Corporate development professionals are driving a return to the office

Throughout the second half of 2022, our team noticed a growing demand for in-person corporate development roles across our industries of focus, and it appears candidates are leading this charge.

In a recent Charles Aris article analyzing remote work trends in the strategy consulting industry, we found that many corporations are moving towards a hybrid schedule to encourage one-on-one mentorship and increase exposure to senior leaders. For corporate development, many executives say spending time in the office is critical when leading successful business acquisitions and integrations.

We know that M&A has historically been a face-to-face function. By meeting with people face-to-face, our candidates say they gain a better understanding of company culture and can more easily judge which relationships will be successful and how. This ensures that, when the time is right for a deal closure, this seamless knowledge of culture and leadership allows an integration into the business with less hurdles. Without this interaction, it’s too easy for strong company culture, a defining feature of successful integrations, to fall by the wayside.

Since work went remote in 2020, corporate development individuals leaned into this trend as much as any other function and welcomed the break from their historically travel-heavy and in-person norm. However, for the first time in three years, we’ve heard a significant percentage of our candidates say they miss the office and would prefer a schedule that permits at least some amount of weekly in-person work.

Hybrid schedules continue to be the most popular work option among our candidates and clients to alleviate this issue. While we are hearing from a smaller proportion of individuals who prefer a five-day in-office work week, most are interested in the flexibility of being able to choose where they work, as long as a physical office is included. Travel requirements are also back in full swing, which we believe contributes to the growing emphasis on flexibility. Corporate development professionals want to work where it makes the most sense for their day, and a busy travel schedule may lead to some workers spending more time at home – or vice versa.

Overall, we’re paying close attention to the number of our recent candidates who have expressed an interest in returning to the office. We believe the nature of corporate development and the desire for companionship between colleagues is fueling this trend, but hybrid work remains the most popular option for hiring authorities and candidates at this time.