Many colleagues are experiencing more work/life dynamics than in the past due to advances in technology and increased demands on personal time. The line that has traditionally been drawn between work life and personal life has gradually blurred. It is vitally important for us as a department to acknowledge and respond to these changes in our workplace to both attract talent and enhance the culture for our most valuable asset: You. Changing technology, demographics, attitudes of the workforce, and new ways of managing employees play a significant role in the ultimate success and viability of flexible work arrangements. Flexible work arrangements enable employees and supervisors to work outside of the standard 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. work schedule and office location. Any change in regular hours of operation is solely a departmental and/or team decision.

The process for the pilot is as follows. We will focus on three types of flexible work arrangements: 1) Working Remotely. Should you be interested in working remotely, please initiate the conversation with your supervisor to establish the appropriate parameters relevant to your situation. 2) Flex Hours. Flex hours will be focused around the core hours of 9:00am – 3:30pm, of which everyone is expected to be in office. 3) Compressed Week. A compressed work schedule allows an employee to work a traditional 35-40 hour workweek in less than the traditional number of workdays. Many compressed work schedule options may be negotiated. A flexible working arrangement form (Development Dept Flexible Work Environment Agreement Form_2.12.2020) will be signed by both the employee and the manager, and forwarded to James Riley, Sr. Director of Internal Engagement. During the pilot, a three and six month evaluation must be completed by the manager and employee. We have developed an FAQ specifically designed to answer questions that may be on your mind, and will continue to add questions as we learn throughout this dynamic pilot.

On March 1, 2020 the Development Office will begin a Flexible Work Environment Pilot Program that will run through September 30. It is anticipated that there will be many questions about the pilot. As such, we have arranged our next ND Shares to address this topic and all of your questions/concerns on Monday, February 24 at 4pm in the ESC Family Room. Please plan to attend. There will be additional opportunities throughout the pilot to ask questions and learn from each other. We also encourage you to reach out to Heather Christophersen or James Riley directly with your inquiries. This is an exciting time for our office, as we take yet another step toward enhancing our culture.

This Sunday, the Annual Giving team will send a stewardship email to undergraduate alumni who have made a gift this fiscal year. This email will celebrate some of the ways these alumni make Notre Dame a better place and announce the ND Loyal Score, which represents an individual’s cumulative years of giving.

If you have questions or would like to see email copy, please let Ellen Roof know.

Eddy Street now has a new coffee option. We have replaced the Douwe machine with a new Keurig machine stocked exclusively with Tayst Coffee. This highly regarded coffee brand has completely compostable pods, allowing us to assist the University’s sustainability program while providing great tasting coffee. Please give it a try, we know you’ll love it!

The latest episode of “The Grace of Giving” podcast is out today and features our first surprise remote guest! Check it out here. If you’d like to be a guest on the podcast, please fill out this brief form and we’ll contact you.

The February Matching Gift Email will send this Friday, February 14 to this list of assigned entities who work for matching gift companies and have made a gift since January 18, 2020 and as of today have not yet matched their gift.

Please note that individuals on the second tab of the excel file (“Fundraiser Outreach”) have not received the matching gift email message (all gifts exceeding $25,000) but may be eligible to match their gift. You are encouraged to reach out to your assigned benefactors directly to discuss the details and answer questions related to the matching gift process.

If you have any questions regarding this communication, please reach out to Laura Walker.

For those who are interested, we will be hosting 2 free yoga classes for Development employees. These hour-long classes will be led by one of the University’s certified instructors and will be held on Tuesday, March 3rd and Thursday, March 12th @ 4:30 p.m. in the Family Room on Eddy Street. Mats will be provided, but we encourage you to bring a water bottle. Space is limited to the first 50 who sign-up, so don’t be shy and click HERE! If you have any questions please contact Amy Plotkin or James Riley.

Please keep Vicki Reeder and Katie Edel in your prayers for the passing of Vicki’s brother, and Katie’s uncle, William Murphy, on Saturday, February 8th. Visitation will be Wednesday, February 12th from 5:00-8:00 with the funeral on Thursday at 11:00 at Welsheimer Funeral Home, 521 William St. More information and the obituary can be found here.

The Business Objects Prod server will be unavailable this weekend from 8:00 am Saturday morning until 5:00 pm Sunday afternoon. During this time period users will not be able to log in unless they have been contacted to participate in system validation. Also, once the server is taken down scheduled reports will not run until the system is brought back online.

During this outage the Business Objects server will be upgraded from version 4.1 to version 4.2 of the software. The primary difference between these two versions of the software is that the functionality of the HTML report editor has been improved. All users who are using Applet mode to modify or view Web Intelligence reports should change this setting to use HTML mode instead. Instructions on how to change this setting will be sent out when the server is brought back online.

The Office of Sustainability unveiled a new mascot last week that will help spread useful information on living less wastefully. The cartoon squirrel known as “Big Stu” (no relation to Development) is the creation of Alyssa Carroll ’20, a graphic design intern in the office.

Big Stu has squirreled away recycling and sustainability tips, which he will share on social media and digital monitors on campus. If you’re looking to make your home and office more sustainable, follow Big Stu on Instagram (@sustainable.stu) and read about him in The Observer.