WPP ramps up its RTO mandate with others likely to follow

The news: WPP is escalating its return-to-office policy, asking employees to be in the office four days per week beginning in April, per a memo sent to its 114,000 employees this week.

• In the memo, CEO Mark Read said higher office attendance correlates with “stronger employee engagement, improved client survey scores, and better financial performance.” Read said many of WPP’s clients are pursuing similar RTO policies and are expecting the same from teams they work with.

Advertising RTO: WPP’s initiative is a step up from its 2022 requirement of three days per week, and aligns with a broader trend across industries, as large companies are mandating employees return to the office.

• The other Big Four ad agencies have also slowly ramped up RTO policies. Omnicom asked employees to return three days weekly last year, as did Publicis Groupe (albeit with mandatory Mondays). Interpublic Groupe currently allows agencies to set their own hybrid models.
• The RTO mandate comes after a tepid Q3 2024 for the Big Four agencies and amid a broader push to cut costs. Ad agencies spent much of 2024 consolidating production units and investing in artificial intelligence—a technology Reid said in 2023 would likely threaten advertising roles.

What’s next: While RTO initiatives at large companies like Amazon have hit roadblocks, WPP and others are unlikely to reverse these decisions. Employees may leave the company for others with more lenient office policies—which could align with cost-cutting efforts—while those who stay might experience lower morale.

• Staff reductions in response to RTO policies may benefit WPP’s checkbook, but they could also affect clients. WPP and its peers will likely be careful to retain key talent to preserve client relationships.
• Regardless of the approach, RTO initiatives are revealing a general discontent with working in the ad industry. In one Reddit post, users claiming to work at WPP or its subsidiaries expressed anger over having to report in-person after years of remote work or when their teams are scattered across the country.

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