Many planning pay adjustments based on geographic zones
As the COVID-19 pandemic slowly subsides in many parts of the world, employers are increasingly preparing for the return to the office.
Nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of organizations globally have expected return dates in mind for workers, according to a report from Aon.
However, 44 per cent expect fewer than 75 per cent of office workers to return onsite once the pandemic is over.
Two in five (39 per cent of) companies expect returning workers to spend only two to three days per week in the office, and another 13 per cent are giving employees a choice in terms of how much time they spend in the office, found the survey of 1,451 HR leaders and professionals conducted in April.
“The disruptions of the past 18 months accelerated workplace transformation like nothing else in recent memory,” says Michel Burke, CEO for Aon’s human capital business. “This dynamic presents leaders with an incredible opportunity to align their business and people strategies to drive growth and optimize investments.”
Compensation considerations
With remote work on the rise, 39 per cent of employers globally have adjusted, or are considering adjusting, geographic pay differentials as a result of the pandemic.
Among these employers, 86 per cent are re-examining pay rates using fresh market data and 53 per cent are adding more granularity to the geographic zones they consider.
However, there are some concerns in this area, including employee communication and the difficulty of adopting and maintaining market-aligned pay rates across numerous locations. In both cases, 67 per cent of surveyed companies cited these issues as moderately, very or extremely challenging, according to the report.
For mamy employers, salaries for staff who choose to relocate will be determined by the company's office location and the employee's new location, according to a separate survey.
Future-of-work considerations
More than three in four (78 per cent) of companies have one or more teams or task forces defining, managing and implementing the future of work. In addition, 85 per cent say they now have a clear and consistent definition for what the future of work means for their business or expect to have a definition in the next six months.
The three most prevalent issues shaping future-of-work definitions are rethinking company cultures (98 per cent), addressing talent availability concerns (98 per cent) and boosting inclusion and diversity (96 per cent), according to Aon.
Regarding inclusion and diversity efforts, 74 per cent of surveyed companies state HR teams are most responsible for setting strategy and leading programs in this area. Also, 79 per cent of firms have created or are planning to create inclusion and diversity metrics for goals to track progress.
“There is loads of research that shows that diversity is tied to better edge, more innovation, agility, and better decisions, because you're able to think things through from a variety of different perspectives,” an expert previously shared with Canadian HR Reporter.
