Facebook’s HR head spoke to us on their remote working plans
Facebook recently revealed their latest return to office strategy, which will involve a flexible and collaborative approach with employees. If the pandemic situation continues, the tech giant hopes to open more offices across the Asia Pacific region by the end of the year. Despite this, they only expect up to 50% capacity in any office.
The company will also be more flexible with those who want to return to the office. The general guide or recommendation for these group of employees is that they should be in the office at least half of the time.
Read more: Will we finally get to return to offices this year?
The choice is in the hands of employees, with the company expanding their remote working policy as part of a longer-term strategy. This decision was made based on feedback from staff.
“As people start to return or think about returning to offices in APAC, many employees want the positive aspects of working remotely to carry into their post-COVID routines,” said Dan Neary, VP for APAC at Facebook.
The expanded policy would enable even more employees to work remotely if they chose to do so. As of June 15, employees at all levels across the company, and anyone whose role can be done remotely can request work remotely. The policy only used to cover certain roles.
Additionally, the company is gradually expanding their policy on working remotely from an overseas location. For staff keen on relocating across international borders, starting June 15 Facebook will support remote work requests from employees in EMEA to work in their UK offices for example. The rule of thumb for the move is that all roles and organisations must have an aligned location strategy. In the past, this was only allowed for tech and recruiting roles. Facebook aims to offer staff the opportunity to permanently move between seven more countries in the region by January 2022.
Above all, Facebook’s HR head told HRD that regardless of their choice, the company will do their best to ensure a fair work experience for all employees.
“Whether employees are working from an office or remotely, creating an equitable experience for all employees is important for Facebook,” said Rachel Burton, HR Director for APAC at Facebook. “We are creating support systems for teams and managers to ensure everyone has a chance to thrive no matter where they’re working and are focused on making sure everyone is getting meaningful feedback and access to growth opportunities and roles. We’re committed to making sure everyone has the opportunity to do the best work of their careers at Facebook, and we’ll continue to build on these and other practices over time.”
