In the UK, an estimated one million people were still on furlough as the scheme ended today (1 October). In a LinkedIn poll of 215 HR magazine readers yesterday, 39% of respondents said they were planning to fully bring staff back after furlough. A majority (44%) said it would be a mix of redundancies, part-time work and bringing staff back full-time in the months ahead.
A lot of advice so far has centred on office-based workers, however those in operational, ‘deskless’ or frontline roles may be facing different challenges. Steve Tonks, Senior Vice President for EMEA at WorkForce Software, says it’s key to consider these variances.
“As government furlough comes to an end, employers of the deskless majority, who have been most reliant on the scheme, will need to think carefully about their next move.”
Tonks said that the deskless workers group can often be overlooked in an organisation’s communications and collaboration practice, so they should pay special attention to their experience when considering their plans.
“Furloughed staff will likely be reassessing the kind of working life they’re willing to return to, after experiencing the flexibility that is almost unheard of in frontline, deskless roles,” Tonks added.
“With the possibility of remote working now commonplace, companies need to pay special attention to how they welcome back their furloughed staff. Closing the employee experience gap that currently exists will be essential to limiting talent churn.”