Remote versus office working – will the industry change back?

As life gradually got back to normal after the pandemic, the face masks were eventually tossed away, using anti-bacterial hand gel became less common, and social distancing eased.  But one thing that did endure from that extraordinary time was remote working. Many staff were reluctant to give up working from home, and the prospect of returning to the office and a commuter way of life. Equally, employers were aware like never before of how remote working could save them the cost of office space – and still be productive.

But, it seems the tide could be turning. In late 2024, a report from KPMG, which surveyed 1,300 chief executives globally, found that 83% predicted that companies would shift to require a full return of employees to in-office work within three years. And, sure enough, it seems some high profile businesses within financial services are increasingly keen to reinstate office life. It’s reported that HSBC has told employees at its UK retail division that failure to comply with its hybrid working guidelines could result in reduced bonus payments. This follows similar activity at Lloyds Banking Group, where it’s been reported that its senior managers will be assessed partly on office attendance when annual bonuses are determined. Other high profile names, such as Barclays and JPMorgan Chase, are also understood to favour a greater presence in the office again.

So, could this trend spread throughout mortgage, taking the industry back to the days when staff worked alongside each other nine-to-five and home was a place to rest in the evenings and at weekends? Mortgage Introducer has spoken to three industry employers for their insight.

Broker Ben Groves (pictured left), managing director and founder of Yomo Finance, reports that the business has just bought its first official office. “We intend to use it, but also value the fact that there is a balance,” Groves explained. “I have always valued working from home and at Yomo we operate a hybrid approach. I think from a staffing perspective, our team values the flexibility we offer, which has a positive impact on performance. For me, I absolutely need to work from home to ensure I stay on top of general business management tasks. Being in the office is so important for collaboration, team building, and to maintain relationships with BDMs etcetera. There are some tasks that are just much better suited being face-to-face. For example, if you wanted to get a good sense of how a big change is going to land with the team, you aren’t going to get the same response in person versus remote.”

But Groves feels positive that there is a long-term outlook for the hybrid working model. “People are working more flexibly and the mortgage broking market is well known for being able to work remotely,” he said. “Employers and brokerages risk losing key personnel or risk being a less attractive proposition if they do not evolve to people wanting to work from home at least a day or so a week.”

Read more: How determination is enabling a young broker to build his own business

How remote working can maintain productivity

For Ying Tan (pictured centre), CEO of digital broker Habito, hybrid working still operates effectively. “The majority of staff are remote,” Tan said. “We have an office where people can come and go as they please, but there's no dictating of how many people have to come in or when they have to come in.” It’s a model that, supported by the firm’s technology, maintains productivity. “We have 23 mortgage brokers, and each of those mortgage brokers have a productivity about three times of a traditional broker,” Tan explained. “So, for context, a traditional broker would do between 10 to 15 mortgages a month. The brokers at Habito do around 40 to 50 mortgages a month, and a lot of that is because of the technology we have built, but also because we are engaging with customers online. I guess we can engage with two or three customers at the same time, whereas if you’re face to face or even on the telephone, you can only engage with one at a time.”

Matthew Roberts (pictured right), is director of family business YesCanDo Money, which operates out of an office in Havant, Hampshire. “We've got a team of people, most of who want to work from the office,” Roberts said. “Four of our people are hybrid working and we've been open to that. Our highest performer mainly works from home, out of preference.  She's the type of person who just wants to get on with it.”

Does Roberts believe, then, that the business will maintain a physical premises? “Yes, because there are some people within the office that would hate working from home,” he said, adding that there were good, practical reasons from the perspective of running the business, to support hybrid working. “In the office, we’ve maxed out the space,” Roberts shared. “We might be able to squeeze one more person in. If some people are wanting to work from home, that enables me to grow and not have to then up our costs.”