A remote workforce provides a host of relevant benefits and can significantly increase productivity while decreasing overhead costs of nearly any vertical. While it has many names – “work from home,” telecommuting, virtual or e- workers, and mobile professional – the ultimate definition is the same. A remote worker is one that doesn’t report to a brick and mortar location. Remote workers generally stay connected via the Internet and access software, the latter which will vary by occupation.
In a remote partnership, the perfunctory operations of most businesses remain very much unchanged – there are still meetings, project collaboration, and the necessity to compile reports, but they are replaced by wikis, webinars, and conference calls. Regardless of the profession, the benefit of one’s physical presence is often outweighed by the benefits of hosting a mobile platform. This is doubly true of technology companies, where nearly every function of the occupation is already performed on a computer. Finally, while this is an upward trend, especially on the international front, it is still being adopted by many companies – meaning this provides a competitive advantage for hiring against a competing company using a traditional approach.
A study by Stanford University found that those who stayed at home took fewer breaks and worked more efficiently. Increasing quality AND quantity is an obvious benefit to an employer, especially in an economy where businesses are expected to produce more with less for survival. In addition to higher productivity, this eliminates the necessity for real estate, as well as accompanying operating costs. Typically, a work-from-home position only requires a VPN client, Internet connection and software that is easily deployable. This still provides the employer with a level of network security that would be expected of a LAN or Ethernet, for instance, without disabling internal resources like an intranet.
This doesn’t solely benefit employers, however, but employees as well. The flexibility allows employees to work on their schedule – one of the causes of increased productivity. It interferes less with employee’s other obligations, which can occasionally be a source of contention. Eliminating possible conflict between work and home significantly raises job satisfaction, which reduces employee turnover, and consequentially, human resources and training costs. Moreover, many employees will voluntarily accept a larger workload because they’re able to work on their terms. Finally, employees would save about 1.3 hours per day, or 2.8 work weeks per year driving. Combined with the reduced fuel prices, this is effectually both a raise and a vacation by itself.
Not every business is in a position to offer this opportunity. However, those businesses which are technologically savvy and looking for ways to remain on the cutting edge of emerging trends ought to examine if their infrastructure will support it. If the infrastructure isn’t presently in place, it would benefit any business to perform a cost analysis examining potential gains, both in productivity and long-term cost savings of operational expenses, compared to the up-front capital required to make the transition. Many businesses are finding that the traditional way of doing business yields traditional results – and moving to a new solution will bring a business to new heights.
For more information regarding remote work force and your staffing needs, contact our experienced recruiters at V-Soft Consulting today!