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County administration reports on flexible work policy; board schedules deeper review
Summary
Staff reported on the county’s flexible work policy adopted in 2022, citing reduced mileage, productivity gains in some departments and improved recruitment; commissioners requested more balanced data and a deeper work‑session review on July 8.
Stearns County administrators on June 24 reported preliminary results from the county’s flexible work‑arrangements policy, which the board adopted in 2022. The board did not take action but scheduled a more detailed review for a July 8 work session.
Assistant County Administrator Jill Sermey summarized the policy’s intent: give department leaders flexibility to organize staff schedules and locations to improve service delivery and retain employees while ensuring core hours and in‑person availability when required. Sermey said the county requires employees to be Minnesota residents and available during department core hours and that staff must come into county facilities when their duties require it.
Sermey and other administrators cited several observed benefits: a drop in annual reimbursable mileage from roughly more than a million miles in 2019 to roughly 500,000–600,000 miles per year, which the presentation estimated could equate to about 2.5 FTEs of time savings; increased productivity in select offices (the assessor’s office and human services were cited as examples); and reduced need for new workstations, creating space and lease savings for some departments.
Commissioners expressed interest in more balanced data. Chair Burcham and several commissioners asked for additional detail about monitoring remote work, how hybrid schedules are distributed across the county’s roughly 1,000 employees, evidence supporting productivity estimates (for example the cited 25–33% increases in certain units), and risks such as employee isolation. Human Services Administrator Melissa Huberty said the department uses surveys for specific programs and is implementing a countywide anonymous feedback tool; staff said some departments have independently collected satisfaction data.
The board agreed to a fuller work‑session discussion on July 8 for more detailed metrics, department-level breakdowns and a demonstration of technology used to support virtual services and reduce in‑person traffic.
