Designing a return-to-work plan

Intro:
Welcome to CPA Australia's COVIDChat. A weekly podcast to answer your questions about the latest news and developments impacting business.

Dr Jane Rennie:
Hello, I'm Dr. Jane Rennie, General Manager External Affairs at CPA Australia.

Gavan Ord:
And I'm Gavan Ord, Senior Manager Business Policy also at CPA Australia.

Dr Jane Rennie:
It's Monday, the 1st of November, and you are listening to COVIDChat, bringing you this week's need to know information for businesses and accounting professionals. Today we're going to talk about how different businesses are planning their return to the office. For this discussion we're joined by Sharna Doyle, who's a manager in the People and Culture team here at CPA Australia. Sharna's also going to give us some tips on what setting up a COVID safe workplace may look like in practise, and she'd know, having been instrumental in putting together these arrangements at CPA Australia.

Dr Jane Rennie:
But first using accounting practises as a proxy for office-based workplaces more broadly, I'm going to begin by describing a few of the arrangements that we know of, and the examples I'll give are based on public statements provided to the media. So beginning with the big four consulting firms, Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC. According to the AFR, each of the big four are already allowed some form of remote working before the lockdown and they have confirmed that these policies will be extended beyond the pandemic.

Dr Jane Rennie:
Back in June, Deloitte said that once state-based restrictions are lifted, its employees would be able to decide when they go back to the office, and there is no requirement to be in the office for any set number of days per week. Overseas PwC told it's 40,000 U.S. Staff that they can work remotely from anywhere in the country, but they will have their pay cut if they move to locations with a lower cost of living. By contrast PwC UK, which is separately owned and managed, has told staff that they will spend an average of two to three days in the office after the pandemic.

Dr Jane Rennie:
Gavan, this is the big end of town that we are talking about here. Is there a difference in the way that big firm can manage their return to the office compared to small or mid tier practises?

Gavan Ord:
Well, Jane, at the top, you neglected to mention that it's Melbourne Cup Eve here in Melbourne, and it's acted on the day we're talking about working from home arrangements, that the favourite for the cup is Incentivise, and I believe that it's the shortest price favourite since Phar Lap back in 1929.

Gavan Ord:
But going back to your question, Jane, the big four obviously have the resourcing and the structure to take a more national approach than smaller and mid tier firms, who often are a network firms rather than a single entity, and therefore tend to take a more local approach. But that doesn't mean that the big four approach or even the second tier approach to working from home arrangements will be right for your business, but it does give you a good guide on possible working from home arrangements, nonetheless. Especially in the era where there is a shortage of talent and there remains uncertainty around how different states are going to respond to future COVID outbreaks. Jane, I know that in between looking at form guides, you've collected some information on what some of the other smaller accounting firms are doing on working from home arrangements. Could you share that research with our listeners?

Dr Jane Rennie:
Thanks Gavin. Well, a few of them have said they'll adopt something approaching a 60/40 model, and this is the case at advisory and restructuring firm, McGrathNicol, which says there's an expectation that employees will spend 60% of their working day in the office, that can choose where to work for the remaining 40%. And that's the similar approach at mid tier firm, PKF Australia and smaller firms, Liston Newton advisory and Suntax as well. Others are going to require four days in the office, mid tier firm, William Buck, along with boutique firm, hmh Advisory have told the AFR that they'll only allow staff to work from home one day. William Buck has said that additional flexibility will be decided on a case by case basis and is almost always approved. Yet other firms haven't mandated a blanket approach and instead are allowing a flexible working arrangement on an individual basis. That's the case at Lowe Lippmann, which says it will consider remote working on a case by case basis. At prosperity advisors there isn't a standard remote working arrangement, but the firm will consider allowing it on a case by case basis.

Dr Jane Rennie:
A bit more of an unusual one is a performance-based guide, one firm quoted in the AFR said that it will allow staff to work at the office for two days a week and from home for three days week, but only if they meet performance targets, and if they don't meet those monthly targets, then they'll need to work in the office five days a week until they do meet their targets. A bit opposite to Incentivise, Gavin. When you hear that firms have mandated one approach or the other, what's your initial reaction?

