Currys Brand and Marketing Director Dan Rubel puts case for retailers' employees working from home

Dan Rubel, Brand & Marketing Director at Currys, has taken to LinkedIn to address reports that Ikea and Ocado are cutting working from home days as increasing numbers of people return to offices on a full or part time basis.

Ikea has told head office staff that from September they will be required to work 12 days per month on-site, up from its previous policy of just eight. Ocado, meanwhile, has updated its hybrid working policy for head office staff from one day in the office a week to at least three days.

"Love to see headlines like this one. More retailers regressing to more enforced work from office = more competitive advantage for Currys IMHO - especially in terms of snapping up and retaining the very best talent," Rubel said.

He added: "I have a team of c.100. For nearly all of us, some weeks we don't go to the office at all. Some weeks we're there three or four times. The minimum is very low (two times per month in the office). Our people are grown ups and we treat them like that.”

“As individuals and as teams, they work things out for themselves including making sure we are face to face when needed (e.g. with the right regularity to stay connected or ad hoc to tackle something particularly gnarly). To be fair, for must of us in HQ roles, our favourite "office" is closer to where the action is... e.g. to be in our stores, around colleagues and customers. That said, the space we have in WeWork Waterloo is pretty special too."

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Employee experiences will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards, which are now open for entries, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering. 

For further information on the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, please fill in the below form and we will get back to you asap.