Travel business Kuoni has introduced hybrid working for its head office staff in order to avoid its Surrey location limiting future applicants.
From 1 January 2022, employees can choose to work from home, the office, or a mix of both, but will be required to work from the office for up to three days each month for team meetings and training. The business has planned to reopen its head office in Dorking on 11 October (today) so staff can try it out.
According to the organisation, the initiative has been designed to boost productivity, attract talent and support wellbeing. It will also provide the chance for career progression for staff based in stores across the UK, who previously would have had to relocate for a head office role.
Chief executive Derek Jones explained that staff have shown they can be just as engaged and productive working from home as they are in the office and that the board has spent a long time thinking about the opportunity that the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) crisis has given to rethink the way the organisation works.
“All the defining elements of our culture, trust, respect and dedication, remain as strong as ever, but we are also aware that many have missed working from the office and spending time with colleagues. We didn’t want to rush into re-opening our head office and simply return to how things used to be. We wanted a dynamic working style which retains many of the positive lifestyle aspects of home-working while maximising the benefit of our office workspace,” he said.
HR director Nicola Sadowski added: “We respect that everyone is different; different things motivate us individually and we thrive in different environments. We’ve briefed staff on our proposal and will be taking time to discuss it with them so we fine tune our guidelines, policies and communications ready to take effect in the new year.”
