Dell says sales team must work on-site 5 days a week to drive productivity

Most members of Dell’s sales team will no longer have the option to work remotely, starting on Monday, Reuters reported this week, citing an internal memo. The policy applies to salespeople worldwide and is aimed at helping “grow skills,” per the note.

Like the rest of Dell’s workforce, Dell’s salespeople have previously been allowed to work remotely two days per week. A memo, which a Reddit user claims to have posted online (The Register reported that the post “mirrors” one that it viewed separately), says that field sellers aren’t required to go into an office but “should prioritize time spent in person with customers and partners.” The policy doesn’t apply to “remote sales team members,” but Dell said to expect additional unspecified communications regarding remote workers “in the coming weeks.” Bloomberg reported that top sales executives Bill Scannell, Dell’s president of global sales and customer operations, and John Byrne, president of sales and global regions at Dell Tech Select, signed the memo, saying:

… our data showed that sales teams are more productive when onsite.

Dell is viewing mandatory on-site work as a way to maintain its sales team’s culture and drive growth, according to the memo, which mentions things like “real-time feedback” and “dynamic” office energy. Moving forward, remote work will be permitted as an exception, Dell said.

Notably, the letter, which was reportedly sent to workers on Thursday, doesn’t give employees much time for adjustments. The memo acknowledges that workers have built schedules around working from home regularly but doesn’t offer immediate solutions.

In a statement to The Register, a Dell spokesperson confirmed the policy change.

“We continually evolve our business so we’re set up to deliver the best innovation, value and service to our customers and partners,” they said. “That includes more in-person connection to drive market leadership.”

Dell’s RTO push

After permitting full-time remote work in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in February, Dell started requiring workers to go into the office 39 days per quarter (or about three days per week) or be totally remote. The latter, however, seemed discouraged, as Dell reportedly told remote workers they were ineligible for promotions in March. Still, nearly 50 percent of Dell workers chose to stay remote, Business Insider reported in June, citing internal Dell Data.

Dell’s RTO mandates have reportedly been enforced with VPN and badge tracking. Some employees have accused Dell of trying to reduce headcount with RTO policies. Other companies pushing workers back into offices have also been accused of this; there’s research showing that at least some companies have used RTO policies to lower headcount while avoiding layoffs. Dell laid off 13,000 people in 2023 and plans more layoffs. In August, it announced plans to lay off an undisclosed additional number of people. The company is expected to have 120,000 employees.

Dell’s RTO change follows an announcement this week requiring Amazon employees to work on-site five days a week starting next year. Following the announcement, a survey of 2,585 US Amazon employees found that 73 percent of Amazon workers are “considering looking for an another job” in response.

“Yes, this is a shift…”

The memo, according to Reddit, acknowledges to workers, “Yes, this is a shift from current expectations.” Dell’s RTO push represents an about-face from previously stated positions on remote work from the company. In 2022, for example, CEO and founder Michael Dell wrote a blog that said Dell “found no meaningful differences” between remote and on-site workers, including before the pandemic. Dell COO Jeff Clarke made similar arguments in 2020.

The idea that remote work hinders productivity has been a hot topic of debate, especially as companies grapple with their remote work policies following pandemic restrictions. Dell says that its decision to force sales workers back into offices is backed by data, and its claims of boosted productivity could potentially be true when it comes to this specific Dell division. However, there have also been studies suggesting that return-to-office (RTO) mandates hurt productivity. For example, a Great Place to Work survey conducted in July 2023 of 4,400 employees concluded that “productivity was lower for both on-site and remote employees when their employer mandated where they work.” Workers with companies allowing employees to choose between remote and on-site work were more likely to give “extra effort,” the survey found.