Over the past several years (and less so in the past few months) the government has pushed for more remote work opportunities. Remote work options are good for the environment, and good for employees, proponents argue. If more employees work from home, fewer cars are on the road and employees save commuting time (a significant draw in the Washington, D.C. metro). One downside? Difficulty communicating Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policy and less oversight over discriminatory practices.
A recently released U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guide seeks to help employers communicate EEO compliance issues to a workforce who may or may not be located near a headquarters or in an office at all.
The guide included 13 best practices and ideas, including:
- Regular email correspondence outlining EEO procedures and how to report an issue. The guide specifically encouraged reminding employees that incidents must be reported within 45 days.
- Posting relevant information on the employee intranet
- Establish an EEO Point of Contact in each agency facility.
- Brown bag lunches on EEO topics.
The guide is a basic reminder that all employees must be aware of government equal employment policies. Even if a remote worker is thousands of miles from their nearest human resources rep, policies and procedures must be conveyed. The guide emphasizes the need to provide content across a variety of mediums, from video and email to in-person engagements. Even for government contractors, the guidelines are a reminder of the need to communicate corporate policies to all employees, regardless of the office location. As the government continues to expand out of the congested Washington, D.C. metro, and also pushes for remote work options, establishing company and agency communication that works will be even more important.
