The article highlights how HR leaders are still figuring out which approach, return to office or remote, works best for them. In recent years, there has been a shift away from flexible work arrangements, with some organisations encouraging employees to return to the office through incentives or persuasion. A study found that employers often prefer in-person onboarding and training, suggesting a desire for more face-to-face interactions.
However, the approach to bringing employees back to the office varies, with some focusing on creating an appealing office culture, while others embrace a hybrid model and provide tools to facilitate remote and office work transitions. Leslie Tarnacki, CHRO at WorkForce Software, emphasises the role of technology in providing flexibility to a diverse workforce.
She highlights that modern workforce management technologies enable frontline workers to have greater control over their schedules, allowing them to adjust shifts to accommodate personal and work commitments, request time off and engage in real-time shift swapping. Tarnacki also touts that enhanced flexibility, which benefits both frontline staff and headquarters personnel, can serve as a competitive advantage in today’s competitive talent market.
“Fortunately, employers can utilise modern workforce management technologies to provide frontline workers with more control over their own schedules, allowing them to coordinate shifts around personal or work obligations, submit time-off requests and gain access to real-time shift swapping,” Tarnacki remarks. “This level of flexibility for frontline staff, as well as those in headquarters, will be a competitive differentiator in today’s war for talent.”