores, etc.
   2. Activities where the cost (time, equipment, technical support) for going online or home based is prohibitive or disproportionate. (e.g. large volume printing)
   3. Collegial activities which build the University’s reputation with students or external partners/stakeholders e.g. Welcome Week, Graduation activities, Open Days
3. Activities that foster effective teamwork, optimise team performance and build team cohesion:
   1. Regular team co-location or ad-hoc stakeholder meetings which are not focused on specific interactions but which maintains team functioning and working relationships including cohesion, informal info sharing, updating, throughput of work etc. This supports the interpersonal as well as the transactional/deliverable aspects of work.
   2. Developmental activities which support all individuals in the team to be successful in their role through sharing learning from peers and/or developing skills/expertise e.g., induction and on-boarding of new staff, skills workshops.  Consideration should also be given to the career stage of team members to support their professional development, building of networks etc. 

The above is designed to be an illustrative list and is not exhaustive or prescriptive.  Line managers, with the approval of their Directors, may agree alternative arrangements where appropriate for an individual situation.  Of paramount importance is that managers and Directors are confident that the agreed working arrangements enable colleagues to meet the needs of the service effectively and efficiently to ensure successful outcomes are achieved.

Appendix 2

Hybrid Working Principles (Manager Questions)

This document outlines questions to support managers to discuss working patterns for colleagues that meet the business needs and also support work life balance. The questions refer to the University’s ‘On-Campus Activities for Professional Services Colleagues’ document in Appendix 1.

1. What activities do you undertake that benefit from face-to-face interaction that ensures communication and interpersonal interactions are optimised?

• Student related activity 
• Services or meetings that are personal, sensitive, or high stakes in nature. 
• Services or interactions where one or more participant has relevant individual support needs or communication needs. 
• Activities where there are high levels of interpersonal interaction which is inherent to the purpose, delivery and successful outcomes of the activity. 
• Problem-solving activities which are designed to encourage innovation, creativity and collaboration e.g., project meetings, workshops. 
• Is this work done all year or is it seasonal? 
• Does it have implications for service delivery at specific times of the year and space available on campus? 
• What is that pattern across the week/ the year? 

2. It can be necessary to be on campus because of the nature of an activity or the facilities/equipment/location needed. What campus activities do you need to be part of? 

• Collaborative planning or workshops 
• Campus/ LMG building’s atmosphere and community 
• University wide activities such as open days and welcome week 

3. What activities do you engage with that foster effective teamwork, optimise team performance and build team cohesion?

• Regular team co-location or ad-hoc stakeholder meetings  
• Developmental activities which support all individuals in the team 
• Induction for new staff 
• Is this work done all year or is it seasonal? 
• Does it have implications for service delivery at specific times of the year and space available on campus? 
• What is that pattern across the week/ the year? 

4. Do you need to utilise an accessible space or reasonable adjustments for when you work on campus?

5. Do you need to have a desk where your working conditions remain the same due to the nature of your work?

Appendix 3

Desk Policy for hot desks/ tidy desks

1. Overview
   Sensitive documents and materials are liable to intentional or unintentional disclosure to unauthorised parties when they become unaccounted for. A Clean Desk Policy is a useful tool for helping ensure that sensitive and confidential material does not go unaccounted for or become exposed. A Clean Desk Policy in its most basic form requires employees to completely clear their desks at the end of their workday, moving items to drawers and disposing of documents that are no longer needed. This protects University data from unauthorised access as it reduces the number of sensitive data that is available to an unauthorised person who may gain access to the University’s premises. This policy aligns with the University’s Data Protection and GDPR webpages and the Information Security Policy.
2. Purpose
   The purpose of this policy is to establish a clear procedure and minimum requirement for maintaining a Clean Desk. It is important to support hybrid working and shared desks and offices. It details why a Clean Desk is important for data security, as well as the methods in which this is best achieved.
3. Scope
   This policy applies to all LMG team members, contractors, temporary workers and any other personnel that may work on behalf of the University or within the University’s LMG premises.
4. Policy
   1. All sensitive, confidential or personal information in paper or electronic form must be secured at the end of the work day, or at any time when they are not in active use.
   2. Keys to file cabinets or other secure storage spaces must not be left on desks or in other insecure areas.
   3. Fixed PCs must be locked at any time when they are not in active use (e.g. when you go for lunch).
   4. Computers must be shut down at the end of the work day.
   5. Laptops must be locked in secure place when not in active use (e.g. when you go for lunch).
   6. Printed material must be removed from the printer tray without undue delay and not be left around the printing area.
   7. When no longer needed, documents containing confidential, sensitive or personal information must be shredded or inserted into confidential disposal bins. In line with the Information Management Policy.
   8. Whiteboards must be erased after meetings or when no longer in use.
5. Compliance
   1. Compliance Measurement
      The Infosec team will verify compliance with this policy through any methods deemed appropriate, including but not limited to: business tool reports, internal and external audits    and feedback to the policy owner.
   2. Exceptions
      Any exceptions to this policy must be approved by the Infosec team in advance and have a written record.
   3. Non-Compliance
      Any employee found to have violated this policy may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.