.18 May 2021 10:03
Britain's fifth largest accountancy firm is planning to allow its 5,500 staff to choose when they work at the office after the pandemic. BDO, which has 18 offices nationwide, said that it would allow staff to work where they were most productive, which the company expects to result in a mix of the office, home and client sites for the majority of employees.
https://www.cityam.com/bdo-becomes-latest-auditor-to-tell-staff-to-work-where-they-like
BDO has told staff to decide where they would like to work post-pandemic, in a move that adopts a more flexible model than some of its rivals.
The challenger audit firm will ask staff to work wherever is most productive, depending upon the task they are doing. For most people this will likely mean a mixture of working at home, in the office, and at client sites.
...A BDO survey found nearly eight in 10 (79%) staff wanted to be able to work from home or have a hybrid model after the pandemic.
Major professional services firms have been open to the idea of hybrid or flexible working post-pandemic.
Read more: Exclusive: Quarter of UK businesses to close or downsize offices as UK embraces hybrid working
Staff at rival KPMG will spend on average just two days a week in the office from June, while PwC will expect staff to be in the office two to three days per week.
Deloitte is also going down the hybrid route, although the Big Four firm has not released specific information about the number of days per week staff will work remotely.
BDO plans to spend £8m of refitting its London and Bristol offices, Eagland told the FT, and plans to reconfigure its other offices to make space for meetings and teamwork.