“You don’t build a business, you build people. Then people build the business”
This quote from US author and motivation speaker, Zig Ziglar, explains why it’s vital to attract the best talent to your business. But that’s much easier said than done, when you have countless competitors trying to attract the very same people.
So, what’s the secret? According to recent findings, it could be hybrid working.
Keep reading to dig a little deeper…
A gap emerging between employees and employers
Offices have long been the top (and only) place of work for many jobs. While remote work has been possible for a while, it didn’t really take off until employers’ hands were forced by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Then, as lockdown restrictions lifted, many businesses chose to reopen their offices and get ‘back to normal’. But it turns out, not everyone is on board.
A survey by Gigabit Networks found that only 20% of employees were prepared to be based in the office for three or more days a week. That’s in stark contrast to employers – 83% of whom want that to be the case.
Why? For employees, the answers are clear. The cost of commuting (55%) and loss of home-working flexibility (40%) are the biggest factors putting employees off a full office return. In another study, just over half of UK workers said they feel more productive when working from home too!
What does this mean for recruitment?
With around 4 in 5 businesses favouring the office, and the same proportion of employees favouring remote work, the situation seems to be a bit of a stalemate. But it won’t be for long.
If businesses force employees back into the office against their will, they won’t stick around forever. By the end of 2021, 17% of workers had already left companies for a more flexible working model. The following year, The Conference Board also found that almost a third of workers were planning to leave their company within the next six months.
Here’s what that means for businesses that want to hire and keep the top talent…
- Talented people are leaving companies that don’t offer hybrid working.
- They’re going to companies that do.
Simply put, if you don’t facilitate hybrid working, you’ll miss out on hiring the best talent. And you may even lose some of your existing workforce to companies that allow people to work remotely.
What’s preventing hybrid work?
We mentioned earlier why so many workers favour remote and hybrid working. But why do such a high proportion of employers feel the opposite? The answer isn’t stubbornness, as some disgruntled employees might suggest! Instead, it’s generally down to concerns about security and technology.
In the study by Gigabit Networks, 58% of businesses said they were concerned about security with employees working away from the office. Meanwhile, almost two-thirds of businesses aren’t confident in their IT estate’s ability to support hybrid working.
89% of IT directors in an Apogee survey said current IT limitations are preventing collaboration, while 48% reported that remote staff lack access to the solutions used by office workers. But at the same time, 71% aren’t prioritising investment in IT to solve those problems.
How to support hybrid workers and attract the best talent
Failure to properly facilitate hybrid work could see your company missing out on top talent and falling behind the competition. Fortunately, it’s much easier than you might think to make the necessary changes – even for multi-national organizations.
Aura can assist with the global deployment and management of collaboration solutions like Microsoft Teams, which bridge the gap between remote and in-office staff.
Our Device-as-a-Service offering allows you to provide the technology needed for hybrid working without the up-front investment that puts off so many organizations. We can even help with hybrid meeting rooms, which provide quality, inclusivity and convenience to your teams, wherever they’re based.
Whatever your requirements, you’ll get a bespoke solution wrapped up in one contract with single contact and consistent SLAs across the world. It’s hybrid working without the hassle, so you can retain and attract the best talent without any downsides.
Ready to make it happen? Contact our team today.
