5 reasons to consider hiring remote workers

While a lot of businesses have started to resume back to ‘normal’, there are many companies that are adopting remote work as a permanent, rather than a temporary fixture. While remote work has always been around and more companies were adopting flexible work arrangements, the pandemic accelerated the digital workspace for almost all offices.

One thing HR leaders learned from COVID-19 was that productivity was not affected by remote work.  Teams don’t have to be in the same office or country to work collaboratively and overall engagement was positive.

So, here are our top five reasons to consider hiring remote employees.

Better employee retention

More satisfied workers mean less employee turnover. Turnover is expensive and wastes time for everybody, especially in roles where detailed training is required.

The flexibility of remote work has proven to increase employee satisfaction, reduces the number of sick leave and keeps employees engaged for longer periods of time.

It reduces costs for businesses and employees

While there will be more costs in technology and home office support, with fewer people in a physical office environment, companies can downsize their office space and save costs on rent, especially for businesses located in the city centre or CBD.

For employees, the commute to work can be expensive. In addition, commuters spend up to an average of two hours travelling each day. Not only do people save on the cost of travel, but also on valuable time.

However, it’s important not to forget the hidden costs of working from home for employees such as electricity, gas, phone bills, and home office equipment.  These should be considered and reimbursed through way of expenses or within their salary.

A broader talent pool

Companies are not restricted to hiring local talent within the vicinity but rather, companies can broaden their talent pool by hiring remote workers across different countries and save onboarding costs such as visa sponsorship or relocation costs.

Increased productivity

Several studies on a diverse range of businesses suggest that people’s input is more valuable, attributing higher productivity with less office distractions, no commute, the ability to work flexible hours, and casual communication channels allowing more frequent collaboration among teams.

Increased diversity of thought

Finally, when you have people working from diverse areas and backgrounds, there is more opportunity for innovation, creativity, and helpful discussion around how to approach things differently. It’s important to foster a space where not all opinions are simply the same and where new ideas can be born based on different demographic needs and varied backgrounds.

If you have hired remotely, how else is it a major benefit for you?

If you are considering hiring remotely, what holds you back?