400,000 UK BUSINESSES FACE REMOTE WORK CRUNCH POINT IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS

Only 36% of responding leaders plan to consult internal HR teams when adopting a new working model

Global employment partner Omnipresent reveals today that businesses face a crunch point in the next 12 months as the shift to remote and hybrid teams continues to gather pace. Conducted in partnership with YouGov, the survey revealed that 89% of UK businesses surveyed who are planning to adopt a remote or hybrid model will do so within the next 12 months. Omnipresent estimates this equates to nearly 400,000 businesses across the country*.

However when questioned about the execution and delivery of new working models, the research revealed some worrying trends:

• Only 36% of responding leaders plan to consult internal HR teams when adopting a new working model, but 56% plan to consult board members and the leadership team.
• Despite this, the expectation to deliver remote solutions lies exclusively with HR teams for 44% of senior leaders, with only 13%  seeking support from specialised subject matter experts.
• Only 4%  and 6% of respondents respectively are concerned about compliance issues and providing local benefits, therefore opening themselves up to serious risk of fines and employee dissatisfaction.

When questioned why they plan to adopt a hybrid or remote model:

• 49% of responding executives who currently have or plan to adopt a remote work model said talent priorities are driving their organisations to adopt a fully remote working model. 25% cited ‘accessing a more specialised talent pool’ and 37% identified ‘retaining talent’ as one of the top reasons.
• Employee wellbeing is also front of mind for responding executives and organisations: 49% cite this as a top reason for embracing a new working model.

The research comes alongside the launch of The Globalization of Teams, a report written in collaboration with former BBC journalist and economics expert Laurence H Knight. The report  hypothesises that global teams represent the next big globalisation, following the rise of the internet in the 1990s and the growth of global capital markets in the 1970s.

This phenomenon will have a profound impact on the global economy and society:

• It will result in an increased rate of innovation and economic growth through greater cross-cultural knowledge sharing.
• It will impact the make-up of megacities with a reshuffling of people out of expensive metropoles and into more affordable villages, towns and cities.
• It will drive the adoption of a new, open, inclusive global team culture and an equalisation of salaries.

Co-CEO and Co-founder of Omnipresent, Matthew Wilson says, ‘We’ve seen how the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated remote work trends. Seemingly every week now, a different company announces its intention to offer its employees the opportunity to work fully remotely or as a hybrid team, from Airbnb to Spotify and many in between. Ambitious companies are realising that if they hire remotely, they can hire globally too and bring on the smartest people anywhere on the globe. We’re now on the cusp of a revolution that will change our world like never before – but leaders must be attuned to the complexities of global hiring, or risk reputational damage.’

* 7% of UK businesses stated that they will make a shift to a form of hybrid or remote work this year: 3% are switching to hybrid, 2% fully remote in-country, 2% fully remote anywhere globally.  The latest UK Government figures show that there are 5.6 million private sector businesses in the UK. 7% of this equates to 392,000 private businesses in the UK.  

Methodology

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.  Total sample size was 2002 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 8th – 23rd August 2022.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of British business size.

About Omnipresent

Founded by Matthew Wilson and Guenther Eisinger in 2019, global employment partner Omnipresent provides tech-enabled business solutions combined with personalized expertise to support hiring people globally. Businesses can compliantly onboard, pay and provide benefits  for employees in over 160 countries through Omnipresent’s digital platform. As a fully remote company with no corporate headquarters, Omnipresent has grown from a team of two to more than 400 people distributed throughout 50+ countries since November 2019.