Gartner Says New Hire Work Preferences Present Significant Cost Optimization Opportunities for CFOs

– CFOs can optimize organizational costs while meeting the relocation desire of many employees

CFOs have a new opportunity to recalibrate personnel costs by more proactively engaging remote and hybrid employees on their relocation preferences and adjusting salaries to match local cost of living, according to Gartner, Inc.

“Many organizations have accepted that a significant percentage of their staff will remain in remote or hybrid roles for the foreseeable future,” said Emilie riley, director of the Gartner Finance practice. “CFOs now have a rare opportunity to offer employees the flexibility and quality of life adjustments they desire, while improving the organizational cost structure, as many employees report being prepared to relocate to areas of concern. lower cost of living. “

Multiple variables in employee preferences

Proactive CFOs can now better engage employee segments and collaborate with HR to better tailor offerings to new and existing employees on where they choose to work and recalibrate salary ranges accordingly. Riley suggests that CFOs need to carefully analyze data trends and understand what drives individual employee preferences on this issue.

“While younger employees are generally more open to a pay cut for moving, higher level positions are significantly more open to the idea than lower level positions; this suggests that many factors such as family status and an employee’s sense of security within the organization may play a more important role than age alone, ”said Riley.

CFOs looking to operationalize employee preference data to recalibrate personnel costs should work with HR partners to develop a plan to engage employees through surveys, focus groups, and conversations. with managers. They can then begin to identify the segments most interested in relocation and whether they are willing to accept salary adjustments based on the cost of living in their new location.

In companies where the willingness to accept pay cuts is high (at least among some groups), cost savings can be achieved relatively quickly through immediate pay adjustments. Where employees are more reluctant to accept wage cuts, savings can still be made in the long run by expanding teleworking offerings without an immediate pay cut and by “calibrating” wages to the local cost of living through lower wages and bonuses compared to over several years.

“Every employee has different values, and CFOs need to understand the preferences of different groups of employees in their organization,” said Riley. “The objective should be to establish a remuneration policy for remote work adapted to achieve the cost savings available while being a clear and widely applicable policy that avoids forcing HR and managers to repeatedly make decisions. punctual when employees move. “

Gartner customers can learn more in: Recalibrating Labor Costs in a Hybrid Work Environment

Non-clients can find out more here: Digital Future of Finance.

CFOs and CFOs can participate in Gartner research and gain additional access by joining the Gartner Research Circle.

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About Gartner

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) delivers actionable, objective insights to leaders and their teams. Our expert advice and tools enable faster, smarter decisions and better performance on an organization’s most critical priorities. To learn more, visit gartner.com.

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