51 Recruitment more , even though they were fully entitled to do so . I personally favour a ‘ pick and mix ’ approach to benefits , the creation of a whole suite of options and benefits for everyone to choose from . The business carries out a cost analysis and considers their business needs too , but then gives their employers the choice to pick the options they want – say by choosing to come into the office more , they then qualify for more holiday days . This gives employees an individual choice , but not free reign .
Business needs People need to remember that it ’ s called work because you wouldn ’ t do it for free . Many businesses need people to come into the office , especially venues who operate and sell a physical product and service . There is a huge difference between leaders and managers . I was once told that I was a great leader but a terrible manager ; people would follow me anywhere , but I was rubbish at managing the day-to-day . We don ’ t need loads of leaders now , we need managers to manage teams and it ’ s very hard to do that totally remotely , in fact no one really has much experience of this yet . How can you put an arm round someone , or put a boot up their bum if they are not in the same office ?
Let ’ s also not forget about a company ’ s culture and values : 99 % of industry company websites tell us that it ’ s their people that make them so different , but how can you ensure your culture and values are ingrained into your people if you never see them ?
The new way of working will not be remote working ( i . e . working totally on your own , away from the office ), and it won ’ t be flexible working ( i . e . working when you like / where you like ) either . The new way of working will be hybrid with some days in the
office and some days at home for those who want to do so . In our recent ‘ What Happens Now ’ agency recruitment research report , nearly three quarters of agencies are offering flexible working and the most popular working ratio was three days in the office and two at home .
Industry needs Most of the industry is saying ‘ we do not want virtual ’, but rather ‘ we want to get people meeting face-to-face again ’. Doesn ’ t that sound a bit odd against no one meeting each other for work any more ? We talk about the
“ People need to remember that it ’ s called work because you wouldn ’ t do it for free . Many businesses need people to come into the office , especially venues who operate and sell a physical product and service ” serendipity of face-to-face events , and the same is true of office working . How many great impromptu meetings happen in an office when you walk past someone ’ s desk ? How creative is it to throw ideas around with someone in the same room ?
To conclude , I ’ d just like to throw in a wild prediction : the future of working will be a four-day week ( four days working in the office , and then the fifth day off completely ). We all need more of a work life balance , it ’ s a huge issue and it may just be the topic of my next column , but you did hear it here first . CN www . conference-news . co . uk