Every facet of life shifted to a digital and online format in 2020 because of the pandemic. The most significant transition was seen in work cultures. Organizations allowed their permanent employees to work from home, and most tech companies preferred to hire global talent on a contractual basis. Post-pandemic, many companies realized the advantages of remote hiring and decided to make a shift in their model. In fact, remote work is a familiar thing, as even before the pandemic, around 37% of jobs in the US could be done remotely. However, only a tiny percentage of 7% leveraged this type of work environment.
Today, work cultures have changed globally as companies have accepted the shift to new working styles and hiring patterns. This comes as a boon to most employees, who prefer to work remotely.
What Is the Distinction Between Remote Work and Working From Home?
Work from home is for local employees who don’t have to commute to the office regularly. But, they might just have to visit the office for meetings or important events. Most organizations offer employees the luxury of working from home for about 2-3 days a week and resting, from the office. Such an arrangement is also known as the hybrid working model.
On the other hand, when we say remote work, you need not be in the exact location of the office. You can have employees work from their homes, a cafe, or an entirely different country. Simply put, they are not expected to attend office at any point in their employment.
Hybrid or work-from-home models have similar limitations as in-office positions do. It also restricts your recruitment within the local area, but fully remote positions help you extend your global potential as an employer.
How Is Remote Work Reshaping the Current Way of Working?
Remote work cultures are advantageous for many companies and employees. If you want to hire good tech talent, you have to be open to remote hiring as:
Employees Prefer to Work Remotely
Many people got initiated into remote work because of the 2020 pandemic, but now, after having successfully experienced an actual work-life balance, most want to keep going. People are saving their commute time and having more flexible work schedules, which helps them to spare time for recreational activities.
Organizations have to meet the expectations of employees as more workers express the desire to work remotely.
Helps Them to Save Money
With rising living costs, employees feel working remotely saves money on commuting, professional attire, and food. This money now is invested into personal hobbies or any other possessions.
Benefits of Remote Hiring Against Traditional Hiring
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Highly Cost Effective
Most tech giants save a lot on real estate by building a remote team. Some prime examples are IBM and Sun Microsystems, which saved $50 and $68 million. This is a boon for start-ups, as they don’t have to lease out space immediately.
If your company needs space, you can always rent out a smaller office. With a smaller office, you will save on utilities, cleaning services, property taxes, and food.
Alternatively, if your company is located in competitive and pricey city centers, you can hire staff outside your locale at a lesser price. With traditional hiring models, you even have to spend on relocation charges if you want to hire talent outside your region, but with remote hiring, you save on all those costs.
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Rise in Productivity
For years businesses thought that remote workers were not very productive, but studies show the opposite. In a survey, 94% of employers said that remote work didn’t disrupt their employees’ productivity.
Instead, a lot of reasons contributed to an increase in productivity, which include:
- Lesser Distractions
No more coworkers dropping by their desks abruptly or the sound of loud conversations in the background.
- Better Work Environment
Employees can design a workspace of their choice that supports them to think and focus. Also, there is no need to be mindful of the room’s temperature or the music playlist.
- Flexible Schedule
Remote work setting allows employees to choose their work timings. They just have to send the work within a deadline. Moreover, they can take short breaks as many times as they want without having the pressure of being judged.
- No Commute
Helps employees to save time which can be re-invested in recreational activities that allow them to reduce stress and increase productivity.
All of these benefits ultimately help companies as the employees deliver quality work on time without getting distracted. 68% of hiring managers feel that working remotely is making the quality of work better.
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Wider Pool of Talent
Traditional hiring models are limited. They give access to only local talent, but that is not the case with remote hiring models. It erases geographical constraints and helps you find the exact coder with the level of skill you want for your tech project.
You can even choose to work round the clock by hiring staff in various time zones. Most teams accomplish a lot as they never sleep! You can further enable an incredible amount of diversity in your company in the form of ideas, race, age and abilities.
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Better Employee Retention
Offering remote positions will not only attract better employees but also help you to retain your existing ones. A study suggests that 54% of employees would leave their current employer if the next one offered higher work flexibility.
It also lowers absences and turnover time as workers aren’t micromanaged in the remote setting. They feel their employer trusts them, and that develops a positive attitude towards the company, which will promote loyalty towards their work. They will further be less tempted to leave.
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Flexibility in Hiring
Remote work doesn’t only give flexibility to employees but also to employers. You can hire talent based on your requirements. You don’t need to hire permanent employees with monthly salaries.
Instead, you can hire workers on contracts for 3, 6 or 12 months based on your requirements. You can even hire talent based on projects and even pay them accordingly.
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Agile Teams
Many organizations talked about agility before the pandemic, but only a few worked on achieving it. Only such companies mostly managed to survive and grow during the crisis. Companies that stuck to their traditional ways were too slow to pivot, and hence some of them folded while others are barely surviving.
Currently, technology is evolving at warp speed, so agility will continue to be the table stake for business growth. If you have business processes that are built for slower and simpler times, then you will fail to meet customer expectations.
But, when you are open to remote hiring, you can hire freelancers who are experts in their field, and who wouldn’t even be accessible otherwise. You can set up freelance teams of independent talent based on your requirements to expand your capabilities.
Another added benefit of this is that you can scale your teams up and down based on the demand from anywhere in the world.
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Work for All
You don’t get access to just fresh and young talent, but also to veterans. You can bring in experienced people to your team for advice or management with the help of remote hiring.
The older generation can leverage their skills without retiring. The rising living costs force them to work, making this an excellent option as they can extend their services while prioritizing their health.
It is a win-win for both as you get their experience, and they can continue to work. Also, when you hire them on a contract or project basis, you can afford them.
In a nutshell, Remote work has opened a world full of possibilities. It has a lot of benefits and is much more flexible and agile as compared to the traditional hiring model.