In Effort to Attract and Retain Employees Becker County Adopts ‘Work From Home Policy’

DETROIT LAKES (KDLM) – Becker County has adopted a work from home policy.

The new policy, adopted during Tuesday’s board meeting will allow qualified county employees to work from home three days per week.

Employees of the county will need to complete a remote work agreement and have their remote workspace assessed by the County Administrator, this includes periodic “inspections of the at-home workspace during regular work hours, with or without notice.”

“As employees get more and more difficult to attract and retain, we have to start thinking outside the normal box on getting some of these positions filled. If Department Heads can be more flexible…that would be an attractive option for some people that wouldn’t be interested otherwise,” said Commissioner Barry Nelson.

The change comes just weeks after concerns arose following the resignation of two-thirds of the county’s 6-person IT Department and with more than twenty positions in a number of countywide departments still open.