{"id":34244,"date":"2022-03-08T10:10:55","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T15:10:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/?p=34244"},"modified":"2023-09-01T14:42:00","modified_gmt":"2023-09-01T18:42:00","slug":"why-offering-remote-work-isnt-enough-to-attract-talent-in-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/blog\/why-offering-remote-work-isnt-enough-to-attract-talent-in-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Offering Remote Work Isn\u2019t Enough to Attract Talent In 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this segment of \u201cOffice Optional with Larry English<\/a>,\u201d Larry explains why using remote work as a perk or benefit isn\u2019t enough to attract top talent anymore.<\/h2>\n
\n

In 2022, offering remote work<\/a> isn\u2019t a perk. It\u2019s table stakes. The pandemic showed people the benefits of working from home, and they\u2019re demanding flexibility from their workplaces. Many organizations are acquiescing. A federal report<\/a> found that among companies that increased remote work during the pandemic, more than 60 percent plan to keep increases permanent moving forward.<\/p>\n

Attitudes toward remote work have gone through a dramatic transformation. Back when my cofounders and I started Centric Consulting in 1999, being fully remote was almost unheard of.<\/strong> Over time, being a remote-first company became a big differentiator for us, allowing us to attract and retain great talent.<\/p>\n

Those days are over. Offering remote work isn\u2019t enough to remain competitive in today\u2019s labor market<\/a>. While balancing business economics and customer service expectations, companies must also evolve into true people-first organizations that invest in employee wellbeing in a variety of ways, including:<\/p>\n

Investing in Mental Health<\/h2>\n

As the world suffered a collective crisis in 2020 and beyond, people got a glimpse of their employers\u2019 true colors. People-first organizations actively worked to care for their stressed-out, anxious workforce.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Forward-thinking companies are destigmatizing the need for employees to care for themselves. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation\u2019s 2021 Employer Health Benefits Survey<\/a>, nearly 40 percent of employers increased access to mental health services since the beginning of the pandemic. It\u2019s about time. BetterUp.com<\/a> found that while 61 percent of people struggle with mental health challenges, fewer than 40 percent take time off from their jobs to attend to their wellbeing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Offering mental health benefits is just the start, however. Employees may also require education around how to balance all the competing demands in their life.<\/p>\n

Recognizing that mental health is important and that struggles in this area are a common part of the human experience is good for business, too. Mercer\u2019s 2021 Health on Demand report<\/a> found employees with mental health benefits are more likely to stay at their jobs.<\/p>\n

Improving the Remote Work Experience<\/h2>\n

The home office environment shouldn\u2019t be ignored. It\u2019s a huge factor in how positively employees view their work experience and even your culture.<\/p>\n

While going remote can offer some serious savings on office space, companies should reinvest some of those funds on the home office environment. After all, companies have traditionally invested into making their office conducive to productivity, creativity and collaboration.<\/strong> Why shouldn\u2019t they take the same approach to the at-home work environment?<\/p>\n

Centric, for example, provides a stipend for employees to apply toward whatever they need to improve their home office \u2014 whether that\u2019s a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, a bigger monitor or an ergonomic chair, to name just a few examples. We designed this benefit to be flexible in recognition of unique employee needs. Home office stipends or reimbursements are becoming more common \u2014 nearly all of Centric\u2019s clients offer something similar.<\/p>\n

Designing Pathways for Leadership Development<\/h2>\n

After the pandemic broke out in 2020, one global survey asked workers what benefits would be most valuable to them in the future. More than half<\/a> listed professional development and coaching within their top three.<\/p>\n

“Offering a comprehensive training\u202fand development package can be a game-changer for any recruitment and retention strategic planning process,\u201d says Lisa Smith, chief content officer at HelpDeskforHR.com<\/a>. \u201cSadly, some employers mistake the term \u2018comprehensive\u2019 for \u2018expensive.\u2019 While there is always some sort of financial spend that must be expected, employers should never focus so much on the price tag that they miss the value a solid training program can offer to an organization.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

This tracks with what our HR team has noticed recently: Recruits are more frequently asking about leadership development and formal mentoring programs. They\u2019re seeking help navigating the career development challenge of working remotely and having the visibility necessary for continued growth. They want to know that there is a pathway open to them, and that the company is invested in helping them succeed.<\/p>\n

Working to Be a Force for Good<\/h2>\n

Companies need to increase investments in their social impact programs \u2014 not just because it\u2019s the right thing to do but also because moving forward, it will play a more prominent role in the talent they\u2019re able to attract. Employees (especially younger professionals) want to know they\u2019re working for organizations that care about their impact on the world. More than ever they want to work for companies that align with their personal values<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At Centric, we\u2019re getting more and more questions during interviews about our diversity and inclusion program and what we\u2019re doing on a local and even national level to have an impact.<\/strong> Although one of our stated values is doing better for the greater good, recruits want to know that we\u2019re truly living those values, not just paying lip service.<\/p>\n

Listening To Your People<\/h2>\n

While all people-first organizations will have some things in common, when it comes to the details of what benefits and perks you offer, there\u2019s no one-size-fits-all solution.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to ask your people what matters to them. As companies continue taking steps to permanently adopt remote or hybrid work<\/a>, it will be important to continue to pulse people about their challenges and needs.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What are they saying that they need to have an optimal work experience? What are some common areas of friction in their lives? What are they passionate about it?<\/p>\n

Being a people-driven organization means actively putting your company values into action by taking care of your people, giving them room and support to be human, providing pathways for their careers and giving back to the community. You can\u2019t just say it, you must live these values daily.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

This article was originally featured on Forbes.com.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the current labor market, offering remote work is no longer enough. Companies must invest in employee wellbeing, mental health, home office environments, leadership development, and social impact to remain competitive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":34248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[20871],"coauthors":[15095],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2024-07-21 21:11:39","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34244"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34244"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centricconsulting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=34244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}