Ms Joanne Mangan:

The main concern in that regard would be around the idea that remote working should remove location as a barrier to employment. People should be able to access good quality, decent employment regardless of where they are living. If they have to spend the first six months with a new company in its office and that office is not nearby, then in the first instance, they probably will not apply for that job if that condition was included in the job description. It would really make life difficult for people if they had to relocate for the first six months. If people are looking for a remote job and they want to work remotely, it would be very off-putting to have to be in the office for the first six months.

I understand there is an issue from the perspective of younger workers, those in their 20s who are just starting out in their careers.

We hear feedback on that from our partners and Mr. Hegarty from Glofox mentioned as well about hiring graduates, onboarding them and ramping them up when it is their first job. It can be a little more challenging in a remote setting because one does not get the immersion in the office and the first day when a recruit is brought around to meet everybody.

Companies really need to be very deliberate and plan a really strong onboarding process. It does not even start from the first day; it starts even before that. We see good practice in companies where they engage with new hires from the day they are told they have the job. They even try to facilitate some meet-ups with new team members and the recruits might meet their manager a couple of times before they start if they are willing to do that. From day one they have a really strong onboarding, which includes ensuring they get time with everyone they need to meet and they have access to the information they need. That is the level required and there should also be opportunities to meet face to face, as we have spoken about a few times. If a few colleagues live in a person's area, the company might provide a budget to meet for a coffee or beer or something in the evening. The people would still meet and interact in a remote scenario. Having those kinds of opportunities is really important but I reiterate my point about it being possible to onboard and ramp up a new hire remotely if the process is done well.