News: Hybrid Work Plan Encourages Flexibility, Productivity for ABR Staff and Volunteers
August 2021;14(4):11
Prior to the pandemic, the ABR had approximately 100 employees on site in Tucson. As with many organizations, we made the necessary adjustment to a work-from-home environment and, after some adaptation to a different version of normal, we found ourselves learning and functioning at new and exciting levels – just as many of you did.
Although we are confident our standard work procedures can be performed as effectively in a remote environment, there is an intuitive advantage to in-person interactions. This includes cultivation of relationships – informal, but nonetheless important. In addition, some discussions that deal with nuance or complicated innovation benefit from the give-and-take exchanges of the conference table rather than a video call. This is true not only for our staff but also for the volunteers who develop our exam content.
As the news surrounding COVID evolves, we are continually evaluating the potential features of the new workplace. We want to allow our staff flexibility and personal preference wherever possible, while maintaining productivity and customer service. Due to the increasing spread of the Delta variant, we have delayed the re-opening of our offices until November. Some employees will return to the office nearly full time while others will come in only for in-person meetings when needed. For our volunteers involved in exam development, we have historically used a combination of videoconference and in-person meetings – we tentatively plan to resume the latter early next year but will reassess the situation at that time.
