Source Finance Derivative
Robin Dey, Regional Principal for Client Relations
Hybrid working in practice has quickly become a mainstay topic of the conversations surrounding the future of work, especially as employers look to understand how their businesses will be impacted. Recently, accountancy firm EY announced plans for its 17,000 staff to move to a ‘hybrid working model’ that will give them the ability to work from home two days each week. Two of its big four rivals, PwC and KPMG, have also signalled their intentions to make similar switches to their traditional working patterns.
Unispace’s most recent Workplace Market study, which surveyed real estate decision makers from 150 companies with global office footprints, found more than half (52%) of those surveyed anticipate a “return to a new normal” by the end of Q3 2021. However, more than one third (35%) of respondents within the same sample feel that devising a strategy for the future workplace – which is likely to include some element of hybrid working – could be the most significant barrier to realising this flexible new reality. So, what could a hybrid working City look like?
The hybrid working challenge
It’s important to note that – even in the quieter summer months – the return to the office was well underway. In the week of the 16th of July (which marked ‘Freedom Day’ in the UK) workplaces in the City of London were the busiest they’ve been for 16 months after the government dropped coronavirus restrictions in England. City-working attendance was around 50% of pre-pandemic levels according to data compiled by Google.
The City and Canary Wharf benefit from their clustered natures. Culturally and historically, financial institutions have built their businesses around the idea of working together in close proximity, sharing knowledge frequently and leveraging the power of the group. Investment banking is driven by ideas that spring from in-person brainstorming and collaboration; bringing people together. This powerhouse approach looks to deliver value via its model to both clients and employees.
Financial services firms focus on knowledge sharing – and that was traditionally seen to be done most effectively face-to-face. This is in contrast to many of the retail banks which have historically embraced remote and hybrid more enthusiastically. This is due to the rapid consumer-led digital shift over the past decade, and to support the retailer’s ability to draw top talent from the technology industry (an early-hybrid working adopter) to support their growth. Moves to introduce hybrid working across the City will seek to accommodate these engrained preferences in order to be effective.
Evolving to exceed colleagues’ expectations
A survey from Accenture found that almost a quarter of the UK’s financial services workforce “would prefer to work entirely from home once a full return to office is possible” in a post-Covid world. In the same survey, 69% said they wanted to work two days or less in the office. However, the financial services industry is particularly client-led and many firms have publicly stated their focus on office-based working. While there will invariably be some activities which employees can access remotely, the overall mood music from the sector is one of an industry that is keen to put down a marker for its clients by going back to the office, expanding service lines, and returning to the pre-Covid buzz of collaboration in the workplace. That said, major banks and City institutions also want to remain competitive in terms of attracting and retaining the best talent. Companies need to balance their strategic imperative to reunite the workforce in physical environments with the employee-led demand for flexible ways of working.
Overcoming cultural and generational challenges
The approach to hybrid working differs across geographies. For example, in France and Italy, there’s a demand from some trade unions for financial sector employees to be given the opportunity to work from home at least two days a week as a minimum, which – if it came to pass – would require employers to adopt a hybrid working model. In the UK, by contrast, government guidance has placed the responsibility (and the choice of workplace strategy) firmly in the hands of private employers.
The talent war adds a layer of complexity to the hybrid working challenge for financial services firms. In a sector that some potential employees might perceive to be relatively homogenous, firms that elect to offer some degree of flexibility in working patterns and practices may well be seen as more attractive options for people looking to switch jobs. Indeed, while more senior members of the workforce may be comfortable working from home, the younger generation may not have the space to do so effectively. For younger investment bankers looking to build their networks and contacts, face-to-face interactions are going to be essential – that’s how the industry operates and it’s not really possible to develop the same consistent, and warm types of relationships remotely. As such, the workplace needs to be a space to collaborate, to meet and to grow, a space where culture is created and reinforced and where relationships can be forged and strengthened. So, what does the future hold and how can City firms develop a robust workplace strategy?
A ‘Propeller Framework’ for workplace evolution
The shift to hybrid working will change the rhythm of when employees choose to work from the office – which in turn makes City firms’ workplace strategies that much more important to get right. The office needs to evolve to meet the needs of your employees, assessing their personalities and activities and what is needed to accommodate their preferences. For financial institutions, everyday engagement across teams is vital, while client engagement is all about extracting information, discovering and meeting needs. That’s exactly what a ‘Propeller Framework’ can provide; the opportunity to understand how a company and its people truly want to engage with their workspace and what drives productivity, before implementing ways of maximising space and improving workplace efficiency.
Work is no longer simply a place. Businesses across the globe are looking for workplace solutions that improve employee retention, inspire collaboration and knowledge sharing, and normalise the true definition of flexible working. Focus less on the regimentation of individual desks and more on finding focus space with workplaces designed for collaboration, hospitality and socialising that have the flexibility to expand and contract in line with future needs. It’s not about utilising a one-size-fits-all approach but delivering an individually tailored environment.
Finding a balance between business productivity and meeting the needs of clients requires different perspectives. The old workplace model still has relevance but to move forward it’s important to consult with multiple stakeholders to understand the day-to-day needs of the firm and how a business could achieve its goals more effectively. Businesses may have been forced into change by the pandemic, or because of the cultural alignment driven by globalisation, but there’s now a real opportunity to explore how operating models and workspaces actually function – and the ways in which they can be refined to deliver better outcomes and productivity.
Building flexibility into design
Building flexibility into strategic planning and design will be critical to navigating a successful path towards a hybrid working model and to bring the workforce back into the office in a meaningful and safe way. Businesses may need to pivot quickly as space utilisation needs change. A Pilot scheme is a great option to test new strategies and models, repurposing spaces and collecting the activity data to confirm efficacy and inform future workspaces.
Change management will be vital to the success of any workplace programme. Key will be consistent communications, giving people confidence about expectations, working patterns, environments – whether that’s from a health and safety perspective or a needs and activity perspective – and tying in new technology to enhance employee experiences, and drive organisational culture.
While hybrid working can challenge how financial organisations have traditionally worked, it also presents an opportunity to evolve the workplace to better meet colleagues’ current and future needs. Businesses can balance these new needs and simultaneously create a centre of activity for collaboration, employee development, and client engagement, functioning alongside employees’ preferences for hybrid working rather than in opposition.
