Core Business Hours
Although we strive to provide a flexible work environment, please observe the following work day guidelines.
- Our Core Business Hours are 9:00AM - 4:00PM.
- An 8-hour work day cannot include non-work activities (i.e. in-office or out-of-office lunch, breaks).
- 9:00AM - 5:00PM is not billable as 8 hours unless you truly work uninterrupted for 8 hours; 9AM - 5:30PM or 8:30AM - 5:00PM are usually better options.
- We understand if on occasion you need to work an abbreviated day. If you are submitting a 40-hour work week excluding PTO, you must make up the time during the week.
- We expect all employees to be available for key meetings including daily stand-ups.
Overtime
We observe a 40-hour workweek but due to the nature of our business overtime may be necessary to handle issues or meet deadlines. If you believe that you will need to work more than 40-hours in a week to complete your workload, please send a request to your Team Scrum Master, Solution Lead, and Mark V. All overtime hours need to approved by your Scrum Master and Solution Lead. Overtime should only be requested when you have urgent work to finish.
Paid Time Off
Everyone has vacation time to use, and we encourage you to take time off, we all know it’s important to have a good work/life balance. If you are planning to take time off, please send a request to your Team Scrum Master, Solution Lead and Mark V. as soon as possible. We understand that scheduling can be tricky but we ask for the following notice. Once your request has been approved, please communicate it to your team via your normal method of communicating PTO (e.g. Team Calendar, Personal Calendar, Email).
- < 1 week - 5 business days notice
- 1 week - 30 business days notice
- 2 weeks - 90 business days notice
Working from Home/ Telecommuting
Working from home and telecommuting are widely accepted practices in the workplace. While there are many benefits (i.e. convenience, cost-effectiveness, etc.), this type of work arrangement can create challenges, namely missing out on the day to day flow of information, a critical Agile Principle. This type of work arrangement can be informal, such as leaving the office for an appointment and then returning home for the duration of the work day (i.e. work from home) or formal and long-term (i.e. telecommuting).
- Informal work from home arrangements:
- Are made on a case by case basis
- Require at least one-business day notice
- Require written approval from your Team Scrum Master and Solution Lead (a simple e-mail will suffice)
- Formal telecommuting arrangements:
- Are subject to policies defined in the Solü Agile Development Center Telecommuting Policy
- Require a signed Solü Agile Development Center Telecommuting Arrangement
When working from home you must attend all required meetings. In the event you are unable to attend a meeting, you must communicate your planned absence well in advance of the meeting and work with the meeting organizer to address any meeting impacts resulting from your absence. For a daily stand-up, you are expected to send an email status to your team prior to the scheduled meeting time using the following format:
- What did I do yesterday?
- What am I going to work on today?
- Do I have any impediments or blockers?
*Please remember- Working from home (for those normally in the office) is a privilege and should be the exception rather than the rule.
Helpful Reminders
- Always check with your manager to confirm that the time you want off or to work from home will not cause any gaps or issues. There may be instances where your manager needs you but has not made you aware yet.
- Please try to give as much advance notice as possible. When you do things last minute there could be people who were counting on you being available that will now be delayed. For example,
- Karen has a critical question for Bob on Thursday but sees that Bob is busy most of the day.
- Karen thinks – I’ll just catch him tomorrow but then Bob takes unexpected PTO.
- Make sure your team knows you will be out right after you talk with your manager. They should always be aware of when you will be absent.
- Make sure your work will be covered. If you have been working on a project and will be out for an extended amount of time, make sure you give an overview to someone else on the team so they can be available to help out. Or, you can make yourself available if there are questions while you are out.