Hybrid Working is Better for Your Business - PwC
Hybrid workers are more productive and satisfied with their careers than those fully in the office, according to PwC.
Those flexible working are more likely to feel valued by their company than those who work either fully on-site or completely remotely, says PwC’s research.
Some CEOs are starting to accept that hybrid working is here to stay, given the evidence suggesting that allowing workers some flexibility improves morale and enhances work-life balance, particularly for those who can avoid commuting on certain days.
PwC’s Workforce Radar report sets out five things CEOs can do to maximise a productive and engaged workforce.
5 ways to transform your workforce
#1 - Retain and attract talent
Companies should be both “talent magnets” that attract emerging talent and “talent factories” helping existing workers to stay and build careers. However, while 80% of business leaders believe they are both, only 40% of employees agree. Clearly, there's a clear gap between how companies manage talent and how employees perceive it.
#2 - Fix your HR system foundations
CEOs may be obsessed with AI but, according to PwC workforce transformation leader Anthony Abbatiello, there are more basic HR systems which need upgrading. Only once the foundations are fixed can you bring in more generative AI and broader AI technologies.
#3 - Understand what your workforce really costs
CEOs rarely grasp the total cost of their workforce, says Abbatiello. For example, many companies don’t know how much take-up there is of costly staff benefits because these are often outsourced to third-party providers.
So instead of just reaching for the lever marked “Make redundancies” if you want to cut costs, you have a more nuanced view of what your workforce is costing you. Rather than reduce headcount, are there any other ways you can shave costs? Do you really need all those free office snacks and the built-in gym membership?
#4 - In leadership we trust
Develop your key leaders to be innovative visionaries who inspire trust, instil loyalty and use technological insights to define and reach business objectives. It pays to have business leaders who are resilient, agile and drive change.
#5 - Implement a location-based strategy
Devise a thought-through location-based work strategy and not just impose a rigid five-days-in-the-office mandate. Instead, balance the needs of your employees and your businesses while optimising business costs.
Bad decision
Abbatiello and his team conducted 13 months of research for their Workforce Radar report, surveying 20,000 business leaders, chief human resources officers, and workers, to understand how companies can better leverage their workforces.
PwC’s recommendations come at a time when many enterprise organisations are moving in the opposite direction.
UPS CEO Carol Tomé announced in January that the international logistics company was cutting 12,000 of its 85,000 management jobs and that managers who weren’t axed would be expected in the office five days a week from March.
Finance houses including JPMorganChase, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup have followed suit, making five-days-a-week compulsory for many of their staff.
And everyone’s favourite bete noir Elon Musk went even further, lambasting workers for wanting hybrid working, accusing the “laptop class” of “living in la-la land”.
But economics professor Nicholas Bloom told the BBC: “I think a couple of these Sun King CEOs like Elon Musk have this problem. They’re just out of touch with their employees, and they’re not used to hearing no… And they just rammed this thing through, which is a bad decision.”
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