The past decade has seen a constant trend toward working remotely. Companies and employees alike have come to appreciate the benefits of working from home. With new technology making it easier than ever to effectively manage a global business, companies have also been able to form an international workforce.
This trend was already well underway when the coronavirus pandemic hit, but the sudden rash of shutdowns certainly accelerated the process. With even more companies recognizing the benefits of working remotely, it seems the trend will continue even after the pandemic has subsided.
If you are looking to grow your company while cutting costs and increasing productivity, investing in an international workforce could be the single step that helps you realize your ambition. There is no reason your business should not be the next to benefit from this wonderful opportunity.
What Is Remote Staffing?
When companies are looking to fill positions or increase the size of their staff, they often turn to a placement agency that can help with recruitment. Once a number of candidates have been located, the company can conduct interviews and make the necessary hires. In traditional employment situations, these new hires then start working at the company’s office.
Staffing remotely involves a similar process, but the new employees operate from home rather than coming to work at the office. Instead of working through a traditional placement agency, the company contacts a remote staffing agency. This outside agency then searches for suitable candidates all around the world.
Once the agency has discovered some viable options, your company interviews them just like any other potential employee. After you have made the necessary hires, your new employees will join the team while working from a remote location. You may never even interact with your distant employees in person. All the same, they will be full employees who can contribute just as much as other members of your team.
Benefits Of Staffing Your Business Remotely
Hiring employees in distant locations will prove beneficial in a number of distinct areas. You should be able to increase your business’s output while saving money and keeping your workforce happy. Here are seven of the main benefits you can expect to enjoy.
Employees Avoid Long Commutes
In a traditional workplace arrangement, employees must travel to the office every day. Not only is this a major inconvenience for them, taking away precious moments at home with their families, but it also increases the likelihood that they run behind schedule. When all your dedicated workers have to do is turn on their computers at the start of the day, you eliminate the commute and all the problems it causes.
Employees Save Money
For employees, commuting is often just as expensive as it is frustrating. Whether they are paying for gas, bus tickets, or a monthly subway pass, they are forced to use a portion of their salary just to get to the office every day. When you have hired your employees remotely, they will not have to endure this regular expense.
Increased Employee Satisfaction
Employees working from home are often happier with their jobs than traditional office employees. In addition to the commuting issues mentioned, working every day at company headquarters takes people away from their families. It also forces them to operate according to a rigid schedule and with other employees all around. Numerous studies have shown that people prefer to operate from home. Studies have also shown that a happy workforce is essential to a business’s success.
Reduce Your Company’s Employee Turnover
When employees are unhappy at a company, they are more likely to seek a better opportunity elsewhere. As we have discussed above, allowing workers to operate remotely has been linked with increased employee satisfaction. This, in turn, means the employees are more likely to continue working at your company. Hiring new workers can be expensive. You are usually better off retaining the effective employees you already have than having to go searching for new ones.
Increased Productivity
Some business owners worry that employees working remotely will not manage to get anything done. They imagine a constant stream of whining children and ringing telephones that keep their workers from focusing on the task at hand. Experience has proven these concerns ill-founded. Workers consistently report that they are more productive working at home. With a little analysis, the reasons for this phenomenon become apparent. For one thing, employees do not have to worry about distractions from their colleagues. They are also more likely to do overtime since they are comfortable in their own home. They do not experience the same urge as an office worker to stop working so they can see their family and eat the leftovers left in the kitchen refrigerator. All around, it seems the home environment simply brings the best out of a worker.
Save Money On Office Space
What ultimately attracts most business owners to the idea of staffing remotely is the chance to reduce costs. Not only will you pay many global workers a smaller salary, but you will also save by downsizing your office space in your home city. Urban real estate is often expensive, and monthly rental payments can eat up a significant portion of a company’s budget. Once you have invested in a team working remotely, you can switch to a smaller office that is sufficient for the remaining in-person staff.
Attract Talent From Around The Globe
When you are operating your entire business out of a single office, you have no choice but to focus your recruiting efforts in the local area. Even if you have multiple offices around the country, you are still limited to these particular locations. When using a remote staffing agency, you can bring in talented individuals from all over the world. The global scope of the recruitment process makes it more likely you will find exceptional individuals to join your team.
Remote Staffing Versus Outsourcing
When staffing your business remotely, your new hires become genuine employees. This can make it easier to develop relationships and build an authentic company culture. You will know exactly who you are working with, and this will allow you to make savvy personnel decisions. There is, however, another option for relocating your workforce outside the office: outsourcing.
If a company has outsourced jobs rather than hired staff remotely, then they are working with freelancers, not employees. A third-party company takes charge of the process and is responsible for the outsourced tasks. This is yet another option made easier by modern technology.
For years, American companies have outsourced work to great effect. Imagine, for example, that you are hoping to outsource customer service. There is no need to manage a modern service feature like a virtual assistant from your company’s office. A wise business owner can outsource customer service to a freelancer who can manage the virtual assistant from afar. While the owner will not have the same control as they do with an actual employee, they can still expect a decent performance at a fair price.
You will have to decide whether you would rather outsource to freelancers or hire distant employees. Either could be ideal depending on the particular nature of your business. The decision ultimately comes down to the amount of control you want to have over the workers. Either way, you are likely to be happy with the performance and even happier with the reduction in cost.
How To Make Staffing Remotely Work For Your Business
It will be much easier to secure international workers and outsource customer service if you go through a reputable company that specializes in these areas. We at ValuedHR Business Services have the experience and resources to give your company an edge in customer service. Doubling as a remote staffing agency and a provider of outsourced projects, we can meet all your recruitment and customer service needs.
If you are looking to hire dedicated workers who will become full-time members of your staff, we can assist you with the recruitment process. If, on the other hand, you are hoping to outsource your customer service, we can provide you with all the features you could need. From operating a virtual assistant to administering live chats, there are countless ways that we can improve your business’s customer service.
We make getting started with ValuedHR Business Services a simple process. You can contact us today to schedule a free consultation. During the 30-minute conversation, our representative will explain exactly how our services will help you grow your business. From there, we can collaborate to harness the power of modern technology and bring your company to the next level.
