Jobhop Jobhop's blog : The Three Main Benefits For Having A Remote WorkForce

Remote working is a hot topic at the moment.

Following the coronavirus pandemic, where many of us unexpectedly worked from home for a considerable time, having the flexibility about where to work has become increasingly appealing.

For employees, remote work means saving money and time on a daily commute – precious time which can be used how people please. Whether that’s to spend time with friends and family, start a hobby, or exercise more, having greater control over their daily schedule is an obvious benefit for employees.

But what about businesses when it comes to a remote workforce?

Businesses will also save money, no big offices to heat up, no car parking fees to pay, cleaning bills or water coolers to service. But, what are the three main benefits for having a remote workforce?

What are the benefits for having a remote workforce?

We take a look:

Access to a wider talent pool

Have you ever struggled to hire the staff you need locally? When you decide to hire a remote workforce you can access a much wider talent pool simply by removing geographical restrictions. If your employees don’t have to go to an office, they no longer need to live nearby.

You may decide to hire remotely within the UK or further afield (there are additional considerations), but without a doubt you’ll have more people available for work. What this means is you can afford to be fussy with the candidates you choose to hire. With careful hiring strategies, you can focus on only the best talent in your industry. This can give businesses a huge competitive advantage.

Happier employers

According to guides on remote recruitment, having more choice over when and where to work is important to employees – in fact, 65% said they would consider changing jobs for greater long-term flexibility. If you offer flexible working, talent will come to you and they are more likely to stay.

And why wouldn’t they? Being able to choose where to work offers employers great control and flexibility over their own lifestyles. It can have a huge positive impact, especially on work-life balance. As long as remote workers learn to keep boundaries between their working time and home time, they tend to be much more engaged and positive employees.

Improved productivity

Pre-pandemic, there may have been many questions about home working. Would the same amount of work get done? Will employees be easy to get in touch with? How will teams collaborate? But these are now generally outdated ways of thinking – we know that standards of work and communication were maintained while people worked from home, and while dealing with the pressures of a global pandemic. So with the right set-up and established expectations of what remote working looks like for your business, productivity shouldn't be an issue.

There’s numerous studies on remote working and productivity, but they all tend to say the same thing – that productivity improves. In one study of 16,000 workers, working from home increased productivity by 13%. Again, that’s another huge advantage to hiring remote workers.

These are just three of the benefits for having a remote workforce, all of which show the win-wins for both employers and employees.

Leo Clarke, Content Producer and Researcher

Main Photo by Headway on Unsplash

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