Embrace flexibility to win the war for talent

The ‘Great Resignation’ is being caused by inadequate flexible working options. This is according to Topia’s 2022 ‘Adapt to Work Everywhere’ survey.

29% of the 1,500 US and UK employees surveyed changed jobs in 2021, and 34% are planning to resign in 2022. 64% of those forced back into the office said this made them more likely to look for a new job this year.

41% said flexibility to work from home was the cause of the job change, and 35% wanted general remote working options.

In addition, 95% said that flexible working was an important factor in looking for a new job; this is up from 93% in 2021. It was ranked number three – after high pay and employee wellbeing – and it was listed above culture, professional development opportunities and social impact and autonomy.

It is clear that remote working is no longer a temporary exception to the world in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now the norm, and it is expected by employees.

And, thankfully, HR is very aware of this – of the 300 surveyed by Topia, 49% recognize that flexibility is important for retention.

Benefits of remote work

Employees are very clear about the benefits of remote working. They (56%) believe it contributes to an “exceptional” employee experience, and 95% think that employees should be able to work where they like so long as they get their work done.

80% of employees think that teams should be built on exception and skills, not location. 81% believe their employers should find the right talent wherever they are in the world.

HR also acknowledge that remote work is good for productivity (54%), cuts over-heads (51%) and improves diversity hiring (43%).

Therefore, it is no surprise that 84% agree that remote work is a core part of employer’s talent strategies.

Topia chief strategy officer and co-founder Steve Black said: “While it is more complex for organizations to manage, the survey clearly states employees want the flexibility of hybrid working.

“Employers are going to have to work much harder to set up remote working policies that say ‘Yes’ rather than ‘No’ to such requests.

“Those companies who take a more agile approach to their HR policies will win out in the long run as more employees are looking to move to organizations that give them flexibility.”“Those companies who take a more agile approach to their HR policies will win out in the long run as more employees are looking to move to organizations that give them flexibility.”