Faculty & Staff Wrap Remote Work Trial Period

A major topic of conversation at the faculty and staff retreat in September was preparing for the transition to a fully hybrid staffing model to match the fully hybrid educational model now in place at CDSP.

Starting in July 2025, employees will be able to live anywhere in the United States, traveling to the four yearly gathered sessions with students as well as to separate employee-only gatherings. Several recently hired full- and part-time employees already live in different parts of the state and country.

But a healthy hybrid work culture doesn’t just happen. Just as CDSP faculty engage in digital best practices for forming community, presenting academic material, and facilitating critical engagement with course concepts, so too have CDSP employees been studying up and making plans for how to collaborate effectively across internet connections and multiple time zones.

“It’s true that some of us got a lot of practice collaborating remotely during the pandemic,” said the Rev. John Dwyer, senior vice president and chief operating officer. “But that was during a time of significant social upheaval and adjusted norms. For the institution to flourish in 2025 and beyond, we know we need a more intentional effort in the months and years ahead.”

Thus, Dwyer recruited a planning team to study current thinking in hybrid work, make proposals about tool choices and culture-setting, and prepare training materials. These efforts supported a recent trial run during which all Bay Area staff were asked to join their remote colleagues in working from home October 21 through November 1.

“We know it’s really important to continue to have fun together and socialize,” said Alissa Fencsik, director of operations and hospitality. “We still need to share photos of our kids and our pets. We still need to support each other and be present.”

The planning team, comprising Fencsik; Melissa Posada, faculty & contextual education program assistant; and the Rev. Kyle Oliver, EdD, director of communications and marketing, will lead a debrief session in the coming weeks aimed at identifying future adjustments.

“Our students have also engaged a lot with these questions over the years,” said Posada. “So we’re really thinking of this effort as part of a larger conversation at the institution about what it means to be fully hybrid.”

Staff and faculty returned to the office this week and will continue to work primarily from the CDSP campus through the end of the academic year.