Too nervous to take the plunge into remote hiring? You shouldn’t be. Remote hiring is not only a more flexible way to run your company, it’s also a smarter way. Hiring remote candidates has proven to be more productive for both the employer and the employees, making it an ideal setup for everyone in the job market. Read on as we address the biggest fears about hiring remotely and explain exactly why you don’t need to worry about them.
Fear #1: My Employees Won’t Be Productive
There’s so much invalidity to this statement, we don’t even know where to start. Remote workers are some of the most productive employees on the planet, and we have the stats to back that up. A TINYpulse survey recently found that 91% of employees believe that they get more work done when working remotely.
And guess what? It’s not just the employees who are reporting higher levels of productivity, it’s the employers as well. In a 2014 case study measuring the productivity of in-office employees versus remote employees for a Chinese travel website, it was discovered that remote employees made 13.5% more phone calls than their in-office counterparts. Imagine if you were 13.5% more productive with your day.
Fear #2: There Won’t Be Any Sense of Office Community
Just because your employees won’t be seeing each other daily in the office doesn’t mean that they won’t be able to form a strong sense of community amongst themselves. In fact, many companies that hire remotely have a stronger sense of office culture within their company than those that cater to drab, in-office restraints.
How you ask? By implementing things like “virtual coffee dates”, where employees are randomly paired and spend 15 minutes video chatting about things other than work. Or through various chat channels that are set up as “digital water cooler” forums for employees to discuss everything from their favorite TV shows to what the weather’s like in their current city.
Because remote employees don’t feel the pressure of being constantly watched by their superiors as they might in an office, they’re more likely to partake in the various methods of digital socializing that occur. And don’t forget, just because employees work remotely doesn’t mean that you can’t have physical office retreats throughout the year for building camaraderie.
Fear #3: My Employees Will Be Looking for Other Jobs
Though they have more freedom and flexibility, remote employees aren’t spending all that time hunting for other jobs. Actually, as it turns out, it’s just the opposite, especially with millennials. 68% of millennials state that they would be more interested in a job if they had the option to work remotely according to AfterCollege. So what exactly does that mean? That means that 68% of millennials are probably not going to be seeking out other office jobs if you’re providing them with the location flexibility that they want.
To further build the case, another study by Global Workplace Analytics found that two-thirds of the workforce would take another job to ease the commute. The odds continue to be in remote hiring’s favor, as there’s no better commute than no commute. It’s a simple concept really, keep your employees happy, and you’ll keep your employees.
Fear #4: I Won’t Be Able to Communicate with My Employees
Don’t think you’ll be able to communicate with your employees if they’re working remotely? Sorry, but we beg to differ. Thanks to video calling, phone calls, chat rooms, emails, and other digital software, communicating with your remote employees is easier than ever. Honestly, we wouldn’t wouldn’t be surprised to find that remote managers actually communicate more with their remote employees than in-office managers do with their in-office employees.
There’s no denying that communication is key in helping a business run smoothly and effectively, so the more vehicles of communication you have, the better… right? Right.
Originally written by Chelsey Grasso on Remote.com