On May 29 of this year, I taught a class at the Maricopa County Justice Courts Annual Staff Training Conference: “Working from Home/Pros and Cons.” The focus of the class was a discussion on the benefits and challenges of working from home. The class focused on judicial clerks; the concepts apply to other work groups as well. Working from home is a current option for many employees in the United States and worldwide. Eighty percent of the class participants have some form of work-from-home option available to them. The options range from partial working from home to regularly scheduled work-from-home days.
The interesting part of the discussion was that all the class participants held the same job. They were all court clerks in the Maricopa County Justice Courts. The difference was which Maricopa County Court they were assigned to.
The session became more interesting when the clerks began to offer examples of the court functions that they could do at home. There were many processes that could be done from home (which will be outlined later in this article). There was also a difference in how each court, in the same court system, managed the work-from-home staff. It was evident that the differences were not in available technology but in the comfort level in the use of technology, including how existing technology is used across the court system. This led to two questions from a clerk with no work-from-home availability: “Why can’t I work from home?” “Can I transfer to a court that does offer their staff a work-from-home option?” The Maricopa County Justice Courts is not a consolidated system. However, the courts that make up the Maricopa County Justice Courts do share some of the same processes, and the courts are experiencing challenges with recruiting and retaining clerks just as other systems across the United States are facing.
The justice courts also compete with one another for staff. Staff have opportunities to transfer to between Maricopa County Justice Court precincts. This is an interesting concept, because one of the things that could help staff retention both internal and external to Maricopa County Justice Courts is an exploration of work-from-home options for court clerks. Work from home is not only a benefit that is offered by other court systems and other industries that compete for our staff, but also an option that has enticed clerks to move within their current court system.
The answer to the clerk’s question on can she transfer, and can she work from home, is multifaceted. Yes, you can transfer to a court that offers a work-from-home option, but the answer to the question “can I work from home” is not a simple yes or no; however, all court systems need to realize that to recruit and retain top talent, the answer is moving toward a yes, or at the very least the option has to be explored.
By some estimates 16 percent of all U.S. companies are already fully remote, and by 2025, 32.6 million Americans will work remotely in some form. The customer service industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors to incorporate work-from-home options. The majority of the staff in any court system are the clerks, and a high volume of court clerk tasks are customer service related. This employee group is also increasingly asking their organization leaders if they can work from home. The answer has two parts, and both parts are important. Before I tell you the answers, it is important to know why this question is at the forefront of court management.
A recent USA Today report included the following data related to U.S. employees that work from home:
- The highest percentage of remote workers are aged 24 to 35 years of age
- 69 percent make less than $50k per year
- 76 percent of jobs in the legal community can work from home in some capacity
- 60 percent of the virtual workforce work in an administrative capacity
- 40 percent of the remote workforce are high-school graduates with some college
- 57 percent of workers would look for a new job if they are not allowed to work from home
A separate report on call center employees shows that up to 87 percent of agents are currently working from home.
The data illustrate why the question of working from home is so important to courts. The data represent the demographics of our current and future staff. This is vital to court operations because it is important to our current and future workforce, as well as to competition for staff. Most of our current and potential workforce is made up of people that can and do work remotely in other industries and in some cases for more pay. This means that court systems where clerks make up to 60 percent or more of the staff will have to develop ways to work from home, and that will not be enough alone. Court systems will need training and development for supervisors and managers capable of motivating and engaging their staff both in and out of the courthouse. The employee of the future, as well as many of our current employees, will need work-from-home options if court systems are going to be competitive at recruiting and retaining the workforce they need. The courts will also need to ensure that supervisors and managers of court staff develop the ability to manage a remote staff. It is not a question of if courts should consider a work-from-home option, but of when virtual management will become a required skill for all court supervisors and managers.
So, what is the two-part answer to the question Can I work from home?
The first part is yes. Court clerks can do many parts of their job from home, as long as they have the training, proper resources, and trust in their ability to accomplish their required task at home. Clerks are aware that parts of their job can be done from home, and other clerks are already working from home. There are some elements of public interface and some tasks that that are still required to be done from the courthouse, but those items do not represent most of a clerk’s daily tasks. In addition, technology enhancements may continue to reduce the tasks in this category.
Clerks in the Maricopa County Justice Courts perform a variety of tasks from home, including:
- Indexing
- Answering phones and responding to emails (including taking payments)
- Sending and receiving documents from litigants
- Managing work queues
- Performing bailiff functions
- Setting up payment plans
- Making accounting adjustments
- Training
In addition to the list above, there are virtual kiosks, enhanced webpage technology, and efiling systems that will continue to reduce in-court interface and provide more opportunities for litigants and attorneys to interface with the court virtually. The challenge to working from home is not the lack of technology, but possibly how fast the courts can keep up with the technology and the ever-increasing public demand to become more virtual. The public is using technology more and more in their daily lives and are starting to demand enhanced technology in all areas of society. This will include the ability to attend court remotely, file paperwork without coming into the court, and being able to use their smart phones whenever possible. If there is a concern that we may leave some members of the public out of justice if we go too virtual, do not fear. By some estimates there are 310 million smartphones in the United States, and a smartphone penetration rate of 96 percent. If the public continues to use technology in many parts of their lives, the increase in the desire to work from home will increase proportionately. The answer to can the courts works from home is, of course, yes, but that is not the complete answer. An organization in any industry must consider that just because they can allow some form of working from home, they may not be able to provide this opportunity now, which leads to the second part of the answer.
