Top 150 Consultants 2024: Where do you stand on hybrid working?

How much time do you spend in the office these days?

The covid-19 public health emergency may be a few years behind us now, but the pandemic put rocket boosters behind what had previously been a slow move towards remote and hybrid working.

According to research by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology in 2019, around 12% of the UK workforce had worked at least one day at home in the previous week and 5% worked mainly from home.

During the pandemic, remote working accelerated with nearly half of workers (49%) working at least one day from home in June 2020 and 38% working exclusively from home. This has since fallen but is still much higher than previously, with 22% of the workforce working at least one day at home in the previous week and around 13% working exclusively from home.

Construction is no exception. Building’s sentiment survey as part of its annual Top 150 Consultants project shows 92% of 159 respondents have a hybrid working policy.

Do you have a hybrid working policy?

But what do these policies consist of? We asked consultants to explain more about their hybrid working policies. It was evident that firms are keen to give flexibility to staff to meet their needs, but many also see benefits from having people in the same office to promote collaboration, with junior staff particularly likely to benefit from this.

Around half of respondents said they have a policy of three days a week in the office as a minimum, but within that many offer different options for people depending on their needs as part of a tailored approach.

We have grouped the answers into broad types of policy:

Minimum number of days/amount of time in the office

Pellings: “We allow staff to work from home for a maximum of two days in any week, subject to business needs and line manager approval. Staff are required to be in the office for a minimum of three days in any week to ensure we collaborate and communicate effectively with each other and also to facilitate knowledge-sharing, training and professional development.”

Pick Everard: “While there’s a minimum expectation of three office days a week, individual roles, project demands and team preferences are all considered when determining the specific work schedule. This allows for a flexible hybrid model that balances employee needs with project success and client service.”

Whitby Wood: “Three days in the office minimum and up to two from home per week. Our flexible working policy gives eligible employees an opportunity to request a change to their working pattern.”

Core hours plus flexibility

Systra: “We are increasingly working outside of the traditional nine-to-five routine, completing tasks on our own schedules, which may be different from those of our colleagues. We must embrace this through a combination of tools/technology and culture; or risk missing out on the best talent in future. Tasks such as client meetings, design reviews, team meetings and site activities must be conducted at appropriate (nine-to-five) times. Outside of core hours, for many other tasks we can work more flexibly.”

WSP: “We ask our employees to achieve a minimum of 60% of available working time in a calendar month to be in-person, either in a WSP office or client site. We suggest the core hours being 9am to 5.30pm to allow for collaboration.”

Tailored approach

Hydrock: “Our hybrid working approach allows our employees to work some of their week from other locations (such as home or a different office). We also offer flexible working, and any employee may ask to vary their work patterns to suit their individual needs. Part-time, staggered hours, job-sharing, hours-only arrangements and phased retirement are all examples of flexible working. The extent to which this is possible will depend upon the individual requirements of the job and the employee’s team. Wherever possible, Hydrock will support people in matching their work pattern to optimise their work-life balance. New joiners will be assumed to be hybrid workers, unless otherwise agreed.”

Ridge and Partners: “We know that one size doesn’t fit all, so our agile working philosophy is based around working patterns that aren’t fixed but that work for the individual, their wider team and clients. This could range from an individual flexing their working times, to working from anywhere. We believe communication and trust are the key to success and we therefore encourage ongoing conversations between individuals and their managers.”

Turner & Townsend: “Our hybrid working approach is all about offering everyone choice and empowerment around where and when they work, as long as their job can be done effectively. We encourage regular office attendance although recognise that there is no one size fits all, therefore our line managers and directors work with their teams to ensure individuals can connect, collaborate and contribute for the team and client.”

Less flexibility for new starters/trainees

Bailey Partnership: “Varies across the disciplines/teams but generally speaking two to three days in the office, with a need for trainees to be in the office more often.”

Baily Garner: “All new starters are required to work from the office during their six-month probationary period. Apprentices and trainees are expected to spend the majority of their working week in the office to gain experience.”

Stace: “Our hybrid model of working enables the majority of employees to work up to two days per week from home, dependent upon their role and stage of career development. Trainees, apprentices and graduates are able to work one day per week from home, and office support staff work solely from the office.”

High levels of flexibility

MZA Consulting Engineers: “Our IT system is fully accessible remotely and all colleagues have laptops, which enables remote working with ease. We have a flexible office attendance policy whereby our employees are able to work at home, remotely, or in the office for a set number of days during the week.”

Ramboll: “We have a fully flexible and hybrid working policy. This is available regardless of seniority, length of service or personal circumstances and ensures that every employee can take a personalised approach, which helps them discover the home/office balance that works for them and their role.”

Rapleys: “Our People Plan removed people’s core hours, so to continue to facilitate flexible working and foster an environment where our people feel trusted and free to work in the best way that helps them to perform, we do request all staff to only work from home two days a week unless otherwise agreed and in practice, very few people work fully from home. We recognise that people value the time they spend together whether in the offices or offsite and continue to invest in workspaces to enable this.”

Choice of work patterns

Baily Garner: “Staff can choose to work a portion of their working week either in the office or remotely. If not at site, we expect attendance in the office at least once weekly. Some functions are required to be present in the office during their working hours, for example receptionists.”

Mace: “Our approach is one of agile working, giving our people the choice of three different kinds of working arrangement. Home – working from home with some time spent on a project or at an office, as agreed with manager; based – at an office with the option to work from home or a project location as agreed with manager; or placed – on a project or at a client office with the option to work from an office or home, as agreed with manager. We’ve embedded that choice into colleagues’ personal contracts in the UK, meaning that everyone will be able to choose – in discussion with their manager – the work setting that fits them best.”

Default office/studio working policy

LSI Architects: “Our policy states that all employees should work from our studios as a default, for the benefits of wellbeing and learning, unless there is specific reason to work from home, for instance boiler service. Working from home must be approved by line managers first.”