Agencies Press Pause on Hybrid Working Amid Delta Variant

Miami-based multicultural agency Alma knew a thing or two about working in a crisis long before the pandemic. A few years ago, the agency was working on a pitch for Mexican beer company Sol as a hurricane approached Florida. With a lack of power and an inability to go into the office, employees worked remotely and won the account. And even though creative chairman and CEO Luis Miguel Messianu said the experience gave Alma “the ammunition to be ready” for a remote work lifestyle, navigating the pandemic has obviously been no easy feat. Recently, there was a light at the end of the tunnel: Vaccination rates were increasing across the U.S., allowing Alma to tentatively plan a return to the office after Labor Day weekend and implement a hybrid work schedule. But with the surge of new Covid-19 cases because of the delta variant, the agency is slightly back in limbo, putting its initial plans on hold and waiting to see what happens next. One thing is for sure though, Messianu told Adweek: “We’re not going back to where we were before the pandemic.” Covid-19 Delta Variant Alters Reopening Plans for Social Platforms As the delta variant continues to spread across the globe, agency leaders are reconsidering when people can safely return to the office, finding ways to create a flexible and hybrid workplace model and deciding whether there should be a vaccine mandate for employees. Adweek spoke to 11 agencies to learn about their current return to office plans. Delayed returns to the office When indie agency Curiosity's president Trey Harness was drafting plans for the agency to go back to its Cincinnati office, he imagined it would happen at a point where a mask mandate and social distancing weren’t needed “because that just created way too many operational challenges.” A soft reopen after July 4 allowed a third of the company to come in each week to get reacquainted with office life and test out a hybrid workplace operation. This was close to becoming a reality before Curiosity’s official reopen on Aug. 23—until the delta variant halted everything. “All of that is just on hold,” Harness said. “It hasn’t changed our long-term vision about how we want to work in the future. The only thing that’s done is it’s just given us pause and then figuring out, ‘All right, how do we get back in there?’” On the flip side, women-owned and operated agency Fancy got rid of its office in lower Manhattan early in the pandemic and opted for a coworking space instead, according to president Lindsey Seyman. Employees aren’t opposed to returning to a physical space, but flexibility continues to be a priority. Publicis Groupe is also keeping flexible plans and said it will not compromise the health and safety of its employees. It decided to delay a formal return to office and plans to revisit the topic during Q4. There’s no definitive timing for returning to the office, and decisions surrounding that will be made at the local market level, according to the company. For now, offices in the U.S. have opened for an optional summer transition for those who want to return. Employees must complete a safety training on its AI-driven connectivity platform Marcel and complete a daily health questionnaire before entering a building. Out of the 11 agencies Adweek spoke to, two have technically reopened, four have delayed an official return to office date and three have not made any date changes and are closely monitoring CDC guidelines. To mandate or not to mandate vaccinations Vaccination policies are still up in the air for several agencies as many monitor state and federal guidelines before making any final decisions. For instance, RPA, which is headquartered in California, had a soft open after July 4 and required employees to send proof of vaccination and what days of the week they planned to come in. Once the state released new Covid guidelines due to the delta variant, the office closed again. Now, the agency’s leadership is in talks to possibly implement a policy that requires people in certain positions—client facing and those who heavily interact with members of RPA’s internal staff—to provide RPA with proof of vaccination. The main question the agency asks employees to ask themselves is: 'How do I want to live my life, and how do I want to contribute and grow within a company and a culture?' IPG said it’s following the recent CDC recommendation that fully vaccinated individuals should resume wearing masks in certain situations. The company is reemphasizing its mask policy, “which requires masks to be worn by all employees, visitors and contractors, regardless of vaccination status, in common areas and when social distancing is not possible,” it said in a statement. “We are requiring that employees do so regardless of transmission rates in a particular area.” While IPG is not mandating vaccinations, it’s encouraging employees to get vaccinated. Digital agency Stagwell said its individual agencies are deciding what to do, and the company strongly encourages people get vaccinated and return to the office when appropriate. At TDA Boulder in Colorado, a vaccine mandate hasn’t necessarily been on the table because all employees have been fully vaccinated since the agency last checked, according to ecd and partner Jonathan Schoenberg. Adweek also reached out to WPP and Havas, but neither commented on their current policies. As of right now, none of the agencies Adweek spoke with have officially decided to implement any sort of vaccine mandate. Flexibility and comfort Last June, The Martin Agency reopened at 10%-20% capacity because it was able to set all the safety standards for its Richmond, Va., office. Since then, people have had the opportunity to “choose their own adventure” with where they want to work. Before coming into a meeting space, there’s a group discussion on what everyone’s comfort level is and whether masks will be worn. There’s also a dedicated space where people can social distance and wear a mask if that makes them feel comfortable. With the rise of the delta variant, chief culture officer Carmina Drummond said the agency acknowledges “there’s no end date for the pandemic,” but because it's been able to control safety standards, it's become more focused on the future of work and creating a “sustained pattern of flexibility in this industry that can weather things like a pandemic.” The main question the agency asks employees to ask themselves is: “How do I want to live my life, and how do I want to contribute and grow within a company and a culture?” Facebook to Fund Pop-Up Covid-19 Vaccine Clinics in More Low-Income, Underserved Communities But many agencies aren’t there yet. In an internal memo to employees, Omnicom said returning to the office will vary by country and its infection and vaccination rates. The company expects the return to be gradual. In many parts of Asia, employees are already back in the office. In the U.S., U.K. and other parts of Europe, the company expects employees will start coming into the office throughout the summer, with most back in the office by early fall. To facilitate the reopening of its office locations, Omnicom developed a workplace dial that allows the company to quickly adjust its work sites depending on health conditions. The reopening stage by country and city is available on a company microsite and is updated regularly. During its Q2 earnings remarks, chairman and CEO John Wren said the delta variant is unknown and unpredictable, but vaccinated people for the most part have been unaffected. Omnicom will start to bring back vaccinated people after Labor Day, and people are encouraged to come back to the office, though it understands any hesitancy employees may have. Milwaukee-based agency Hanson Dodge has also been playing the delta variant situation by ear. Like some agencies, Hanson Dodge has always had a hybrid workforce but reopened its office on June 7 for three days a week for anyone interested in returning. Two weeks ago, leadership required people to wear a mask if they were in the office—even if an employee was fully vaccinated (Hanson Dodge’s vp talent and operations Kelly Klawonn noted that 97% of employees are vaccinated). For now, Hanson Dodge’s focus is figuring out how to accommodate employees and their need to have a successful remote and in-person experience when it can actually become a reality. “There’s something about physically being in the same space that I think is beneficial to our work, and it’s beneficial to us as humans, but I don’t think we’d have to do that 100%,” Klawonn said. “We want people to bring their whole self to work, and so we want to make sure that our culture isn’t based on a specific place, but it’s based on the people and how we make those connections as rich and tangible and deep as possible.” Kyle O’Brien contributed reporting to this story.

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