This part of the equation is more challenging for some court supervisors and managers. Next, we will examine the other side of the coin: should we? Should is the grey area of management that does not have a definitive yes-or-no answer, which will open the door for a lag in the opportunity to work from home, even with an existence of the availability.
The challenge is determining if we should allow our employees to work from home and how that fits with a particular court’s culture. There are pros and cons to working from home. Oddly enough, some of the pros and cons are the same. Depending on who you ask the interpretation of the same element will support different perspectives.
Pros include:
- Increased efficiency
- Easy to manage staff
- Easy to prioritize projects
- Results oriented
- Cut down on commute time
- Better work/life balance
- Meeting the public desire for enhanced technology in public services
Cons include:
- Decreased efficiency
- Requires a different management style
- An employee home becomes the office, which reduces true at-home time
- Increased feelings of isolation
- Increased cost to set up the employee’s home (who should pay is a topic for another time)
- Required changes to office technology (changing from desktops to more mobile tools such as laptops)
The pros and cons do not help us reach an answer because there is support for either side. Each organization will have to determine if the pros outweigh the cons. I am biased and think that the pros outweigh the cons, so saying yes is easy for me. Those that see the benefits over the challenges link working from home to a happier workforce. Those in support of working from home must determine what technology is available to their staff and ensure their teams are well equipped to do so.
The group that does not want to offer a work-from-home option also has support for their position. They are not wrong in their assessment of their situation. The key to expressing to staff that they are not allowed to work from home is honesty. Organization leadership must honestly assess why they do not want to offer a work-from-home option and, more importantly, be willing to share the reasons. The following questions can help assess the viability of remote work for your court:
- Is the organization open to allowing staff to work from home? Most organizations today, including court systems, have some form of virtual work. If your organization is open to the idea, as a supervisor/manager you must explore the possibility. If your organization is not open to the idea of working from home, supervisors/managers must champion this cause and provide data, resources, and education to their leadership so that the option can be explored. Recruitment and retention demand it.
- Does the technology exist? We know that it does. Not every court system will have all the required hardware and software available to their teams, but the goal for court leadership will be to get the technology in place. The cost and return on the investment will need to be assessed. The opportunity cost that may be lost will be continued challenges with recruitment and retention.
- Does the staff have the skills to work from home? Probably. Most of the court staff live in a technological world. They already do business remotely, talk to family and friends remotely, and have familiarization with technology and social media processes that lay the foundation for remote work. They have the basic skills necessary and are increasingly expecting to work for organizations that take advantage of available technology that will make their lives easier.
- Does the staff have the maturity to work from home? This has nothing to do with age. This has everything to do with the ability of your staff to work without over-the-shoulder supervision and your ability to manage without it. This also requires a mature management/leadership team that has the maturity to manage by objectives. Can the managers provide the clerks with a clear outline of their expectations and will the managers hold their employees accountable for their actions. In truth, if a manager doesn’t hold employees accountable when they work in the courthouse, the same managers will not be able to manage your virtual work teams. This is not a reason to stay away from virtual work, but it is a reason for managers/supervisors to enhance their skill sets. If managers do not currently embody these skills, their workplans and training regimen need to be adjusted.
- Can the managers and supervisors honestly answer the question? This is a challenge if the answer is no because the manager/supervisor does not have the skills or confidence to manage a work-from-home team, which includes the critical ability to manage based on clear objectives and outcomes. However, if managers/supervisors are willing to learn how to manage a virtual team, it will be easier to gain the staff’s confidence that a work-from-home option is being truly considered. Honesty, and some management humbling, will provide an atmosphere where a manager can work with the staff. Together, management and their teams will gain the knowledge that the ability to work from home will require self-motivation, work engagement, and consistent accomplishment of work goals. Managers need to be able and willing to develop clear goals with their team; give their staff the responsibility to do their jobs, in or out of the courthouse; and hold them accountable when they do not perform—then they will be on their way to managing a stay-at-home workforce or a workforce in the courthouse.
In the end the answer is simple: court clerks can work from home, and the option should certainly be explored. Working from home will require the entire team to put in some work. However, this is no different than developing a successful team in the courthouse. The benefits will be a motivated and engaged team that will provide better service to the public and enhanced access to justice.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Reams is the court administrator for Maricopa County Justice Courts, Arizona.
