How to keep your remote workers happy in 2022

A communicator’s most daunting task is often trying to quantify their impact.

As we barrel into another year that’s going to be heavily disrupted by COVID-19—and the ongoing “Great Resignation”—proving your ability to engage colleagues in meaningful ways will become ever more important. That means tying your efforts to retention and recruiting. And ensuring your company is doing everything in its power to keep the employees you do have feeling happy, valued and heard.

To help you succeed toward these noble ends, Paychex has new data that sheds light on what, exactly, remote workers are searching for these days. The survey features insights from more than 800 work-from-home employees and reveals that:

• Sixty-seven percent of remote workers believe a shift back to on-site work would result in a loss of employees.
• Almost 1 in 3 remote professionals say their current companies’ benefits and incentives aren’t competitive enough to make them want to stay if they have to go back on-site.
• Thirty-three percent of employees haven’t been offered any incentives to return to the office since working remotely, yet 86% of surveyed employees said they will have to return to the office sometime in the near future.
• The most common benefits offered by companies right now: a more flexible schedule (39%), bonuses (30%), paid sick leave (27%), additional WFH days (25%), WFH day policy (20%).

The data makes clear that companies should be proactive about showering employees with all sorts of goodies and perks, lest they be tempted to find an employer who will. Paychex’s survey found that “66% of employees returning to the office with inadequate benefits are looking for new opportunities,” so you can safely assume employees are polishing those résumés as we head into 2022.

That is, unless you are meeting their most crucial needs.

How will your company respond?

Lindsay Mastrogiovanni, Paychex’s HR coach, offers a reminder that flexibility is top-of-mind for just about everyone right now.

“It’s clear that flexibility is highly valued by employees and, moving forward, it could make or break companies trying to retain top talent when returning back to the office,” she says.

Mastrogiovanni explains that companies should revisit their current work schedules to ensure it’s to your workers’ liking, adding, “For companies unable to offer additional incentives to their employees, giving employees the option to continue working remotely minimizes the amount of job searching employees will be reportedly doing.”

This all hinges on gathering honest, candid feedback—and giving workers the freedom to shape the workplace they’d like to see moving forward. Mastrogiovanni again:

“Allowing employees space to voice their needs and concerns and properly communicating potential changes in a timely manner has become the new non-negotiable standard. A refocus on the employee experience and cultural fit is no longer considered a ‘benefit’ or incentive, but an expectation.”

She adds that the onus is on employers to offer the kinds of benefits and incentives needed to retain top talent in 2022. However, this daunting landscape also offers companies the opportunity to reinvent themselves as the “new employer of choice.”

So, what is your company willing to do or offer to keep your best workers around? It’s a question that could make or break your year in 2022.

For more data on this crucial subject of retaining and recruiting remote workers, view Paychex’s full report here.