By: Gareth Hoyle, Managing Director of Manchester-based agency, Marketing Signals:

I’ve seen first-hand the impact the past year has had on businesses up and down the country. Covid-19 has brought a lot of uncertainty to businesses in all industries, and it’s forced many to rejuvenate their way of working.

At Marketing Signals, we have decided to have a flexible working policy, employees can decide if they would like to return to the office full time, work from home full time or split their time. We pride ourselves on being a remote working space, with many of my employees dotted all over the world.

For me, one of the key factors in making this flexible working decision was to allow my employees the freedom to do their best work. One size does not fit all and I’ve found having this more flexible approach to working hours and the return to the office help boost productivity and overall morale.

My overall aim is to create an environment where people enjoy coming to work, they can learn and they have the flexibility to fit in other day-to-day tasks such as school run or appointments, and COVID has allowed this policy to be implemented more/

Above all, the mental health of my staff is of utmost importance and allowing them the option of choosing where they would like to work has been met with positive feedback.