The benefits of remote work are numerous and far-reaching, transforming the way we approach our jobs, careers, and personal lives:
-Remote work offers unparalleled flexibility and work-life balance. Without the constraints of a traditional office schedule, individuals can manage their time more effectively, balancing work and personal responsibilities with ease.
-Remote work eliminates the need for lengthy commutes, reducing stress, and increasing productivity. This also leads to a significant reduction in carbon emissions, contributing to a more sustainable future.
-Remote work opens up a global talent pool, allowing companies to hire the best candidates regardless of location. This diversity fosters innovation, creativity, and business growth.
-Remote work reduces operational costs, saving companies money on office space, utilities, and other overhead expenses.
-Remote work improves employee satisfaction, engagement, and retention. With the flexibility to work from anywhere, employees are more content, motivated, and committed to their jobs.
-Remote work enables businesses to operate 24/7, catering to global clients and customers across different time zones.
Let’s start with the advantages of remote employment
As technology becomes more intuitive, the process of connecting and collaborating with your remote employees gets smoother. Here are a few benefits for allowing your employees to work remotely:
Lower overhead
Remote staffing can generate savings at every level of office management. After all, off-site employees don’t require desks, parking spaces, or personal phone lines, among many other things. Those savings add up.
Stronger candidates
Studies suggest that the option of remote employment—even part-time—is a big lure to applicants. Allowing an employee to spend even a day or two each week away from the office is a great way to sweeten a job offer, and may make the difference in your ability to land sought-after talent.
Happier employees
Workers appreciate stay-at-home opportunities, which cover everything from avoiding traffic to freeing up time for childcare. Happier employees tend to do better work, and are also more inclined to remain on the job. In turn, strong employee retention is beneficial to an agency’s profit margins—employment-replacement is one of an agency’s largest expenses—not to mention a potent indicator of an agency’s overall health.
More focused employees
Staffers understandably perform better when they can focus better. While some employees benefit from direct supervision and an office environment, studies show that many others see a spike in their concentration when working away from the office. At-home work can offer fewer distractions and diminish the prospect of burnout.
Greater diversity
By bringing on employees from beyond your home base, whether from other cities or countries, your agency is expanding its range of influences and perspectives. This can add a fresh new point of view and creative process.
The 9 essential tips for managing remote employees
All told, effective management of remote employees should increase productivity. The key is to develop a system that works both for individual projects and as a general set of best practices.
Keep in mind: For each tip there’s an overriding theme—clear communication. Separated by geography, you and your employees have a particular need for a strong dialogue.
Here are 9 essential tips for managing remote employees, so you promote better productivity and build stronger relationships:
Clarify the commitment
Onboard strongly
Embrace the tech
Customize your contact
Personalize your process
Build team spirit
Emphasize feedback
Stay accessible
Keep developing
Delve deep
