London Tech Leaders #3 - Impact of WFH on Compensation

This write-up is part 5 of a 6 part series documenting LTL #3 , a virtual thought leadership event for C-Suite transformation leaders in technology. The event covered:

1. Cyber Security During Lockdown
2. Data-Driven Decision Making
3. Onboarding New Starters and Suppliers Remotely
4. Pivoting Business Models in a Post-COVID World
5. Impact of WFH on Compensation
6. Impact of WFH on Productivity

How should we be supporting people's packages now they’re working from home? 

Des started on this challenging point by looking at it from an organisational level rather than personal one. Organisations will now be looking at things like London weighting and arguing against it, as more and more people move outside of London. 

Overall though, he argues flexibility will be needed on both sides to come to an amicable resolution. David then made the point of widening the net, having just had hiring managers in his own team come to him after hiring remote workers and asking, ‘why didn’t we do this all along?’

Phil argues there will be more considerations to take into account with working from home, one example being home networks being slower when children are playing video games etc… 

Jacob pressed the importance of flexibility, and that not ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to attitudes about returning to the office. Organisations should segment their workforce by their differing attitudes, and offer solutions to all. He also spoke about how the days of coming into the office to work at a desk are over, and that office spaces should be changed to offer more meeting rooms and spaces to be creative. 

"Organisations should segment their workforce by their differing attitudes, and offer solutions to all"

Des spoke about his recent conversations with colleagues about setting up work hubs across London. He stressed the importance of having a place to come to work, especially for younger staff struggling because of shared accommodation, and a lack of workplace social interaction. 

Phil then mentioned that Barclays were looking into turning their empty high street stores into local workplaces for their staff, and that companies should take a similar innovative approach. 

Overall, the summary was that a local, available option should be a priority.

Key Takeaways:

• Compensation should be evaluated after transitioning to fully WFH - but flexibility on both sides is needed 
• Office space is likely to change to become a place where teams can meet and be creative 
• Local work hubs are an innovative solution, especially for the younger workforce

The Panel 

Des Burke is the current Interim CTO of Lloyds, having previously worked at Prudential, BP and Morgan Stanley. At the moment his focus is on the ‘Future of Lloyd’s’ transformation - modernising one of the last bastions of a paper-based market. 

?Niamh Mckenna recently joined NHS Resolutions as their first CIO. Prior to this, she spent 26 years at Accenture, working across most sectors, but most recently as MD of their health practice in the UK.

Jacob Abboud is the former CIO of Allianz, and most recently was Interim CIO at AXA Insurance. He also currently serves as a non-exec board member for the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency within the Ministry of Transport. 

Phil Scully is the current CIO of Costa, having previously been Group CTO for Whitbread. Prior to this he built his retail experience at M&S, and Centrica and Heathrow before that. 

Finally we had David Crawford, our compere and co-organiser of London Tech Leaders. The current Group CTO of Naked Wines, he was previously at Camelot, and before that heading up OTT video services at Sky. 

London Tech Leaders is sponsored by WeShape, a DevOps, Digital, Data and Cloud Native Consultancy.