Name: Epic Systems backs off on plans to require most employees to begin returning to work on campus Monday
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Epic Systems backs off on plans to require most employees to begin returning to work on campus Monday

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Milwaukee Journal SentinelView CommentsEpic Systems&nbsp;told employees this past weekend that they would not be required to begin returning to its campus in Verona on Monday, backing off that drew national attention and spurred a backlash from some employees.The company — one of the two largest software companies for electronic health records — had planned to bring back most of its roughly 10,000 employees in phases by Sept. 21, despite the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in the state.&nbsp;Only employees who had problems arranging child care or those with health conditions that would put them at risk of severe complications from COVID-19&nbsp;would have had&nbsp;the option of working remotely until Nov. 2.Now, all&nbsp;Epic employees may continue&nbsp;to work remotely.&nbsp;Epic, like many companies, doesn't want an indefinite future of remote work. But the response to the company's plans suggests the challenges awaiting other employers as they balance employees' concerns with&nbsp;the loss of the&nbsp;interactions that are often essential to running an organization efficiently.“We do want people to come in,” said Sverre Roang, chief administrative officer of Epic. “We’ve been very clear about that. We work best when together.”Complicating these challenges are shifting health department guidelines and the continuing spread of the virus.In an email to employees on Saturday, Epic said that the Public Health Department of Madison &amp; Dane County had&nbsp;raised questions about the company’s plan.The public health department&nbsp;may have misunderstood that some employees still would have had the option of working remotely, Roang said.&nbsp;The public health department has ordered that businesses facilitate remote work “to the greatest extent possible.” Roang said Epic’s understanding of the order&nbsp;was that businesses would be allowed to determine this.Zack Brandon, president of the Madison Chamber of Commerce, said that this, too, was his understanding of the order.But Epic realized that the public health department’s questions created uncertainty.“We just needed a pause in there to make sure that everyone is on the same page and make sure that all of the plans we have are compliant with that local order,” said Nicky Quick, a physician and an epidemiologist who worked in public health in Orange County, Calif., who was just hired by Epic to oversee its plans to bring employees back.An estimated 4,200 employees last week already were working on its 1,048-acre campus voluntarily,&nbsp;Epic said.The company —&nbsp;which had&nbsp;revenue of $3.2 billion in 2019 —&nbsp;initially planned to require all employees to return in July, but pushed the first phase back to Aug. 10.Although the date had been set, many employees expected the&nbsp;date to be pushed back again, said an employee who asked not to be identified.The company’s campus —&nbsp;built at a cost of more than $1 billion over more than a decade —&nbsp;consists of 28 buildings. None is more than three stories, so many employees could avoid taking elevators, where maintaining social-distancing guidelines is a challenge.Most employees also have their own offices. And the company is dividing offices that are shared.Epic also said it has modified its ventilation systems, including adding additional filters, and will schedule times for employees to go to its cafeterias. Chairs have been removed from conference rooms to ensure social distancing. And employees will be required to wear masks, except when in their offices with the door closed.&nbsp;In addition to hiring Quick, Epic has contracted with the Cleveland Clinic and Steve Ostroff, a physician and expert on infectious diseases who worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to review its plans.“Epic has taken extraordinary measures to make sure the campus environment is compliant with all best practices related to COVID, trying to make it as safe as possible,” Quick said.But the plan to bring people back to campus angered many employees concerned about their own health and the risk of spreading the disease in the community.“It is grossly irresponsible,” said an&nbsp;employee who asked not to be identified.Having 10,000 people in close proximity, the person said,&nbsp;will spread the virus.“It is highly contagious, we know that,” the employee said. “One of our buildings is called the Epicenter. And there is a very real possibility that in a few weeks we will be an epicenter.”Employees also questioned why the move was needed.“Overall, I think of Epic as a very ethical company and a principled company,” another employee said. “So, it is disappointing we are not handling this situation better.“I don’t want to hurt Epic, but I also don’t want to hurt our employees or the people of Dane County,” the person added. “They have not presented a compelling case that the risk outweighs the reward.”Epic has said that working in-person supports collaboration and creativity, allowing employees for example to gather in front of a whiteboard to brainstorm on solutions to problems —&nbsp;albeit while wearing masks and practicing social distancing.“That kind of thing is difficult or truly impossible to replicate,” Roang said.Several employees acknowledged that there can be drawbacks but contended that employees have shown that they can work remotely and be efficient.“We don’t have to take this risk,” one&nbsp;said. “And that risk is not just to us. It’s to the community.”The company knew that some employees would oppose the plan to bring people back to its campus.“With 10,000 people, you are going to have lots of differing opinions on almost every subject, and this one in particular is emotional, and we get that,” Roang said. “I don’t want to diminish anybody’s opinion or the fear they are feeling.“Those are important and we are doing everything we can to address the concerns of our staff,” he said.One clear challenge is training new employees,&nbsp;a problem that is magnified for Epic. The company said has hired 1,315 people&nbsp;since March&nbsp;when the pandemic first hit.Employees who plan to continue to work at home must contact human resources by Wednesday — and&nbsp;one employee said this puts pressure on employees to return to campus.The requirement to contact human resources&nbsp;is to understand people’s plans so that the company knows what to expect, Roang said. It also will let employees express their concerns.Employees who have trouble securing&nbsp;child care&nbsp;—&nbsp;which Roang acknowledged was a significant problem —&nbsp;also have the option of reducing their hours, to as low as 50%, and take a corresponding cut in salary.&nbsp;All employees are expected to be available during normal working hours, according to an&nbsp;employee who oversees a team.Without question, some employees are fearful of contracting COVID-19, and Quick noted the community-wide spread of the virus.“It's natural to be concerned about that,” she said. “That’s where the communication piece is critical.”That lesson is not lost on Epic.“If we learned anything, we needed to do a bit better job of communicating all the things we have been doing to mitigate the risk," Roang&nbsp;said. "It’s a challenging&nbsp;message. And we continue to do a better job of that. Ultimately, we just need clear guidance from public health officials.”View Comments

Milwaukee Journal SentinelView CommentsEpic Systems&nbsp;told employees this past weekend that they would not be required to begin returning to its campus in Verona on Monday, backing off that drew national attention and spurred a backlash from some employees.The company — one of the two largest software companies for electronic health records — had planned to bring back most of its roughly 10,000 employees in phases by Sept. 21, despite the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in the state.&nbsp;Only employees who had problems arranging child care or those with health conditions that would...

Epic Systems backs off on plans to require most employees to begin returning to work on campus Monday

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