It’s not a Return to Office – it’s a Return to Face-to-Face
The PRCA holds a monthly Large Agency Forum to convene the leaders of our largest members and debate the big issues facing our industry, to help everyone understand the direction of travel.
The Return to the Office is one subject that continues to dominate discourse and is more nuanced than might immediately appear. It was a key topic of conversation at the May meeting.
These are challenging matters but important ones that the sector needs to address from a variety of perspectives. We looked at a few of them through different lenses here.
Our leaders identified five key areas for employers to think about:
- The return to the office is a misnomer
While discussions tend to centre around the return to office, most leaders are actually asking for a return to face-to-face.
“Talking about a wholesale return to the office environment is off putting for some, even where they know they as an individual and the organisation benefit from in-person contact. A way round this is to be clear that attendance at off-sites and client meetings, or events, all fits into this bracket. We bridge this by talking about the return to face-to-face. It makes a huge difference to securing buy-in.
“It’s also important to remember you can return to being in-person, but still have flexibility in hours and multiple locations in any day, which increases the appeal significantly too.”
- Mandatory days are important for learning
There was general agreement about the need for office time to support individuals in developing knowledge and skills, and teams in developing stronger bonds.
“Time in the office allows everyone to benefit from tacit knowledge transfer and builds team trust and capabilities. It’s also important in helping younger talent build office-ready skills which have been lacking since most workplaces went remote during COVID.”
- Remote working is potentially damaging perceptions of the industry
Professional services clients are moving faster than the public relations and public affairs industry in returning to an office environment. A remote provision is not always well received because of this.
“This is a sensitive one but important for us to consider. Some of our biggest clients are back in the office full time. There is a danger that we look like we’re lagging behind and we know that is a perception that could be harmful to the industry. Take note as this one matters. A hybrid approach may be a better solution than remote.”
- Think about adjustments and incentivisation
Adjustments for individual members of staff to help them return to the workplace by their nature help everyone.
“Let’s face it, adjustments that our neurodivergent colleagues (as an example) may require to work from the office are good for all of us. Quiet spaces, regular breaks, muted lighting, respect for how people like to communicate and genuinely flexible working practices – all these things create an environment that’s more designed for wellbeing and productivity.
“Wages are also unlikely to have gone up at the same rate as inflation so any incentives to encourage people to come in can make a real difference, from support with travel costs to subsidised food and snacks.”
- Relocation, relocation, relocation
Many organisations employ talent who moved further away during COVID for a variety of reasons. Asking them to potentially reconsider that house move is a big ask.
“We know more time in the office is coming down the line and is likely to be more heavily mandated. How to accommodate those who moved away is currently occupying part of our thinking. We are all about flexibility but the approach has to be fair and work for all involved, including the organisation. The solution is likely to lie with one-to-one conversations and finding the answer together.”
Thanks to all the agency leaders who contributed to this discussion.