Gavan Ord:
Yeah, look, good question, Jane. So, the selected approach to working from home obviously reflects the culture they want to build or their current culture, so I think that's probably the main thing there. However, we are going through a period of change and uncertainty, which I mentioned before, and hard and fast rules are probably not going to work. And especially with that last example, that performance-based approach, where they're essentially turning working in the office into some form of punishment. With this state of uncertainty and skill shortages, flexibility is probably the best approach, and nor is there any particular advantage to being a first-mover in this area on working from home. So I think part of today is giving you a bit of an overview of what some others are doing, so you can consider the best approach to your business.

Dr Jane Rennie:
Well, Sharna, Gavin's just mentioned flexibility. When considering the right level of flexibility to provide different employees, what are some of the factors that you think employers should keep in mind?

Sharna Doyle:
Yeah thanks, Jane. Look, I kind of echo what Gavin said, in that it's great to see what other companies are doing and get a flavour for the different practises, but I think each business has an opportunity to really look within at what's going to work for them. And I'd probably say the first thing is to really find out what your people want. You know, ask the questions, conduct a survey, find two-way engagement so that you can hear from them yourself about what is really going to work for them.

Sharna Doyle:
The second thing, I think it's a delicate balance between having a set of rules in flexibility, as opposed to what I think is a great way, and that's a series of options. You know, we've all lived with enough rules and regulations over the last 18 months, and I think it's important to recognise that each role has different needs. For example, what the needs are of the receptionist versus someone who's in accounts payable. Equally I think it's advantageous to look at the person as a whole. So what does their life encompass? How can they perform the best? But overall, I think the opportunity for employers is to present options and empower their leaders and people to decide what works for them.

Dr Jane Rennie:
And opportunities, I guess the opposite of that is the risks. So what are the risks for businesses in getting this wrong? I'd like to hear both of your take on this. Gavan, perhaps starting with you. What do you think the risks are?

Gavan Ord:
Well, I mentioned before that we're in a period of skill shortages, so that means your employees will have greater employment prospects outside of your business. So you get the approach wrong, you may experience some difficulty in retaining the talent you want, and equally you may also experience difficulty in attracting the talent you need. So, you need to factor up those issues in how you design your working from home arrangements.

Dr Jane Rennie:
And we certainly hear a lot about "the great resignation" in the paper at the moment. Gavan, that's been a feature in the U.S. And the UK. Do you think the great resignation is something that could occur in Australia?

Gavan Ord:
I think it will. I'm interested to hear what Sharna has to say, but I think there is indicators that there will be employees that will look to move jobs, that they've held off moving in the last 18 months, and they'll be looking for better prospects. So I think yes, businesses must factor that into their decision making.

Dr Jane Rennie:
Sharma, you mentioned the need to consult with employees and actually hear from them what they'd like. So what do you think the risks are if businesses overlook that sort of approach?

Sharna Doyle:
Look, I think disengagement overall, and I, I think "the great resignation" is a risk. But I think there's nothing worse than being too regimented in a workforce, and that stops you driving innovation in terms of your working practises. And you want people to come into the office because they want to, not necessarily because they feel obligated to be there. And I think employees will have an option over the next sort of 12 months to really shop around in terms of what is a workplace that's going to work best for them, support their family, support their working lifestyle, and ultimately what drives their career goals.

Dr Jane Rennie:
Sharna, when we talk about creating a COVID safe workplace and businesses setting up the right setup for them, there are so many different ways to skin a cat, we know that every business must do this. What does it actually look like in practise and what should an employer keep front of mind when they are setting up their COVID safe workplace?

Sharna Doyle:
Look, the obvious port of call, I think the first port of call is the physical side of the workspace. So that stems from everything in terms of layout, the cleanliness procedures, spacing, just how the workplace looks and feels. I think additionally, there's a need to really look at the employee experience though in the office, so right from the time that they journey to work, how they actually arrive into the building, where they're going to be sitting, and what a typical day would look like for an employee in the office. That informs a lot in terms of how you want to set up your work spaces, and in terms of where there might be capacity and higher volumes of people moving through.

Sharna Doyle:
But I think ultimately after what everyone has been through with the pandemic is, how do you make people mentally and emotionally feel safe coming back to work and also keep it an enjoyable experience? People have had different experiences working from home and through COVID, and many are not used to being in large public settings yet. So I think it's a journey and it's actually in terms of communication engagement, that's a really important one.

