The Evening Standard of Thursday last week published the results of an exclusive survey of FTSE 100 firms and found a ‘series of the UK’s largest listed businesses have no immediate plans to return many staff to offices’.
The Evening Standard interviewed advertising guru Sir Martin Sorrell who said ‘the ecosystems around the office are crumbling, it is a desert, so we have to get back to work’!
The Evening Standard then goes on to say Sir Martin ‘is right, but the answer lies largely with the Government, which is dismally failing to give a proper lead and instead pushing too much responsibility onto businesses.’
I disagree …
Businesses have an obligation to protect their employees; and they also have an obligation to look after their business owners. If they can give their owners a better return from reduced office costs with staff working from home then it makes perfect sense to allow the status quo to continue.
Businesses need time to see what the figures for this year look like – they also need to consult with their staff and only then can they make some sensible decisions about what to do next – which will have nothing to do with the ecosystems around the office!
Yes, it may mean that in future years shops and offices will be converted to homes and office hubs may spring up around the periphery of London where staff can get to by car so as not be so dependent on public transport.
It has been said that following the Spanish flu businesses soon resumed work as normal, but that was then – this is now. Then there was no alternative to resume work as normal there was no other option – but now we do. We live in a digital world.
The trend was already been moving towards flexible office working – but now that trend has accelerated and may even go in a completely new direction. Over the past four months we have proved to ourselves, our business owners and employees that we can work from home – and in many cases it is beneficial for both employer and employee
Of course, Sir Martin Sorrell and the Evening Standard would like to see commuters return to the bus and the underground in their packed plenty – that is how they make their money – giving out newspapers to commuters in which they see adverts and stay in business. They would love the Government to intervene, but it would be wrong for it to do so.
It is true, pubs, cafes, restaurants and retailers which thrive on a busy metropolis are suffering – and many will go under – but these small businesses are also nimble.
New opportunities will arise – new hubs will be set up and these will also need pubs, cafes, restaurants and retailers – the trick is to know where these new hubs will be – and get ahead of the curve while there are still opportunities and before the prices go up. But make no mistake this will be determined by where the workers needed for the business– skilled or otherwise, want to live and how they want to work.
Designers tend to congregate around Shoreditch so it would make no sense to set up a hub for a design agency in Sevenoaks. However, many lawyers and accountants can work wherever they live. All they need is ways to communicate and work together without meeting face to face. It is therefore no surprise that CRM (Client Relationship Systems) are booming.
Times are changing, and it is not for Government to interfere. However, where the Government should be shrewd is with regard to the entrepreneur – the backbone of our economy and the major employer of staff (listen to David Nield’s podcast). It needs to provide entrepreneurs with tax incentives to adapt, grow and employ more staff and it also needs to be mindful – that once businesses start to think about relocation – there are alternatives which are not far away but on which corporate profits are taxed at 0%.
As we have seen in past podcast episodes, islands such as Guernsey and Jersey are good places to base a business or part of a business with a very attractive way of life and little or no commute.
The Isle of Man – is another example - no crowded public transport – no time haemorrhage in commuting – and possibly a more committed and happier workforce! There are lots of businesses or parts of a business which, rather than relocate to Islington – could consider relocating to the Isle of Man – but whether this is feasible will depend on what skills are needed by the business and whether they can be found in places such as the Isle of Man!
In this week’s podcast I talk to Tanya O’Carroll Managing Director of the Oak Group in the Isle of Man. This is not a tiny island but yet it is the base for many world-recognised and futuristic businesses.
Episode 28
Trusts in the Isle of Man, Tanya O’Carroll: Oak Group
In Episode 28, Caroline Garnham talks to Tanya O’Carroll, Managing Director of Oak Group, Isle of Man. Tanya has overall responsibility for the Isle of Man business delivering high quality client services whilst balancing the strategic financial and operational requirements of the business.
The question the Government should then be asking is not how much it should pay employers to bring their staff back from furlough – but how to keep these businesses afloat, in business and paying tax, in the UK. A good place to start would be to reinstate the entrepreneur’s relief at £10 million so that business are incentivised to grow beyond £1 million.
At the moment I have not heard enough from the Government as to what it is going to do to support our entrepreneurs; the backbone of our economy in this country.
The UK Government needs to stop focussing on re-election and start getting real about its future – post Brexit!