Hybrid Working: What You Need To Know To Attract The Best Accountancy Talent Now

Hybrid working – another pandemic buzzword or a significant shift for everyone in the workforce from now on? 

The fact is it’s both. 

When there is a massive shift in the economy or environment, anything rarely returns to its original state. 

Many finance professionals understand and work with disruptive business models, and hybrid working could be the ultimate disruptive model everyone will experience. 

Last year changed work for all of us, whether you were a micro business working from a hot desk or an international PLC. 

With excellent IT infrastructure across the UK and over 43 million people from our 56 million population vaccinated, we’re on the brink of disruption as great as last year’s sudden shift to remote work. 

Even the UK government have instigated tax allowances for individuals now working from home because of the impact of COVID-19. 

Before we move onto what hybrid working will mean for the way you hire and attract finance talent in the future, let’s get clear on the true definition of what hybrid means. 

 

A Definition of Hybrid Working 

So what exactly is hybrid working? 

It is a blended model where: 

• some employees return to the workplace,  
• others continue to work from home,  
• and individuals choose their hours of work with the proviso they continue to deliver the ‘results’ required for their organisation. 

Though it isn’t always feasible that every role can manage their time in the third example we have shared, many can. 

Hybrid working isn’t just an option for corporate roles. It is a way of working for organisations of all shapes and sizes that business leaders must embrace. 

If your first reaction to reading this is, “we will consider this in the future”, think again. Recent global research from Microsoft has revealed some data that no organisation can ignore about what our employees now want.  

 

Finance Candidates Now Occupy The Driving Seat 

Microsoft’s recent work trends index, with data from over 30,000 respondents, reveals that over 40% of the global workforce is considering a move in the next year. 

Employees want the best of both worlds: over 70 per cent of workers want flexible remote work options to continue, while over 65 per cent are craving more in-person time with their teams.  

A conundrum, isn’t it? 

To prepare, 66 per cent of business decision-makers are considering redesigning physical spaces to accommodate hybrid work environments better. The data is clear: extreme flexibility and hybrid work will define the post-pandemic workplace. 

Here is a quote from Satya Nadella, the CEO at Microsoft, which sums up the current situation. 

“Over the past year, no area has undergone more rapid transformation than the way we work. Employee expectations are changing, and we will need to define productivity much more broadly — inclusive of collaboration, learning, and well-being to drive career advancement for every worker, including frontline and knowledge workers and new graduates and those in the workforce today. All this needs to be done with flexibility in when, where, and how people work.” 

 

How Did Your Organisation Embrace Remote Working Last Year? 

In reality, March 2020 was a month where laptops, Zoom and increased cloud storage were purchased, with many business owners, myself included, thinking this would be a temporary measure. 

And the upside was we made it work. 

In many cases, workplace productivity has increased because employers support their employees by understanding their remote working challenges. 

From an employee perspective, the ability to avoid the commute and still get the job done was a huge bonus they hadn’t expected. 

Though, a smooth transition to remote working hasn’t been the case for every employee. 

Further data from the Microsoft report I mentioned earlier, even after a year of working from home, 42 per cent of employees say they lack essential office supplies at home. Over 46 per cent say their employer does not help them with remote work expenses. 

Not surprising then that I have recently spoken to several candidates looking for new roles because of the ‘old fashioned’ (their word not mine) attitude of their employers to flexible remote working. 

So …… 

 

What Next? 

The question now is how you can make flexible working work for your organisation to attract the finance talent you now want? 

It is much easier than you might imagine, though it does take planning. 

• Think practically – where are people working, what software and hardware do they need? 
• How much time in and out of the office is ideal for your employees and delivery of your business objectives? 
• Tasks and priorities and interaction – how can this work together? 

What are your plans? 

If you would like our help to create your talent attraction process, please call me on  01282 930930. 

 

Thanks,  

Rachel  

 

About Rebus Financial Recruitment    

Rebus Financial Recruitment provides a specialist and focused recruitment service to its customers, which historically range from various organisations, including SMEs, to large PLCs.    

We strive to offer both the client and candidate a seamless recruitment experience. Using our expertise, we get to the heart of employer and employee needs, and, in doing so, we match the two perfectly. To find out more, get in contact with one of our team today, or you can call us on 01282 930930.