Dr Jane Rennie:
And you've just mentioned a couple of aspects that are really part of any office-based employees day to day experience, such as the arrival time, employees arriving altogether at the start of the day, or perhaps at the end of the day, that rush for the elevators and exits, how do you manage that from a practical perspective?

Sharna Doyle:
Sure, I think ultimately signage is going to be really key in office spaces, especially because rules have changed so much in terms of where people should move and go. But I also think this is where flexibility will really aid employers to manage this. Different starting times in the day or people coming into the office for a half day would mean that people are going to be having different break times, and not potentially congesting the lift spaces and the coffee areas and spaces. Also, I think finding ways to make common areas really appealing, but ensuring that bottlenecks don't occur. So for example, encouraging people to bring in pre-prepared food for their lunch, as opposed to making their food in the kitchen, which might mean that they're hanging in that space for a longer period of time than absolutely needed.

Dr Jane Rennie:
And it makes me think, I mean there are certain aspects of the physical environment in the workplace that really do foster social connections between colleagues, and that's a very important part of people's work life, and an important part of innovating and coming up with ideas, and I'm thinking kitchens, tea rooms, meeting rooms. How do we still foster those opportunities of getting people together?

Sharna Doyle:
I think it's great where offices can use some of their desk space, that potentially they weren't using, or they won't be using for full capacity, and think about how they can turn them into open breakout areas that could be used as collaboration spaces, they could be used places where people can have lunch together and have a conversation, engage. I think that's what people have really been missing and certainly in terms of the people that I've been speaking to.

Dr Jane Rennie:
And desks is another aspect that I'm a bit confused about. I don't know whether people are supposed to have their own desks anymore or hot desks or change it up. How do you manage the desk situation?

Sharna Doyle:
I think the desks will ultimately come down to the volume in which organisations bring their people back. So if you're not using every desk in the office, there's a commercial saving lens that could potentially be realised there. So, if you are only coming in one or two days a week, it may not be necessary for everyone to have their own desk. But I think equally that needs to come with a series of cleaning and safety protocols to make sure that everyone feels safe coming in to sit in any space in the workplace.

Dr Jane Rennie:
So what's it likely to look like at CPA Australia, what are some of the practical arrangements that an employee at CPA Australia can it expect to see that, that other businesses might consider applying?

Sharna Doyle:
We have a fantastic facilities team, we've done a phenomenal job over the last 18 months. One of the things they've been really instrumental in is making sure we have signage. Rules and regulations continue to change and evolve, and it's really hard for people to keep up with it all. So we've put lots of signage in our offices, not just to be compliant, but also just to remind people of spacing and what they need to do for their experience in the office. Cleanliness is also really critical and we've increased the frequency and the scale of our cleaning protocols, as part of creating that really safe physical space. What we've also tried to do, however, is saturate our workspaces with an overload of COVID information. You know, going back to an earlier point, at the end of the day, we want coming to the office to be a really enjoyable experience, and we want people to have the physical aspect of the safety, but we also want them to be able to come into the office, connect with their peers and have a really, really great working experience.

Dr Jane Rennie:
So, Sharna, where can businesses go for a bit more information about how they can set up their office? Is there somewhere you can point them to?

Sharna Doyle:
There's quite a few spaces that will actually offer information for employers. The one that I find the most helpful is Safe Work Australia. There's also various state government sites, so from New South Wales Health, or even the WorkCover equivalent, that's available for each employer by state as well. Each industry body has a series of Standards and also some Best Practise Guides that can be helpful.

Dr Jane Rennie:
Thank you Sharna for coming in today and sharing your expertise with us. If our listeners have a question about any of the topics that we've discussed today or any of CPA Australia's policy and advocacy work, please email [email protected]. And if you've enjoyed what you've heard, please tune in again next week and tell your friends. From all of us here at CPA Australia, thanks for listening.

Outro:
And that's our episode for this week. Thanks for listening. To ensure you don't miss an episode, subscribe to the CPA Australia podcast channel on your favourite app. And for more COVID resources, guides and information, visit CPAAustralia.com.au/COVID.