Dear Mike,
Welcome! Before any process is addressed, the people responsible for carrying out that process must be heard, valued, and respected. That principle should be at the heart of Truist’s culture. Reconsider the Return-to-Office (RTO) mandate and give teammates the flexibility to choose how they work.
The majority of Truist teammates want the company to succeed. They want to serve clients well, perform at a high level, and contribute to the future of this organization. But too often, teammates feel that their voices are not being heard when major workplace decisions are made. Truist frequently emphasizes the “Voice of the Client.” But what about the voice of the teammate?
A company cannot consistently put clients first while overlooking the people who serve those clients every day. Allow teammates to choose how they work. Optional remote or a two-day-per-week hybrid expectation would be welcomed by many who simply want flexibility, trust, and the ability to balance work with the realities of today's economy.
If a teammate desires to be in-office everyday -- let them!
If a teammate desires to be hybrid 2-days a week OR more -- let them!
If a teammate desires to remote OR work from home -- let them!
Give teammates the freedom to choose how they work best.
Trust them. Measure their performance by their results, productivity, collaboration, and client impact — not simply by where they sit.
Gas prices and the cost of living continue to put enormous pressure on working families. At the same time, many teammates feel that salaries and bonuses have not kept pace with those rising costs. Requiring employees to spend more time and money commuting—without meaningful flexibility or compensation—only adds to that burden.
This should be a priority, Mike. Listen to your teammates. Respect your teammates. Trust your teammates. If Truist wants teammates to demonstrate commitment to the company, the company must demonstrate that same commitment to its people.
And where is HR in all of this?
There is a growing perception that HR is disconnected from the sentiments, concerns, and undercurrents among the very teammates it is supposed to support. Leadership needs an honest, unfiltered understanding of what employees are experiencing—not simply what is being reported through formal channels.
The solution is not complicated: Ask teammates what they want. Listen to what they say. And then act on it. Give people choices.
Trust high-performing professionals to determine where and how they can do their best work. Measure employees by their results, client service, collaboration, and performance—not simply by the number of days they sit in an office.
Mike, Truist has an opportunity to demonstrate that it truly values its people. Make flexibility a priority. Make listening a priority. Make the Voice of the Teammate every bit as important as the Voice of the Client.
Let teammates choose how they work.