Letting Go: Time to Shut Down Corporate Offices

Every birth of a corporate office gives the idea that a brand’s success has come to fruition. It’s a physical space that manifests the fulfillment of a dream. With well manicured lobbies, employees in crisp shirts and suits, and the company’s name plastered on the walls, you can almost feel and smell the success while walking down the halls. In most cases, the creation of a corporate office means growth and global expansion of a business. Remote offices are created and geographies are unlocked, therefore pushing the company into an upward trajectory. 

However, once growth continues, companies commit the mortal sin of having their corporate offices take hold of the reins too tightly. Having a centralized approach is thought to render consistency in terms of the company’s policies. While this isn’t in itself problematic, the lack of understanding of what the people on the ground really need could hinder true innovation and lead to a brand’s downfall. 

Too often I’ve seen U.S.-based companies become 100% finance or shareholder focused because the corporate office’s success is gauged purely by numbers. Companies fail to become employee-focused when they are geographically distanced from the front line and the day-to-day of the business. The physical distance of corporate offices already creates a bias towards what is immediately seen: the financials. This leads to regional ignoranceーthe lack of people-centrism and cultural appropriateness that can spell doom for the further growth of the employees and eventually, even the company.

Regional differences 

Distributed representation at a high level is extremely important for global organizations. At our core, we are all human and seeing is believing, especially when it comes to decision-making. Imagine what would happen if only the financials-focused corporate offices call the shots. I expect this to get even more problematic when leaders are working from their nice houses while so many are struggling with the issues of childcare, family tensions, and increasing bills. We fail the people when we fail to truly understand who they are and where they’re coming from. This is where cultural differences, which an ignorant HQ is blind to, come in. 

The slightest disparity between regions has a huge impact on a company, which is all the more reason to take it into consideration when making decisions for employees. One example is looking at how people get to work and how soon they are able to get to work. In the U.S., the majority own a private vehicle and manage to drive around. In 2018, a whopping 90.1% used a car to get to work. Meanwhile in other countries such as the Philippines and India, the majority of average daily workers use mass transportation and have long lamented their congested streets. In Manila, even with less than 10% of Filipino households owning a car, findings suggest that it would take five minutes just to travel a kilometer and that Filipinos spend a total of 257 hours yearly in traffic alone. As someone who previously lived in the Philippines, I could attest to the traffic and the difficulty of getting by through public transportation. I’ve folded myself five times over just to fit in a tricycle and I couldn’t imagine just riding it to work every day! Unfortunately, even trains are not as efficient because of almost daily breakdowns. 

A view of Manila (above) and India’s (below) traffic

Another example is health care, particularly mental health. The disparity in numbers of mental health professionals between the U.S. and the Philippines is wide enough. In the U.S., there are about 560,000 mental health professionals for a population of 330+ million people. The Philippines has a measly 1900 mental health experts for a population of almost 110 million. Looking at it from a global standpoint, government policies that address these issues are lacking further. The Philippine government only spends about 5% of its health budget on mental health and medical insurance typically does not cover mental health care costs, thus creating a stigma. In the U.S., the stance on mental health is less bleak, but still varies from state to state.

The state of public health in the Philippines. Photo taken from CNN.PH.

This year, COVID-19 brought out a new approach not just to health care, but also to the way we work. While this pandemic has kept us mostly working within our homes, the work-from-home environment is not apt for everybody due to differing infrastructures, households, and even family dynamics. Employees in the Philippines are more excited to work in an office because of the facilities, especially air conditioning. The ballooning costs of utilities and the internet are also a regular concern. In India, a regular apartment’s monthly utilities can rack up $37 in costs while internet is $11. While these may seem minimal when compared in the U.S., India’s average mobile broadband download speed of 9.81 mbps is far below the global average of 30.89 mbps. 

There’s also the issue of time off or paid leaves as governments mandate different provisions for employees. In the U.S., the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leaves specified for family and medical reasons. In Taiwan, when an employee gets married, he or she is entitled to eight days of paid leave. There are also other leave conditions such as personal leave without pay for a maximum of 14 days in a year and sick leaves wherein only 50% of salary will be paid. In the Philippines, it’s pretty straightforwardーemployers are mandated to provide only a minimum of five days paid leave for an employee who has rendered at least a year of service. In Mexico and Greece, leave entitlement varies based on the years of service. Given these differences, having a centralized ruling on leave benefits would prove disastrous. If a corporate office merely adopted the FMLA approach for all offices, it would be unfair to an employee from Taiwan. 

It’s also about giving the best experience to the employees and not just the bare minimum. When big, sudden benefit decisions need to be made, say for example in India, who can accomplish that? Would it be the HR team who’s based in a corporate office in New York or those who experience the same conditions in India? 

Decentralization, collaboration and a bottom-up approach

The bottom line is, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the varied situations and challenges faced by our employees around the globe. But by acknowledging these differences, we’re already halfway through solving the problem. Decentralization is essential when business expansion happens, especially to a new country or region. 

Empowering leaders to make decisions outside of the corporate office is key here. Organizations that have tight C-Suites fighting vertically across a wide business cause inefficiency and the lack of quick decision-making and feedback at the ground level. This is even more important in a world where business is moving rapidly and innovation is important.

As employers, we have the responsibility to improve not just our numbers, but the overall quality of life of our employees. The next thing to do is enact policies catering to the specific needs of employees in different regions. In our case, it could only happen because of how we empower our employees to speak up and our senior leadership to make decisions in finding the best solutions appropriate for their geographies. 

We are proud of the diversity in our organization

TaskUs has been largely distributed since the beginning, with different departments being focused in different locations. We didn't have one particular group ruling all zones and collaboration was required every time we wanted to make decisions. This is a function of a smaller company. 

But even as we grew exponentially, our usual practice of collaboration and adaptability proved to be a good thing, especially when the pandemic hit. In India and the Philippines, our teammates who had no access to home internet were provided with dongles and broadband. In some countries, we started telehealth consultations so teammates can lessen the risk of exposing themselves to the virus. To address the lack of government programs and coverage for mental health in the Philippines, we provided on-site life coaches and now, free virtual mental wellness teleconsultations to support our teammates during this time. 

Where does your company stand? Are you still keeping the reins tight or are you allowing regional offices to make the decisions needed by your local teams? Almost every article I read makes the argument that given these recent changes brought by COVID-19, everyone will be working from home and that in-office work will end. 

I believe that real human connections will never go away, no matter the situation. I hope that we can see less mental health struggles, healthcare issues, and people commuting for hours. This time is in fact a great opportunity to debunk the corporate mentality and close corporate offices that have too often been disconnected from the front line. Let’s focus on addressing people’s needs and not shutting down local offices where the real connections take place.