The remote work-friendly strategy that UBS announced on Wednesday for "eligible" U.S. employees stands to give it a recruiting advantage over rival Morgan Stanley, according to recruiter Mark Elzweig, president of Mark Elzweig Co.
"I think it's fair to say that it puts Morgan Stanley at a disadvantage when compared to UBS because Morgan Stanley is locking advisors into a particular number of work-from-home days" now, Elzweig told ThinkAdvisor.
The new virtual worker framework announced by UBS, which will allow at least some roles to be 100% remote, is a "natural extension and evolution of UBS's current hybrid work model," the wirehouse said in a news release.
This new approach to flexible working was "designed to appeal to [a] diverse talent pool and increase retention, while enhancing client service," the company said.
UBS will start a "phased implementation of the framework over the coming months to select current and prospective employees across the country," it said. The implementation will begin with "eligible Global Wealth Management roles in the U.S., and will be aligned with all regulatory guidelines," according to the company. UBS declined to specify when the phase-in will start.
The company didn't specify in its announcement exactly how this will affect the firm's advisor/broker reps. But it is not expected to significantly change the hybrid format that many of them had already been using even before the pandemic, with some days spent working at the office, some on the road and some days working from home or elsewhere remotely.
Some senior UBS reps may end up working more days remotely than others, while some of the newest UBS reps may end up working from a branch office more than others, at least initially.
Morgan Stanley's Strategy
In stark contrast, starting July 1, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management will start limiting most of its sales force to 90 days of remote work each year.
"We developed our long-term approach in consultation with advisors and are offering different options to enable them to maintain flexibility that balances their needs as well as those of our clients and our business," a Morgan Stanley spokesperson told ThinkAdvisor on Tuesday. "Flexibility options will differ by employee based upon role and eligibility."
The company is "not prohibiting remote work flexibility [to] 90 days a year," a person familiar with Morgan Stanley's strategy told ThinkAdvisor. "Vacation and business travel are not considered remote work," that source said.
Most Morgan Stanley advisors have "already returned to the office," that source said, adding that the wirehouse's "general guideline for flexwork is less than 90 [days and] after that they can apply for consideration for other arrangements," one of which is called an alternative work arrangement, the source added.
The firm's current policy is in line with the position expressed by Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman in June, when he told the online Morgan Stanley U.S. Financials, Payments & CRE Conference he expected that most of the firm's U.S. employees would return to their offices by the fall.
However, "my view is a more nuanced communication is necessary," he said. Not every country is through the height of the pandemic yet, he noted — for example, India-based workers would not be coming back to offices in 2021.
There is also a difference between talking to employees at the firm's Times Square office in New York and those at a small office in Topeka, Kansas, he said.
"I don't think making a blanket statement to all employees is helpful," he told viewers. But he added: "Make no mistake about it. We do our work inside Morgan Stanley offices, and that's where we teach, that's where our interns learn, that's how we develop people."
The company had been using a hybrid approach since the pandemic started, gradually increasing the number of days in which many employees work in their offices at the firm.
