NEW
YORK, June 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- As many
businesses continue the push to get workers back to the office, a
new survey from The Conference Board reveals that making the trek
in may help your career.
Some HR leaders plan to move fully on-site workers higher and
faster up the corporate ladder. Indeed, 10% of Chief Human Resource
Officers (CHROs) expect that promotion eligibility will be
increased for fully-in-office workers over fully-remote
workers.
What's more, hybrid workers aren't in the clear—they may also
face career setbacks: 9% of CHROs plan to increase promotion
eligibility for in-office workers compared to hybrid workers.
Despite potential career limitations, there's good news for
remote and hybrid employees. The survey reveals that work location
won't affect compensation for the job at hand. Few HR leaders plan
to offer a higher salary, higher merit increases, or higher
compensation targets for on-site workers.
Overall, CHROs' outlook on the state of the workforce continues
to improve. The Conference Board CHRO Confidence Index
ticked up to 55 in Q2, from 54 last quarter. (A reading of more
than 50 points reflects more positive than negative responses.)
While hiring and retention expectations continue to climb, the
survey reveals that HR leaders are less optimistic about their
ability to keep workers engaged.
"Today's talent pool places a premium on workplace
flexibility—and historic labor shortages reinforce the need for
such arrangements. Treating hybrid and remote employees equitably
when evaluating performance, offering growth opportunities, and
making compensation decisions will not only help to engage your
workforce, but retain them," said Diana
Scott, Leader of The Conference Board US Human Capital
Center.
Conducted quarterly, the CHRO Confidence Index was launched in
Q1 2023 and is comprised of three components—hiring, retention, and
engagement—as well as special questions included in each survey.
Nearly 120 CHROs participated in the Q2 survey, which was fielded
from April 1 to May 1. Key findings
include:
Special Questions: Fully Remote vs. Hybrid vs. Fully In
Office
Hybrid and remote workers will not be financially
penalized.
- Only 3% of CHROs plan to offer fully-in-office workers a
higher salary than remote workers when they hire them. Similarly,
4% will offer fully-in-office workers a higher salary than hybrid
workers.
- 3% plan to offer fully-in-office workers higher merit increases
than hybrid and remote workers.
- 3% plan to increase incentive compensation targets for
fully-in-office workers compared to remote workers; 2% plan to
increase them compared to hybrid workers.
Fully remote workers may miss out on more advancement
opportunities than their fully on-site colleagues.
- 10% of CHROs plan to increase promotion eligibility for
fully-in-office workers over fully remote workers.
- 15% plan to increase high-profile projects for in-office
workers over fully remote workers.
- 7% plan to increase development opportunities for in-office
workers over fully remote workers.
But even hybrid workers may be at a disadvantage.
- 9% of CHROs plan to increase promotion eligibility for
fully-in-office workers over hybrid workers.
- 11% plan to increase high-profile projects for in-office
workers over hybrid workers.
- 13% plan to increase development opportunities for in-office
workers over hybrid workers.
Core Questions
Hiring
The CHRO Confidence Index: Hiring component rose to 59 in
Q2, up from 55 in Q1. Hiring expectations are still down slightly
YoY from its high of 61 in Q2 2023.
CHROs' workforce expansion plans are looking up in Q2,
with those expecting to decrease hiring falling by more than half
since 2023:
- 11% expect to decrease their hiring over the next six
months—down from 13% last quarter and significantly less than the
high of 26% in Q3 2023.
- 41% of CHROs expect to increase their hiring over the next
six months—up from 36% in Q1.
Retention
The CHRO Confidence Index: Retention component ticked up to
54 in Q2 from 53 in Q1. But retention expectations are still
slightly lower YoY from a high of 55 in Q2 2023.
Twice as many CHROs expect retention to increase than
expect it to decrease:
- 15% of CHROs expect their employee retention levels to
decrease over the next six months, down from 19% in Q1.
- 31% of CHROs expect employee retention to improve over the
next six months—up slightly from 29% in Q1.
Engagement
The CHRO Confidence Index: Engagement component dropped
slightly to 53 in Q2 from 54 in Q1. Engagement expectations are
down significantly YoY from its high of 58 in Q2 2023.
More CHROs expect declines in employee engagement than last
quarter. Those expecting increases remained stable:
- 27% expect engagement levels to decrease—up significantly from
20% in Q1.
- 36% expect engagement levels to increase—ticking up slightly
from 35% in Q1.
About The Conference Board
The Conference Board is
the member-driven think tank that delivers trusted insights for
what's ahead. Founded in 1916, we are a non-partisan,
not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the
United States. www.conference-board.org
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SOURCE The Conference Board