Benefits and incentives to stay restored
Pros
Almost 2 years ago, the CEO and the head of HR removed an extra 4 days PTO for employees who had been here for 9+ years, and shuffled around holidays/PTO such that employees who were here for < 9 years got the same number of holidays and PTO days (but slightly more flexibility). The head of HR gaslighted the company by claiming it as a win -- that 65% of the company had a net improvement in leave benefits. Employees asked for insight and what the other cost-saving options were, no clear answers were ever given. Last year, the company changed who manages our absence codes, which required our parental and caregiver leaves to be charged in full-day increments instead of the former hour increment charging. A clear decrease in flexibility and utility of these leaves. Employees again voiced their concerns and corporate shrugged it off as a non-issue. Many good people have left, not only because of the benefits reduction but because of the corporate gaslighting around these changes. A new CEO came onboard 1 month ago, talked (and listened) to hundreds of employees. He just announced that the company is reverting all these changes because he values rewarding tenured employees and enabling flexibility of employees. Definitely a good sign of things to come. Thanks Mark!
Cons
No incentives to hire and retain cleared staff. This has been a problem for years, exacerbated by COVID and hybrid work policies. Employees who work regularly (4-5 days a week) in a cleared space should be rewarded with incentives like quarterly bonuses for maintaining clearances, subsidized commuting costs, and extra PTO; many companies already have these benefits. These incentives would make a strong statement from corporate that those employees are valued. In our current system, most staff avoid cleared work because of the lack of flexibility and work environment and increased reporting and compliance requirements. Much of the company has complained about the several failed RTO policy attempts that have required no more than 50% in office for most employees while a small set of thankless cleared employees continue on in-office close to 100% of the time.