By Andrew Tellijohn

After a deputy clerk position sat unfilled for several months, the City of Warren implemented a hybrid work-from-home policy and it led to filling the role with someone who otherwise would not have considered the job due to commute and location.

Steve Reller worked at the University of North Dakota for years but was interested in pursuing an opportunity with a smaller organization. He lives in Grand Forks, N.D., and he’d never had to commute to a job outside city limits, so the nearly 45-minute drive to Warren every day was not appealing.

“I would not have taken it,” he says of the job as it was initially posted. “From my door to the city of Warren is 43 minutes. You can never tell in the wintertime what it’s going to be like.”

Staying competitive as costs increase

The job became more attractive to Reller when the city agreed to let him work from home a majority of the time. He signed on in late 2020 and worked remotely through almost all of the pandemic’s early days.

Now, Reller drives to the office twice a week to cut checks and ensure mailings go out on time. Otherwise, he stays at home. City Administrator Shannon Mortenson said the policy change stems from competing private sector employers offering sign-on bonuses, and elevated starting wages and benefits packages in the private sector that were inhibiting the city’s ability to find qualified workers.

“As a city you can only go so far with your wages and you’re put at a disadvantage when trying to compete with private sector perks,” she says. “I told the finance and HR committees, and eventually the Council, that we have to do everything we can to make this a good working environment for employees.”

The city sought assistance from the League of Minnesota Cities’ remote work template in putting its policy together, tailoring it slightly for its own needs. While Reller was the first employee hired under the more flexible policy, it applies to anyone, as long as it is approved by supervisors.

For example, someone working in the Department of Public Works couldn’t remove snow remotely. But if they didn’t have childcare one day, they could work from home to study for a gas or wastewater certification test. It’s a sign of the times and will continue through the tough labor market.

“We do have a younger workforce,” Mortenson says. “We’ve had a lot of retirements the last couple years. We saw the need for flexibility even before the pandemic. We allow them to work remotely as needed. It doesn’t break into their PTO time. We’ve done that on purpose. The staff likes it. We have decided as a city we just need to be more flexible and understanding so people want to come to work and accept the fact, too, that generations are changing and desiring a better work-life balance.”

Up to city staff

Warren Mayor Mara Hanel backed the change. With unpredictable weather in northwestern Minnesota and the current trend toward hybrid work situations around the country, she says adding flexibility to the work structure makes sense.

“I do believe there are certain city jobs where a flexible work schedule is approved, it is conducive to a good work environment,” she says. “It is nice to have a remote location set up for certain jobs to make sure that on a day where a storm makes it difficult to travel, that person can still do quite a few of their tasks.”

So far, she says, the administration doesn’t seem to feel there are jobs that could be deemed fully remote, but Hanel says she’ll largely defer to the recommendation of city staff should such requests arise.

Mortenson adds it’s important not everyone works from home at the same time so there is adequate staff coverage for the office. At first, she acknowledges, the policy shift did raise some eyebrows with existing staff, but Reller has made it easier by being responsive.

“He gets done what he’s expected to get done,” Mortenson says. “He’s available by email, text, phone call. He’s always in contact with one of the three of us or even public works staff if he has questions on a bill. There is no question he is at his desk working.”

Andrew Tellijohn is a freelance writer.