The Real Battleground for Talent is The Office

72% of companies globally have mandated a return to the office in some shape or form, with 42% experiencing higher than normal employee attrition, according to remote workspace company Unispace.?Google, Meta, Amazon and Disney have all asked employees to return to the office in recent months, replacing formerly more flexible hybrid work policies.

Google now includes office attendance in employees’ performance reviews, with Chief People Officer, Fiona Cicconi, reasoning there was no substitute?for coming together in person, according to an internal memo.??Australian company Canva has taken a different approach, whereby employees are expected to visit the office just 8 times per year. Canva said this decision was put in place after internal research, including a survey showing 81% of its teams saying they wanted to continue balancing working from the HQ with remote work even when all restrictions were eased in Australia.

So, what are the different approaches employers are taking to re-vitalise in-office work?

1. Incentives

Many employers are offering a variety of benefits and perks to encourage employees back to the office.?Google has even hosted a Lizzo concert for employees and hired marching bands.?JPMorgan and Disney are offering in-office dining.?Employers are also:

• Revamping workspaces
• Investing in new technology
• Offering additional childcare or commuter benefits
• Considering the larger number of pet owners since Covid with offerings including Pawternity Leave or covering pet insurance costs
• Running additional team events

2. Employee-Led Solutions

Employee-led return to work schemes such as that at Canva are providing balanced solutions between business priorities and employee work/life balance.

• Once Covid restrictions eased, Asda said it would allow 4,000 employees based in the Leeds and Leicester offices to choose where they work. The company then encourages team meetings or training sessions to be attended in person.
• eBay employees can choose to work from the office voluntarily — affording them the choice to work wherever they feel most comfortable.
• Nationwide has a Work Anywhere initiative that is derived from employee feedback after 57% of their employees said they’d like to work full-time from home — and a further 36% said they wanted a blend of home and office work.

3. Focusing on Communication

Many companies like software startup Pitch are focusing on their communication channels, providing reasons for why workers need to return to the office. Clearly communicating policies to give employees consistency and accountability. Many influential business leaders champion office working’s benefits for creativity and collaboration:

• In a memo to employees, Disney CEO Bob Iger said, “In a creative business like ours, nothing can replace the ability to connect, observe and create with peers that comes from being physically together, nor the opportunity to grow professionally by learning from leaders and mentors.” Disney has reduced their remote working from 2 to 1 day per week.
• Meta is the latest high-profile company to move away from lenient work-from-home policies. “This is the company’s year of efficiency”, Zuckerberg wrote in a press release?that called workers back into offices and included “refining” Meta’s distributed work model.

Coming together in a way that only in-person interaction can facilitate, ultimately results in increased motivation, productivity and increased business success. It’s also important to be flexible where possible - therefore hybrid working models are often a suitable solution for employers and employees alike.

There’s no “one-size-fits-all” solution to the future of where we work. Whatever the method, the transition to the office, underpinned by effective communication, needs to meet business needs as well as maintain employee culture and retain top talent.

MD Comment

Workplace flexibility is the only show in town for an organisation who wants to win the war for talent in the long-term. Salaries and packages can all be matched, however workplace flexibility and incentives are so aligned to organisational culture it’s now the main area to gain a real USP and competitive advantage in the most acute skills shortage modern economies have ever experienced. Real world demographics suggest skills shortages will be a challenge for most Western economies well into the next decade, so along with capitalising on tech such as AI and automation, organisations will need to develop a compelling workplace flexibility proposition to attract and retain top talent.