How can a global crisis benefit remote work culture?
While most organizations have been busy shifting and adjusting to the work-from-home culture with the current COVID-19 pandemic, you may not have realized that this may become the permanent practice. A better alternative to furloughing your employees or allowing temporary work-from-home is to permanently allow remote work, which can help your business evolve and avoid a financial crisis.
COVID-19 pandemic has opened up increased scope for remote work culture
As we have been forced into the work-from-home environment, some organizations are already accepting the benefits of adopting remote work culture. Of course, since not many businesses could have predicted such a change, there have been many challenges in this wave of physically distanced work culture.
Nonetheless, the current crisis has offered aspiring businesses a great way to transform their business to make their workforce equally efficient. Or rather, more efficient than ever before.
With the appropriate use of the latest technology infrastructure, systems, and mindsets, an organization can develop an efficient work-from-home culture, breaking all the myths related to remote work. Additionally, what better time to experiment on and improve your remote working system, if not now?
Millennials want to work from home
Consider thinking of it from the employee perspective. Perhaps not all of your employees from generation X are comfortable with the “all-new work-from-home” culture. However, millennials, on whom the future of your company depends, absolutely love it.
The concept of working from not literally ‘home,’ but from anywhere fascinates many and has been a dream for many until now. If you believe that employee satisfaction increases productivity, then prepare your business for the remote-working future.
“By 2030, the demand for remote work will increase by 30% due to Generation Z fully entering the workforce. 64% of today’s professionals say they could work anywhere, and remote work policies are common (in place at 71% of organizations),” states Gartner.
The obligatory remote work system for business continuity has expanded organizations’ and employees’ knowledge of work-from-home possibilities. Additionally, it has aided technology innovation to provide a boost to the system. As a result, companies globally are upgrading their systems to fit into the new norm while planning to make remote working a long-term work culture system as well.
Benefits of remote work culture
Eager to know why this new normal of working from home is now being loved by all? Here is a list of benefits of adopting a permanent remote working culture:
Acquire a diverse talent pool
Organizations often miss the chance of hiring potential candidates due to the candidate’s unwillingness or inability to relocate. With a remote work environment, you can get a chance to expand your hiring pool and attract qualified candidates from other parts of the country or around the world.
Hiring talented workers in potential market areas will also give you a better insight into the local market analysis. Furthermore, you can modulate your campaign strategies to cater to these local insights and grow a business perspective globally.
The remote work option also offers job opportunities for skilled individuals who are passionate about their career but are bound by family obligations, age, and health issues and cannot commute to work. A flexible work location and schedule can help them balance work and life while your organization enriches its workforce.
Office rent and hiring cost reduction
If you are a traditional business, you very well may be overspending on office space for your employees. Instead, building a well-connected, managed, and automated remote work network can save you from the financial burden of office rent, increasing overall business revenue.
Further, with zero commutes needed for employees, you can also cut down the transportation cost from monthly employee salaries. When it comes to making profitable businesses, every strategic cost cut can facilitate growth.
More employee productivity
As companies became obligated to adopt remote work culture as a result of the pandemic, the common belief of reduced work efficiency while working from home is continually proved wrong. If your employees receive the right training on how to work from home, supported by modern tools and technology, and enough motivation, you can make them work equally if not more efficiently.
Moreover, eliminating the daily commute to the workplace saves your workers time and may offer additional time and energy to work-related tasks, making them more efficient than before. No matter how important being under the same roof, working from the comfort of their home can definitely boost overall productivity.
On the other hand, increasing the work efficiency of newly hired employees who may not be accustomed to your business model will require building proper training systems. Remotely hired new employees need an ongoing training process in combination with a virtual onboarding program, access to proper resources, and personalized guidance.
To acclimate newly hired remote employees, send them the company’s upcoming project chart and host virtual team meetings. This way, you can introduce your remote new hires to your company’s work culture and business priorities.
With the current challenges to financial growth, work-from-home may be the only option for many to keep businesses up and running. It is important to look at the bright side and look at the challenge as an opportunity. By transforming your work systems from location-based roles to remote ones, you are preparing your employees and business culture for future disruption in the employee work environment.
Gaining increased employee productivity with a remote work culture takes discipline, planning, and true commitment. Thus start gearing yourself up now for a more efficient and secure work-from-home setup in order to truly thrive in a post-pandemic world.