5 ways your business can benefit from a remote staff
Businesses large and small have been shifting toward remote work arrangements in recent years. Often, these setups are said to largely benefit employees. Those who work remotely tend to enjoy more flexible scheduling and fewer expenses, like commuting costs. But actually, maintaining a remote staff can be a boon to employers, too. Here are some of the ways your business stands to gain from having employees who telecommute.
1. Increased productivity
The more productive your employees are, the more you gain. And data from Remote.co tells us that 86% of workers are more productive when working remotely. When we think about common workplace distractions, from chatty coworkers to perpetually ringing telephones, that makes sense. When employees get to do their jobs from home, for example, it often leads to better focus. The result? An uptick in output.
2. Lower overhead costs
Having a remote staff could translate into major cost savings. With this setup, your company won't need as much office space. Furthermore, you won't have to spend as much on office supplies or equipment, since many remote workers are responsible for those costs as part of their arrangements.
3. Less sick time among employees
When your workers call out sick, your business loses out, even though such situations often can't be helped. On the other hand, if you have employees working remotely, they might manage to power through certain key tasks from their beds or couches when they're under the weather rather than call out sick completely. Furthermore, having a remote staff could help limit the spread of germs among your employees on a whole during flu and cold season.
4. Better retention
The option to work remotely is a much-desired benefit among employees. By making it happen, you'll be giving your most valued workers a reason to stay put. And in today's competitive job market, that increase in loyalty can spare your company the cost and hassle of having to go out and recruit new talent. Furthermore, the better a job you do of retaining employees, the more likely you are to maintain morale within your staff, which is also important in terms of worker productivity.
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5. Greater access to talent
Companies that are only willing to hire employees who can show up to an office every day limit themselves to talent within a specific geographic region. On the other hand, if you're willing to maintain a remote staff, you'll give yourself the option to hire people in different parts of the country. This opens up your talent pool and gives you access to more people with the core skills you're looking for. And if you're currently faced with a large number of open positions to fill, it can streamline the recruiting process, saving you time, stress, and money.
There you have it: Remote work arrangements can benefit employers just as much as they work to employees' advantage. If your business has shied away from remote work, it's time to reconsider your stance. This especially holds true if you've been struggling to retain or attract talent of late.
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