In my blog post late May, “Remote work – what next?”, I commented on the balance needed as organizations begin to bring people back to the office. Balancing the organization’s needs with the
individual’s preferences and choices. I concluded that the organizations that are thoughtful in their plans and supportive of their workforce during this transition time will be most successful in retaining and attracting talent. I noted that chapter three of remote work was just beginning to be written.
I continue to hear from colleagues on their approaches and see many articles on the subject. That includes a rather concerning one, “The Great Resignation…..by Remote Workers”, written by several senior partners at the search firm Korn Ferry. One of my CIO colleagues shared it on our Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) CIO Forum Hot Topic Call last week when we were discussing our respective approaches to continuing remote work. The article describes the challenge of retaining employees who now know they can be a remote worker for companies anywhere who may offer a higher salary or better benefits and perks. They emphasize the need for organizations to rethink their retention programs and find new and innovative ways to incorporate remote workers into the culture.
It was useful to hear from CHA colleagues – flexibility is the operative word. Having broad guidelines and letting individual managers work with their teams on how best to make a mix of remote and onsite work most effective for them. A few of the CHA CIOs talked about national recruitment with each having several states where they are approved to recruit from. For an organization that primarily operates in one state and hires from a few bordering states, expanding recruitment nationally will depend on HR support and dealing with tax laws. But if you do go down this path, one CIO cautioned that you need to ensure inclusivity and find ways to make out of state employees feel part of the culture.
My colleague and principal at StarBridge Advisors, Russ Rudish, wrote an excellent blog post recently outlining the challenges and opportunities that both employers and employees are focused on as we enter this next chapter. In “Now What? Working in a Post Covid World”, Russ comments on recruiting and retention, work / home separation, feeling part of a team, and more. As he says, there are no quick or simple solutions but how companies address them will have significant and broad impacts.
July 1st was a demarcation in a few ways. We are halfway through 2021 – a year where we are returning to some level of new normal. It also marked an arbitrary date when many organizations started bringing people back into the office. At Boston Children’s Hospital, July 1st was the target date for return to the office since some time last year. Leading up to July 1st, every leader identified by job grade which jobs can be full-time remote, full-time onsite, or a hybrid. The next six months is viewed as experimental as each department implements this return within their own area in a flexible, phased manner working within a broad framework.
Retention and attracting talent are real issues for organizations. I would love to hear from you on how your organization is approaching this transition, what’s working, and what’s not working. As I said before, we are writing chapter three together.
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