After two years of working from home, companies have finally accepted that remote work is here to stay. Hence, many employers are currently adding more remote workers to their teams. 08
However, some organisations are still struggling to fully embrace it or make it work. A lot of it is down to concerns about productivity and flexibility.
But as research has proven time and again, remote work works – if the proper policies are in place.
And with WFH becoming a non-negotiable for many key talents, implementing a strong, remote work policy is now an essential part of a successful overall business strategy.
Here are four reasons why:
Unprecedented Demand for Flexibility
Many employees are willing to quit their jobs rather than give up remote work. Hence, many employers are offering WFH as the new signing bonus. In other words, companies have no choice but to provide flexible working arrangements.
According to a study, this is largely due to the fact that employees can now work anywhere and still get the job done. An overwhelming 96 percent of the respondents also ranked work flexibility as a primary factor in choosing a new employer.
Hence, if you want to hire and retain your top employees, it’s not enough to offer a competitive salary. Nowadays, you must also have a strong remote work policy in place as well to keep up with the demand for flexibility.
Mandatory RTO (Return to Office) Is Out of the Question
Despite the widespread vaccine availability and declining number of COVID-19 cases, employees are choosing not to return to the office. Forcing them is out of the question.
But apart from the threat of resignation, we should note that a mandatory office setup would discourage at least 70 percent of job seekers. Many candidates now prefer flexible arrangements especially now that more and more companies are offering such.
Good remote work policies wouldn’t just attract and retain top talent, but also enable them to maximise their contributions. They’re also more likely to stay loyal if they can rest easy knowing that you won’t be forcing them to go back to the office anytime soon.
Essential for Maintaining Compliance
Monitoring and maintaining compliance is also key to a productive remote working set-up.
While such allows flexibility, your WFH set-up must also enable you to monitor your employees regardless of where they are based – and to compensate them accordingly so you wont’ run into any legal complications.
In many instances, remote employees jump from one location to another. However, this seemingly casual move might have legal and tax ramifications for employers. After all, you have to consider the legal and tax restrictions in the home countries of your remote employees.
Hence, knowing where your employees are working is a must to maintain proper compliance.
This becomes possible when you establish a strong policy that requires remote workers to disclose where they’re working from. In case manual reporting becomes a hassle, consider adopting a location tracking technology while they’re at work – with their consent, of course.
Remote Work Delivers Results
But the most important reason why you need a strong remote work policy is simple. Remote work delivers.
In fact, working from home doesn’t just maintain productivity levels. It actually increases it by five percent. This is on top of the larger pool of remote talents you can hire and choose from.
Now, more than ever, employers have to strive for an exceptional employee experience.
Hence, investing in remote work policy doesn’t just guarantee a smooth work process. It also ensures that your doors are open to more skilled remote workers in the future.
Excited to build your remote team? We got you!
Remote Staff has been providing Aussie SMEs and entrepreneurs like you with skilled remote workers from the Philippines for the last 15 years and counting. Aside from hiring, we also help with onboarding. So whether you have a remote work policy in place or you’re still figuring out how to set it up, we got you covered.
Call us today or schedule a call back and let’s get started.
Serena has been working remotely and writing content for the better part of the last decade. To date, she's written for Pepper.ph and Mabuhay Magazine, among others, and has churned out more than a thousand articles on everything from The Basics of Stock Market Investing to How to Make Milk Tea-Flavored Taho at home. Hermits, aspiring hermits, and non-hermits with interesting project propositions may email her at serena.estrella10@gmail.com.
