A Flexible Return to Office Plan Template

Key Highlight:

• Individuals and organizations must be flexible and adaptable to handle uncertainty and embrace change.
• Record who owns the plan, which roles it covers, attendance expectations and how changes will be reviewed.
• Start with the fill-in planning fields to draft your organization's plan.
• Use the seven flexibility topics to consider changing needs, employee feedback and contingencies.

What is the Return to Office Plan?

An organization's approach or strategy used to help employees move from remote or hybrid work arrangements back to the conventional office setting is referred to as a "return to office" plan. 

This guide focuses on organization-wide office attendance planning, whether for a full or hybrid return. It does not cover an individual medical return-to-work assessment.

A Return to office plan typically includes considerations for logistics, health and safety regulations, communication tactics, and employee well-being. The plan's specifications may differ depending on factors such as the organization's size and type, local restrictions, and employee preferences.

Template Guideline for Smooth Transition 

Use these fill-in prompts to draft your organization's plan, then discuss it with employees. Keep the draft alongside the guidance image below.

• Owner and scope: Plan owner: ___; teams or roles covered: ___.
• Attendance: Purpose of office time: ___; agreed office/remote schedule by role: ___.
• Rollout and readiness: Phase dates: ___; readiness-check owner: ___; workplace access, equipment and tools to confirm: ___.
• Communication and feedback: Changes shared when/how: ___; feedback contact: ___.
• Exceptions and contingencies: Schedule-exception decision-maker: ___; disruption trigger: ___; fallback arrangement: ___; who authorizes the change: ___.
• Review: Review date: ___; agreed work outcomes: ___; employee feedback to discuss: ___; owner of adjustments: ___.

UK Acas management guidance recommends agreeing how and when to communicate, and consulting employees and their representatives on performance measures and clear objectives.

Individual accommodations: Private HR contact: ___. Direct individual accommodation requests there rather than recording medical details in the team plan. For U.S. employers covered by the ADA with 15 or more employees, EEOC guidance explains that telework may be a reasonable accommodation for qualified applicants and employees with disabilities. Assessment is individualized through an interactive process, considering whether the job can be performed at home and whether the accommodation causes undue hardship. Remote work is not an automatic entitlement; an employer may choose another effective accommodation.

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Reviewing Your Return-to-Office Plan

Evaluate the plan against its stated aims: are attendance arrangements supporting the intended work, and what concerns or changes do employees raise?

The specific impact of a return-to-office plan may vary depending on organizational culture, individual employee demands, and the nature of work. Organizations should evaluate and change their plans regularly to ensure that they satisfy changing requirements and employee expectations.

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Flexibility and Adapt to Change

A return-to-office plan must be flexible and adaptable due to the constantly shifting nature of circumstances and employee requirements. In the context of a return-to-office plan, flexibility and adaptability look like this:

1. Evolving Health Standards: Depending on the circumstances, health standards and laws might change quickly. A flexible plan enables changes and modifications to meet the most recent healthcare recommendations. As new knowledge becomes available, this can entail changing the distances that people must physically maintain, the mask policies, or the ventilation needs.
2. Phased Approach: Adopting a phased approach in the return to office plan provides flexibility. It enables changes in the timing and sequencing of employee groups returning to the workplace depending on the demands of the organization and external variables. This staged strategy allows organizations to react if the public health situation changes or unforeseen situations develop.
3. Hybrid Work Models: By using hybrid work models that blend remote work and office attendance, flexibility can be realized. Depending on agreed arrangements, this can give workers some discretion about how, when, and where they work, depending on their preferences, personal situations, and the requirements of their jobs. To combine in-office and remote work, hybrid models can be modified to meet changing employee needs.
4. Communication: Flexibility and adaptation depend on keeping lines of communication open with employees regularly. It lets organizations respond to issues, get input, and modify the strategy as needed. The plan can be modified to fit changing demands by promoting two-way communication and carefully listening to employee input.
5. Scenario Planning: By creating backup plans and scenario analyses, organizations can take a proactive stance. This makes it possible to quickly adapt to alternate techniques and anticipate any disruptions or changes in circumstances. Organizations can create strategies with built-in flexibility to respond to unforeseen occurrences, such as the need to temporarily switch to remote work, by taking into account various scenarios.
6. Employee Feedback and Encouragement: Seeking employee feedback and including them in decision-making increases adaptability. Employees may offer unique insights, concerns, or comments that might help build the plan. By allowing employees to engage in planning and decision-making, organizations can build a culture of adaptability and continual improvement.
7. Evaluation and Iteration: A return-to-office plan should not be regarded as definitive. Review agreed work outcomes and employee feedback on the scheduled review date, alongside relevant public health changes. This review enables organizations to make informed tweaks and revisions to the plan over time, ensuring that it remains relevant and responsive to changing conditions.

Key Takeaways:

• In establishing the return to office plan, embrace change and be open to new ideas and approaches.
• Be adaptable and attentive to changing conditions, altering the plan as necessary to fit with new health norms and legislation.
• During the planning phase, cultivate a problem-solving mindset to handle difficulties and create inventive solutions.
• Complete the planning fields, discuss the draft with employees and set a review date before putting the plan into practice.
• Accept ambiguity and make informed decisions based on limited information, taking into account multiple situations and developing contingency plans.
• Encourage collaboration and teamwork to ensure that the return to office strategy takes into account several views and integrates employee feedback.
• Anticipate foreseeable issues or disruptions and develop contingency plans to address them.