If employers with underutilized office space had to pick a favorite Beatles song to be the soundtrack for 2024, it would probably be “Get Back.” (As opposed to, say, “Here, There, and Everywhere.”)
According to an August 2023 Resume Builder survey of 1,000 company decision-makers, almost all (90%) employers with office space intend to RTO this year. While employees at organizations with strict RTO policies have a lower intent to stay than their industry colleagues, according to Gartner, employers requiring in-person attendance believe it’s good for networking, productivity, and engagement, the Washington Post reported. And Miami-based IT and security management company Kaseya told HR Brew this has been the case for its organization.
After going remote during the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, Eric Lund, head of global recruitment at Kaseya, told HR Brew that Kaseya implemented a hard-and-fast policy of full-time, in-office attendance in early 2021. (Covid safety protocols, like masks, were established and the company acquired several HEPA filters to improve air quality.) Since then, Kaseya has seen an 8% YOY decline in attrition, according to PR rep Roger Johnson.
Since employees—of which there are 5,000 worldwide and 1,500 at its Miami HQ—had only been working remotely for just over a year, Lund said there wasn’t much resistance to a full-time RTO policy. He estimated that about 5% of the organization’s workforce exited as a result of the plan.
“We believe that being in-person creates and fosters a collaboration that you just can’'t get remotely,” Lund said. “We definitely see that collaboration when you’re in the office every day.”
Why RTO? Lund argued that a full in-office policy creates an environment where employees can better connect with their colleagues for “small coaching moments.”
In a remote world, employees are in their own bubbles and might not hear about problems that other teams are facing, Lund said. But in the office, there is the opportunity for greater collaboration and problem solving among the entire organization.
“When you’re a software engineer and you hear a problem of another team, they just happen to sit near you, or you’re grabbing lunch and start talking about solving a problem, or a salesperson hears someone say something in a different way on the phone. That can’t happen when you’re in your living room or in your home office,” he added.
Quick-to-read HR news & insights
From recruiting and retention to company culture and the latest in HR tech, HR Brew delivers up-to-date industry news and tips to help HR pros stay nimble in today’s fast-changing business environment.
The other thing that a full RTO policy enables is mentorship across the entire organization, rather than just within a team, Lund said, adding that his best mentors ended up being people who he did not work with directly.
“They were not actually my mentors. They were two people sitting down down the row for me, not on my team and not associated with my team or what I did,” he said. “I remember things they said and it just made me a better professional.”
The right approach. When it comes to recruiting, Kaseya makes no bones about telling potential staff that they will be required to be in the office five days a week. It is a prominent part of all their job descriptions and brought up again during a candidate’s first interview.
If a potential employee isn’t comfortable with the company’s RTO policy, the organization is clear that the candidate may not be the right fit for their company, Lund said.
Employers that want to implement a full-time, in-office policy might want to emulate Kaseya and rethink the uninspiring work environments of the pre-pandemic era. Prior to Covid-19, Lund said, the Kaseya offices had a conventional vibe with cubicles dominating the floor plan. Now, they are open, with glass office walls and open desk plans to facilitate collaboration and mentorship, and music to promote creativity.
Each of Kaseya’s sales teams also have their own “walk-up videos,” complete with music, that the company plays on screens in all its global offices to celebrate their wins. So, if a team in the US scores a big win, their UK colleagues will get to see and hear about it across the pond in what Lund described as a fun, collaborative way.
Employers should “make sure that when people are in an office they have the best feeling, that feeling of being together, learning and developing, and when they see the results of being together, they can truly see the value,” he said. “There’s a buzz in our office.”