That’s the question we get in almost every single meeting. Investment firms are struggling to find the right policy, and they want to know if their peers have found the answer. The answer is simple… no, they haven’t.
Nearly everyone agrees the “old days” of five mandatory days in the office are unlikely to return. No doubt some will try—even acknowledging there may be fallout from such an approach—but they will be a small minority and may find the fallout greater than anticipated. An illustrative comment we heard recently: “If he drags us back five days a week, I’ll leave.”
On the other hand, nearly everyone also agrees some element of in-person is necessary— for so many reasons— and most firms are thus experimenting with all types of hybrid environments. “And it’s working!” they say, optimistically, before explaining why it’s not. Usually, the regrets are related to not knowing who’s in and when, or people missing important information because they weren’t in the office and the conversation happened after the team’s Zoom call ended.
We’ve learned a few important lessons through these conversations, and can share a few key takeaways:
Listen to your people. Whether through conversations, surveys or other means, find out what is important to the individuals on your team. People may value the ability to work from home because they avoid a long commute, or because they actually get more done without interruptions all day. Or they have childcare issues, or perhaps hate their coworker. Alternatively, maybe they like coming in but see no point if others aren’t there. And if they are to come in, they might have some suggestions on office space given new working norms.
The emotions and reasons may or may not be valid. But asking the questions and getting the information can allow you to make informed policy decisions. And listening to their concerns will win loyalty and effort.
Set a policy and communicate expectations. It doesn’t have to be perfect right away; it’s okay to try a policy for a while and then adjust as you try to find the right balance. Not everyone will be happy—you’ll never be able to please everyone—but it can be created collaboratively and should be communicated clearly so everyone knows what’s expected of them. Everyone’s got to row in the same direction to get anywhere.
Be flexible. Whatever policy you’re leaning toward, make sure it offers flexibility. The most valuable real estate for employees is the space between their work life and their personal life. Being flexible here will come back in spades; being rigid will chase people away. That may mean certain fixed days in the office to ensure overlap and/or coverage, with a flex day or two each week. It may mean asking people to be in the office five days if they can but being accommodating of work from home when needed (in their judgment, not yours). Some companies have decided to give each employee a certain number of WFH flex days each quarter to use as they wish.
Remind people that the health of the company is key, and that the people are the company. Teammates should look out for one another, be compassionate and supportive, hold each other accountable, and recognize it’s about the team, not any one person. Young employees need mentoring, socialization and the osmosis effect. More experienced employees should understand they have a role in helping younger folks along and might need to be in the office a bit more to help with development and culture. And everyone needs to do their work, and well. If those second-order needs are met, being prescriptive about policy is less important.
Define success, thoughtfully. What really matters, both now and over time? For some emperor types, simply seeing their people in their chairs all day every day might be “success.” But much of the corporate world has evolved. A reasonable objective for a remote work policy might be one that achieves high retention and productivity… are we keeping our best people and putting them in a position to do their best work? Those are signs of a high-performing culture, not a bad north star for policy decisions.
I expect the pendulum, which has swung heavily toward workers in the last few years, to swing back toward employers. We’ve heard a few anecdotes recently, such as a manager telling his team they’d need to return to the office four days a week and being told they’d be willing to do three. In a tougher market and/or economy, workers may be less emboldened to dictate terms like that. But it is clear from everything we’ve heard, read and observed that the above principles have proven the most effective for most so far and will likely be successful approaches going forward.
Firms are starting to set policies—they have to—but they’ll no doubt evolve over the next few years as managements learn what works or doesn’t and employers and employees find equilibrium. For now, though, you’re not alone if you haven’t found the “right” answer.
Note there are additional resources you can turn to, such as the CFA Institute’s three-part series, “Where, What and How Work Gets Done: The Future of Work in Investment Management”, and PwC’s Hybrid Work Comes to Financial Services.