2020 Year-End Survey: Companies Adjust Staffing Plans

The continued impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is causing companies to modify their workforce plans, according to Challenger, Gray, & Christmas Inc.

• Return to the office – Twenty-one percent of companies said they plan to bring all workers back to the office in early 2021, 9% said mid-2021, 8% said as soon as there is a vaccine, and 7% said they plan to keep workers home indefinitely. Nearly half (44%) were unsure.
• Compensation –  Twenty-five percent said they plan to give their employees a nominal year-end bonus; 25% plan to give a performance-based year-end bonus to select employees; and 13% plan to give a year-end bonus to all employees, depending on company performance.
• Workforce planning – One quarter of respondents said the current uncertainty makes it difficult to forecast hiring needs for 2021. One in five said they increased hiring in 2020 and expect to do so in 2021. The same percentage said hiring will be slow in 2021. Ten percent said hiring will be flat, and 7% said hiring likely will decrease in 2021. Six percent said they would like to hire but are experiencing a skills shortage.