Return to Office is not a Downsizing Tool

A study from BambooHR found that a quarter (25%!!) of executives hoped RTO would make people quit.

https://www.bamboohr.com/resources/guides/return-to-office

I think it’s important for leaders to remember that your most mobile people are your best people.

Using tools like RTO to downsize your workforce is a precursor to general decline and brain drain. It will start a cycle that not only limits your organizations effectiveness but makes it more difficult to attract talented people in the future.

As a leader we should be looking at all the ways we avoid this cycle.

 1. Foster a Positive Workplace Culture

Why it Matters: A positive workplace culture enhances employee satisfaction, retention, and productivity making forced attrition less necessary. When people are challenged, safe, and cared for they will do more.

How to Implement:

• Create Psychological Safety: Demonstrate vulnerability, create safety to experiment, and celebrate learning.
• Set High & Realistic Expectations: Your expectations are usually met and more often our expectations are too low (or non-existent) rather than too high. Set realistic but challenging expectations and people generally rise to meet them.
• Work-Life Balance: Promote policies that support a healthy work-life balance, such as flexible working hours and remote work options.

2. Better Define Your Culture and Hire for Fit

Why it Matters: Most often, the people we are working to move on in a lay-off situation are the people we should never have hired in the first place and have become a financial and productivity drag on the organization.

How to Implement:

• Define Your Culture: Build a behavioral framework that aligns behaviors with values and which allows you to measure culture performance.
• Define Success for Roles: Be more specific in the needs of the roles your hiring for and what success in those roles would look like. The success definition is more important than the skill sets.
• Make Culture Part of Performance: Make the behaviors and outcomes of the culture you want part of performance evaluations from top to bottom and ensure leaders are coaching on culture as much as skill set.

3. Regularly Assess and Adjust Workloads

Why it Matters: Overworking employees can lead to burnout and increased turnover. Ensuring a manageable workload helps maintain productivity and morale. On average, each person you replace costs you one third of their salary.

How to Implement:

• Workload Reviews: Conduct regular assessments of team workloads to ensure they are balanced and fair.
• Resource Allocation: Allocate resources and redistribute tasks to avoid overburdening employees.
• Employee Development: Developing an person who is a good fit allows them to contribute at a higher level as well as provides motivation and drives engagement.

4. Don’t Tolerate Bad Apples

Why it Matters: A single toxic influence on a team can bring the whole team down. Removing a toxic person from the team shows your willingness to protect culture and support your people which raises engagement, motivation, and productivity.

How to Implement:

• Feedback Mechanisms: Implement regular feedback loops, such as surveys and suggestion boxes, to understand and address employee concerns.
• Have Clear Expectations: Ensure there are clear culture and role expectations and document performance. When issues arise work with your HR partners as early as possible to avoid delays.
• Act Fast but with Empathy: When the fit isn’t there move quickly, but with a human-centered mindset. This could include voluntary separation packages, retraining for another job, or placement programs.

How we hire, manage, and part ways with our people says a lot about us as leaders and people. If you find yourself as one of the 25% using RTO to drive people away, I promise, there are better solutions to consider. By fostering a positive workplace culture, managing workloads, enhancing engagement, building strong relationships, and maintaining fair compensation, leaders can avoid the need for forced attrition and ensure a more stable and motivated workforce. This not only preserves the trust and morale of remaining employees but also upholds the company’s reputation and values in the long term.