Edward Jones Sets Office Return Date With Flexible Work Policy

Edward Jones has set April 25 as the date its U.S. employees will return to the office with a flexible work model, the broker-dealer said Thursday.

Under the new work model, the firm’s U.S. home office associates in St. Louis and in Tempe, Arizona, will have the option of working at the office full time, remotely from home or a hybrid of the two, Edward Jones said.

The flexible model “empowers leaders and associates to determine the right flexible work arrangement that balances the needs of business, team and individual,” the company explained. The hybrid approach will “preserve and strengthen its purpose and culture while maintaining its reputation as a best place to work,” it said.

The firm’s home office campuses will continue health and safety protocols to help mitigate the transmission of COVID-19.

Throughout the pandemic, Edward Jones’ home office locations were at “less than 20 percent occupancy for ‘essential services,’ while the majority of home office colleagues were able to work remotely,” the company said. “The firm’s 15,000 branch offices remained open throughout the pandemic, but were closed at times to the public to comply with local health and safety protocols.”

The Shift to Remote

In only “a matter of weeks in 2020, the firm scaled its technology infrastructure from 15,000 remote connections to 50,000 remote connections enabling the firm’s associates to serve its 7 million clients from anywhere,” after the pandemic started, it said.

As the firm shifts to its new hybrid model, Edward Jones “continues to develop and implement technology to improve employee and client experiences, such as the one-touch Zoom technology installed into Edward Jones’ home office locations to ensure seamless meetings with colleagues working in-person and virtually,” it said.

“At the onset of the pandemic, meeting the technology needs of our associates meant being able to be there for our clients at a challenging time for them,” according to Frank LaQuinta, chief information officer at Edward Jones.

“As a firm we learned a lot quickly,” he said, adding: “Today, we continue to innovate with virtual business enablement tools that allow our branch teams to grow their practices and deepen their relationships with their clients and for our home office colleagues to support this transformational journey we are on.”

(Pictured: Edward Jones Building; Image: Shutterstock)