Is a Remote Workforce Actually Beneficial to Your Business?

6 MINUTE READ

Remote workforces are on the rise and a hot topic amongst HR professionals. Matt Charney, Talent Guru and author of the popular recruitment blog Snark Attack puts it well "With clearly defined expectations and boundaries, remote workers can be more productive and beneficial than those in an office, but of course, whether or not virtual work is the right solution for your company largely depends on your situation and your expectations."

Its clearly not for everyone but if the possibility is there to create a remote work force, the benefits are worth the risk. Here are a few fascinating facts from Matt's article:

1. A recent Stanford study found offering work from home opportunities cut attrition rates by 50% while 68% of currently employed job seekers say that they’d be more interested in considering specific opportunities if they offered virtual working arrangements.

2.  87% of virtual workers said that they felt “extremely connected” with their company and their colleagues.

3. Connect Solutions found benefits for both employers and employees in cases where remote working was an option. 30% of workers accomplished a higher number of  key objectives in less time when working off site, and 52% were less likely to take time off work, even when ill.

While there are some potential downsides to a remote workforce (Matt explores those as well) these are pretty compelling numbers and not something to ignore as we navigate a candidate driven market.

Forward by Alisha Adams, Co-Founder of Talent Lab