The internet has transformed our lives beyond measure, but one of the most important trends of all is the rise of the remote workforce and the gig economy. More people are working from home or on the move than ever. Many others are even leaving traditional employment behind to go freelance. Some innovative startups don’t even have a fixed place of business, instead working exclusively with remote employees and freelancers.
There’s no doubt that workforce mobility is the future of work, but it also introduces some important challenges. As such, it’s not something an established business should dive into without proper research. Make sure you fully consider these benefits and challenges before implementing remote work in your business.
Employee productivity
The most oft-cited benefit of remote working is enhanced productivity. Traditionalists, on the other hand, often have the impression that letting employees work from home means they’ll be more likely to procrastinate. At the same time, no one likes the feeling that someone’s watching over their shoulders at all times. In fact, excessively monitoring employees, even if it does encourage them to work harder, is likely to substantially reduce the quality of work.
Most employees work better when they feel they have more control over their work-life balance. People also tend to be more efficient when they’re using their own devices in the environment they’re most comfortable in. All this is measurable, too — even if you’re not tracking the actual hours people put in, you can track the results easily enough.
Cost-effectiveness
For many established businesses, office and equipment rentals and purchases are among the biggest expenses of all. There’s the physical space needed to accommodate your employees and your computing hardware. Then there’s all the equipment you need to provide, such as furniture and computers, including the utility bills and the costs of maintaining and upgrading hardware.
Every one of the above costs can be dramatically reduced, some even eliminated altogether, by tapping into the potential of remote work. When employees use their own devices for work, the overheads on your part are minimal. All you need to do is provide the software they need to do their jobs, which these days is normally cloud-based and charged for under a predictable monthly subscription fee.
Information security
Enabling remote work means giving up some control, not just over your employees, but also over your information. For many business leaders, particularly those in highly regulated industries, the thought of having sensitive data kept in the cloud and accessed remotely is too much to bear.
Fortunately, most of these concerns are unfounded and outdated. In fact, with a fully software-defined technology infrastructure, administrators can enjoy greater visibility into their data and tap into the power of scalable security. They can manage access rights from a centralized web dashboard, ensuring that remote workers only have access to the files they need to do their job. This is a lot more convenient than trying to manage hundreds of different physical devices.
Talent accessibility
Recruitment teams no longer need to be restricted to their local areas, and neither does having your business premises located in a remote area have to mean lengthy commutes. Remote working does away with geographical boundaries, opening your business to suppliers and employees all over the country and beyond. That way, you can access the best talent while enjoying more control over your expenses. After all, the remote workforce is a global phenomenon fueled by increasing connectivity. That’s not something today’s businesses can afford to ignore.
The takeaway is remote work policies open your business up to many opportunities, provided you have the right technologies in place. Complete Technology offers all the solutions you need to mobilize your workforce, and much more. We also provide proactive management to streamline your remote work implementation. Call us today to get started.
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