After the world’s most expensive experiment on remote work — the COVID 19 pandemic, companies and businesses are opening the prospect of extending the new work setup to their employees. For small businesses, it might mean transitioning teams from the physical office to remote work.
Challenging times forced countless entrepreneurs to adapt and create ways to support themselves and their businesses. Telecommuting, now called remote work or virtual work or work from home, provided the solution for continuing business operations.
Google, Paypal, Facebook, and Salesforce are some of the big companies that adapt the remote setup for their employees. These same companies have announced that they are extending remote work until this summer.
Despite the news of a new variant of the virus spreading globally, the future outlook is now reassuring with the development of the vaccine against COVID 19. But remote work shows no plans of slowing down.
A survey from Owl Labs found that 16% of global companies are now fully remote and 52% of employees around the world work from home at least one day a week. Thirty-four percent of US workers are willing to have up to 5% pay cut for them to work remotely.
With the rise of everything digital, alongside the limitations due to the worldwide pandemic, this is the perfect time for your business to adapt to the new normal. But what does the new normal mean to business owners?
The new normal for businesses emphasize the following factors: maximum utilization of digital marketing and e-commerce; acclimate to health protocols and safety preventions; remote employment; and an open mind for change.
To sum up, the new normal is online. Even as days ease up on COVID-19 due to the vaccine, customers are strung out to online purchasing and transactions. The need to adapt is urgent and the transition from brick and mortar business to the digital world is now.
Change starts from inside and this means the transition to a digital setup starts internally. Your business can transition to virtual setup if your workforce can. It sounds simple, but this undertaking is no easy feat.
But why bother with the time and energy, a question you might ask yourself.
Reasons to switch to a remote workforce
If you are still doubting the effectiveness of a remote workforce and the benefits they could bring to your business, consider these reasons for switching to one as backed up by studies and research.
1. Remote workers are more productive. The common sense behind this reason is, remote workers need not travel to work and waste time on traffic. There are no coworkers distractions and work on flexible time.
2. Remote workers are happier and healthier. The absence of traffic and struggles going to work, negative office environment, and the pressure present in a competitive surroundings removes factors that attribute to higher blood pressure as prevalent to employees working in a traditional setting.
According to a study by FlexJobs with 3,000 participants, 82% of remote employees showed lower stress levels. The same study revealed that 77% of respondents would feel happier if they had a flexible work setup and 86% less stressed.
A happier and healthier employee means a more productive employee and a cut cost in insurance expenses.
3. The remote workforce is a strategy to sustain business operations. It enables the continuity of operations when challenging situations arise.
4. Remote workforce helps you reduce costs. You save money on office space, office equipment, and electricity.
5. Remote workforce scales down turnovers and boosts employees morale. Remote work is one of the most sought after employee benefits. It has been proven that a remote work setup yields higher work performance from employees.
6. Remote workforce heralds a new model of work behaviours. Remote work setup offers so many benefits that it could serve as a model for studying positive work behaviors or culture.
7. Remote work gives you access to the world. Local hiring allows you to employ qualified candidates within your vicinity but remote work opens up a pool of talents from around the globe.
But global talents are not the only thing you are getting with remote work. It will open a whole new world to your business. You are opening every aspect of your business globally and an opportunity to expand if you have an open mind.
Preparations for transitioning to a remote workforce
There are few professional yet inexpensive tips so you can switch to remote work quickly.
- Prepare the right online tools like picking free communication platforms and easy to use collaboration tools.
- If employees are new to the setup, provide a briefing on the processes of the remote work setup. Create an online support team for the newbies of remote work.
- Develop specific policies for different teams and employees.
- Initiate regular updates and meetings with your team.
- Give your team to adjust to the new setup.
You can apply your strategies to make the switch more effective and convenient for you. It is a crucial opportunity for employers to gauge what their contingency plans are and gear up for the remote workforce.
A remote workforce can be just as successful as an in-house team. While more effort to teamwork is needed, it gives you more consistency and allows you and your team achieve a healthier work-life balance. A remote workforce is a winning strategy for small businesses and larger enterprises to keep the economy rolling and business running.
We can help your business switch digitally and get the remote workforce you need.
