By Sebastian Kanally
Increased productivity and a drop in staff departures were among the initially promising results that led the Regional District of the Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) to choose to continue its four-day work week pilot project for another 12 months.
At their December 19, 2024 meeting, the RDOS board of directors received a presentation updating the board on the results of the pilot project that saw most RDOS employees’ transition to a four-day work week on July 1, 2024.
Karmen Morgan, senior manager of human resources for the RDOS provided the summary and data to the board on how the project has been going.
“The data does suggest that we are making positive changes and moving in the right direction, but some more time would be helpful to affirm some of the things that haven’t been definitive yet,” Morgan explained.
Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Jim Zaffino also commented that “it didn’t fail, it actually looks very promising, however, I would like to have it another 12 months.”
Zaffino further commented that extending the pilot project was always the plan, but if it was going to fail, he wanted the sinking ship to only last six months and not the full 18 months.
The three big areas Morgan mentioned that were particularly successful over the past six months were increased productivity, fewer staff departures, and less overtime being taken.
“The percentage of projects completed improved over the duration of the trial . . . around 84 per cent of all of the projects that we set out to do,” Morgan explained.
When it comes to employees leaving, she went on to say that there has been a 30 per cent drop in departures this year, “which is significant”.
Although there were many initial positives, there are still some areas that “were not definitive yet’.
While most staff were happy with the change, Morgan explained that not every employee’s experience has been the same. Different employees have different workloads, pressures and timelines and therefore they need more time to assess the differences.
She also explained a few other reasons they should extend the project such as the existence of certain long-standing processes that take time to change. Also, Morgan noted a six-month snapshot for data has interpretative risks.
A large factor, which some board members also commented on in the discussion, was the fact that the entire organization has experienced significant change in 2024 and so a longer period of time to assess the results would help.
For these reasons they wanted an additional 12 months, which would bring the entire pilot project to 18 months to gather more clear data.
One noteworthy point is that RDOS managers were given a choice of whether they wanted to go to the new four-day model or keep the five day a week schedule. Zaffino mentioned that he and Christy Malden, deputy CAO, for example stayed with the old five-day model because they realized they “had to be there”.
Riley Gettens, Electoral Area “F” director representing West Bench and rural Summerland noted that “it’s a bit concerning if it’s not happening with managers as well.”
Helena Konanz, a city of Penticton councillor noted that “as someone who comes 100 per cent from the private sector, owning my own business or managing other businesses, there is not one employee that would ever say that wouldn’t want to work four days for sure . . . I think this is very much a luxury.”
Richard Barkwill, a Summerland councillor, took issue with Konanz’s characterization, “I don’t see it as a luxury,” noting that the private and public sector are working in competition within one market. He noted employees go back and forth and that this is not just a luxury for government jobs.
The six-month pilot project that saw all full-time regular staff, including emergency management, water and waste operators move to the new operational change began on July 1, 2024.
The purpose was to enhance employee recruitment, retention, and to address inefficiencies. The four-day work week results in no reduction in hours of operation at RDOS offices or facilities.
