Human Resources

 

Dear Faculty and Staff,

 

We have learned much over the past two and a half years, as the COVID-19 pandemic served as an accelerant to workplace transformation, including different ways of working and supporting our employees and students. As we adapt to the changing workplace landscape, we have revised policies, modified our physical space, reshaped work arrangements, revised talent strategies and overall shifted the paradigm of how work gets done.

 

 

Flexible Work Arrangements (FWA)

The future of work is flexible and Simmons continues to support managers in offering flexible work arrangements and balancing in-person job needs with responsibilities that can be accomplished remotely. We have heard from you that this is important and thus we continue to support flexible work arrangements. Offering FWA is equally important to our recruiting and retention efforts while also enabling opportunities to leverage our location in the Longwood Medical Area for revenue generation.  

 

As we enter the new fiscal year and the 2023 academic year, we are encouraging continued and increased flexibility in support of a rebalancing of productivity and wellbeing. What does this mean for you?  

Staff - We are encouraging managers to work with their teams to enable greater flexibility in hybrid and remote work options where possible. For non-essential* staff, the ideal is to be on campus three days or fewer per week, depending upon departmental needs. We know that some departments have already informally implemented such practices, and the goal is to formalize hybrid work in a way that benefits employees and ensures business needs are met. To ensure coverage and communication, we require all staff to discuss flexible work arrangements with their managers and update the flexible work arrangement form in Workday by September 1, 2022.

 

*Note: Essential is defined as an employee who is required to be on campus five or more days per week, regardless of the weather, holidays or other work arrangements and conditions. (for example; dining, maintenance, public safety, etc.)

 

Faculty - Campus-based faculty may continue to conduct office hours and meetings virtually. A revised philosophy on course modality is evolving. The Provost will be releasing a more detailed memo about what this means for faculty in the coming weeks.

Building a campus community is a critical component of the future of work. Stay tuned for opportunities to be involved with community-building efforts.

 

 

Transportation Benefits

Our transportation benefits were originally designed for employees working on campus five days per week. Due to the changing workplace, we have modified this benefit to offer flexibility and save money for employees who are on campus fewer days a week with the addition of a new MBTA option, the 10-ride pass.

MBTA - The MBTA maximum subsidy for monthly passes will increase to $150 for Zones 1 and higher. For those that are coming to campus only 2-3 times a week, a 10-ride pass will be a more economical option. Employees can purchase up to two 10-ride passes each month that can be used within 90 days of purchase. Simmons will subsidize 50% of the cost of the 10-ride pass.

 

Please refer to the Benefits Website for more details and updated monthly costs or this job aid for assistance with making an MBTA election or change in Workday. Please review this FAQ for additional information.

 

Parking - Daily parking rates have increased to reflect current market conditions, but employee rates remain a benefit with well below market rates. The daily rate for employees will cap out at $15/day. The monthly parking pass will no longer be offered to employees not required to be on campus five days per week as determined by their manager.

 

While access to a parking spot has never been a guarantee, the garage is managed to meet the parking needs of our community – including the elimination of public parking at certain times, and the use of valet services during peak days and times. There is tremendous demand for parking in the Fenway/LMA neighborhoods, and we are balancing our ability to generate revenue for the University with the needs of our own community.

 

These changes will be reflected in the Benefits section in Workday on July 25, 2022. If you have questions, please reach out to [email protected].

 

 

Between these two changes, increased flexible work and the MBTA subsidy, the expectation is that your commuting costs do not increase and, in many scenarios, will decrease.

 

HR is hosting two “Drop In” sessions via zoom for managers and employees who have questions about these benefits and/or how to communicate these changes within their team. These drop in sessions are scheduled as follows:

 

 

You can also call HR at 617-521-2084 with questions.

 

In the words of Gallup, the future of work has already begun — and that the evolution of work is just beginning. A future mindset requires adaptability and resilience, two strengths of the Simmons community proven repeatedly over the years. Thank you for your attention to this email. Please send comments or questions to [email protected].

 

Simmons University

Human Resources

[email protected]

 

This email is sent to you as an employee of Simmons University.