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Hybrid Work

4 ways this startup enticed its 800 employees to return to the office

By Stephanie Schomer
Published 2 Min Read
OrchardOrchard's employees collaborate and catch up in an office lounge space.

While the so-called “return to work” may be the stressor du jour for employers, it’s been on Lorraine Buhannic’s mind for more than two years. 

“I’ve been thinking about this since March 2020,” says Buhannic, who’s the chief people officer at Orchard, a young real estate startup that aims to make home-buying and selling simpler. You’d think that’d be plenty of time to prepare, but the massive growth of Orchard throughout the course of the pandemic — from 130 employees to roughly 800 — created a curveball of an opportunity for the organization.

When Orchard leaders first started shaping the return to work, they knew they wanted in-office days where everyone was in the office, and anticipated working together three days a week. But when an employee survey showed that 75% of the Orchard team was more interested in working two or three days, they adjusted their approach.

“We settled on two designated days — Tuesdays and Wednesdays — to all be in the office, and then if people want to come in on other days, they can,” Buhannic says. “And anecdotally, we’re finding that people are coming in a lot more than twice a week.”

Stephanie Schomer
Stephanie Schomer
Editor-in-chief

Stephanie Schomer is the editor-in-chief of Employee Benefit News. She was most recently the deputy editor of Entrepreneur magazine and previously held positions at Entertainment Weekly, … Read full bio

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