What It Really Takes to Be Ready for Return to Office

Expectations are rising for employees to return to the office, but many companies still aren’t set up to support them.

Policies are easy to define. Getting people to show up consistently is harder. The gap usually comes down to one thing: how employees actually get to work.

Across both the US and UK, organizations are seeing the same pattern. Office attendance doesn’t just depend on policy. It depends on whether employees can realistically, reliably, and affordably get there.

That’s what this scorecard is designed to assess.

Take the 2-minute RTO readiness check

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Your score: what it means

Once you’ve completed the scorecard, your result gives you a quick view of your organization’s current RTO readiness.

10–12 points: Strong RTO readiness
You’ve built the right foundations. Employees can access the workplace consistently, and your setup supports attendance at scale. The focus now is optimization.

6–9 points: Partial readiness
You’re on the right track, but there are gaps. These may not seem critical day to day, but they can impact attendance, punctuality, and employee experience over time.

0–5 points: At risk
Your RTO plans are likely facing friction. Without addressing access and commuting challenges, policies alone won’t deliver consistent results.

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What your score is really telling you

Most organizations fall into the middle category.

Not because they lack strategy, but because commuting is often treated as an employee responsibility rather than a business one.

That creates hidden friction, such as:

• Offices that are technically open but difficult to reach
• Parking that doesn’t meet demand
• Limited options for shift workers or early/late schedules
• Rising commuting costs being absorbed by employees

These challenges don’t always show up immediately. But over time, they affect:

• Attendance consistency
• Employee satisfaction
• Retention and hiring outcomes

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Rethinking RTO: from policy to access

The companies seeing the strongest return to office outcomes are shifting how they think about the problem.

Instead of asking:
“Are employees expected to be in the office?”

They’re asking:
“Can employees realistically get there, every day, without friction?”

That shift changes how teams approach:

• Workplace strategy
• Employee experience
• Cost planning
• Operational efficiency

It also reframes commuting as part of the overall workplace experience, not something separate from it.

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How leading companies are closing the gap

More organizations are moving beyond traditional approaches like parking alone or relying fully on public transport.

Instead, they’re introducing more flexible, practical solutions that:

• Reduce reliance on single-occupancy driving
• Improve access to hard-to-reach locations
• Support shift-based and non-standard schedules
• Create more predictable, reliable commutes

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This is especially relevant for corporate campuses, industrial sites, and suburban offices where transport options are limited. Shared employee transport is becoming a key part of this shift, helping companies improve access while managing cost and reducing pressure on parking infrastructure.

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Want to improve your RTO readiness? See how companies are making commuting easier for their workforce with smarter transport solutions, talk with our transportation experts.

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