The long and meandering discussion around tightening remote work options for some city staff continued into council Tuesday, with councillors debating for more than 90 minutes on the matter.
In the end, councillors voted 9-6 in favour of forcing the planning and building division staff — around 170 employees — back to the office four days a week, no later than the end of March 2024.
The council decision comes on the heels of lobbying by multiple business groups in the city, especially in the downtown core and building community, to have more staff in the office.
Coun. Steve Lehman, who put forward the motion, spoke of complaints he has heard from the building community about difficulties in communication with hybrid work, causing servicing delays.
“The process requires face-to-face, it requires consultation with others in the office, it requires mentoring with available management,” Lehman said.
Both Lehman and other councillors who spoke in favour of the increased office time reiterated multiple times the actual work of staff has been exemplary. The concerns focused on the communications aspect with the builders.
For core area businesses, the lobbying was centred around getting as many workers back downtown as possible to help recover from the pandemic.
“This would assist in bringing back the needed foot traffic and would support our members’ recovery efforts, having more workers return full-time to their offices,” said Barbara Maly, executive director of Downtown London, in a letter to councillors.
The motion was resisted by multiple councillors concerned not only with a lack of available space for staff but retaining and recruiting staff in a competitive job market, as staff had cautioned councillors about during committee last week.
“Overwhelmingly, I’m hearing from them that this would be a negative impact on their work-life balance and the experience they have working for us as an employer,” said Coun. Skylar Franke on the proposed motion.
According to senior leadership, the amount of space at city hall is not enough for all the staff who would return, plus 11 new staff in the process of being hired, so other spaces would need to be found. There is no funding for new space, requiring it to be a new budget item, added staff.
When asked directly if the motion would improve services related to the complaints of the building community, Scott Mathers, the deputy city manager of planning and economic development, did not directly say yes.
Instead, he referenced improving processes, enhancing customer experience, and, most critically, the department’s size for what can make a difference.
Mathers acknowledged there was some “anxiety” among his departments about the possible loss of extended hybrid opportunities. Mathers also acknowledged that most of the department comprises more “junior” staff, bolstering Lehman’s contention that younger staff need in-person mentoring.
Along with planning for the return of work, a motion added by Mayor Josh Morgan directed senior leadership to complete a review of and provide recommendations to councillors for recruitment and retention and planning and building staff.
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