Remote Employees and Why They are Better for the Company’s Revenue
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Remote employees – general description
Remote work, working from home or teleworking – is a form of employment where the employee and employer (or customer and executor) are at a considerable distance from each other, delegating and receiving technical tasks, labor results and payment with the help of modern means of communication (initially – fax, mail, and Internet). Remote work means interaction between employee and employer at a distance based on communication using modern messengers, cloud-based platforms, telecom abilities, mobile applications, integrated communication systems, etc. Thus, the results of work are delegated over the Internet, providing benefits and increasing the productivity of the employees.
Mostly, remote workers are representatives of the IT industry, which is a superior outsourcing direction nowadays for large, medium and small businesses as well as advertisers and marketers, designers, translators, creative workers. The most popular remote jobs are programmers, copywriters, journalists, translators, designers, illustrators, SMM specialists, layout designers, software testers, call center operators. People without specific knowledge can work as moderators, assessors, transcribers, etc. Separated individuals who provide services usually are not related to inside processes and do not require access to the databases.
The concept of working remotely was developed by Jack Nilles. In 1972 he suggested that it was no longer necessary to keep employees in the office since modern ways of communication allow them to maintain contact between employees from a distance. To test this theory he set up experiments in the University of Southern California. As a result of his reports, he received funding from the National Science Foundation. Later on, authorities had shown interest to develop the idea of remote jobs as a solution for transportation problems in cities. A new labor organization could solve these issues, and at the same time provide jobs for people in remote rural areas. This was the beginning of a completely new industry, a new business model, created to help businesses save their expenses and optimize business processes. We are talking about outsourcing.
In 1979, the works of Jack Nilles attracted the head of the Special Committee for Economic Development of the United States, Frank Schiff (Frank Schiff). He continued to build on the ideas of the scientist and came up with a new term “flexiplace” – a “flexible workplace”. The specialist published an article in The Washington Post under the bold headline “Working from Home Saves Gasoline” (Working at Home Can Save Gasoline).
Why do companies prefer remote employees to complete their tasks
Reducing salaries
The employee’s salary accounts for just 40% of the cost of maintaining their employment. The rest consists of renting a workplace, equipment (computer, telephone, printer, consumables, etc.) and its maintenance. But the work can be done without these investments: everyone has a computer at home and providing an Internet connection is cheaper than office rent. Different companies nowadays provide outsourcing services or offer remote employees. Mostly these services already include a full set of professional equipment. Fill out the form and get a free consultation on how to outsource your departments on significantly lower salaries.
Way to office
Traffic jams are a real issue and a source of great stress to reach the office in big cities. Also, morning adventures on public transport can knock your employees out of the working mood for a long time. As a result, the overall productivity of labor will be reduced. Let your staff stay and work from home – you will notice a productivity increase. That is because of working in a comfortable space.
Clearly assigned task
It is not necessary at all to hire an office manager (who also requires financial costs). If a job is clearly marked in front of an employee: an understandable task, tight deadlines and imputed remuneration, then he will do everything by himself, having planned the working mode as he likes and having achieved the most effective performance.
No office environment
The office environment will never create a working atmosphere that fits everyone. Someone will always be dissatisfied with something. Quarrels, intrigues, gossip and other incidents of interpersonal relationships will reduce productivity.
Remote access
For a number of professions, it doesn’t matter at all where the employee is located – even on the moon. The development of computer networks and digital technology allows accessing a fast workflow even from the opposite side of the Earth.
Thus, a lot of managers came to the conclusion it is ok to leave in the office only the team representative, as well as those whose presence is necessary due to the specific nature of the functions performed. The rest can be sent back to home – this kills most of the problems of an interpersonal nature, accessibility to the workplace and reduces the cost of maintaining an employee by around 50%. Read more about how we can help you to set up a physical workflow and create your own call center. Tasks can be shared by email beforehand. Modern mail solutions make it possible to minimize this risk of security breach and confidentiality intrusion.
Front Desk Helpers has predicted those issues and offers complete security and privacy of confidential data following HIPAA requirements and PCI DSS v2.0 compliance. Assemble the whole team in one place for “check-in hours” at least once a week. Set common tasks and clarify the basic principles of work. Here you can find more about our proprietary approach to team management.
5 reasons for the popularity of remote employees nowadays
- Improves the company’s culture. Remote work helps employees to maintain a balance between work and life. Companies that allow employees to work from home can rely on their respect. So you will contribute to the creation of positive company culture. A survey of 1,500 technical specialists showed that 37% of them would agree to a 10% salary reduction if they can work from home. Giving employees this opportunity means contributing to the development of a corporate culture where your employees will feel confident.
- Increases productivity and involvement. While so many employers are looking for the opportunity to minimize distraction, the answer lies on the surface: remote work is a way out of various issues. Working from home doesn’t just make employees happy, it really improves overall productivity. Two-thirds of employers report increased involvement and productivity among their remote employees. This is probably due to the fact that it becomes easier for an employee to maintain a work-life balance.
- Reduces costs. Remote work saves money because it reduces the cost of your employees. Costs for the full maintenance of the office are reduced as well. Employees do not need to spend money on transportation, food, etc.
- Reduces the desire to quit. There are a number of reasons why employees decide to change jobs, other than a bad boss or boredom in the workplace. Lots of workers quit for work-life balance improving. They are looking for companies that can give them opportunities for this. 80% of employees consider remote work a significant bonus. Your “distance policy” will give employees an extra bonus.
- Increases employee efficiency. When you save employees from unnecessary meetings and other duties their productivity will inevitably improve. Remote work allows employees to concentrate on their tasks.
Predictions of remote employees services for 2019
If we look around we may notice that remote employment becomes not only a popular trend but quite a reasonable choice. It gives benefits not only for employers and employees but for the Earth as well. Environmental problems are very hot topics nowadays and the reduction of resources necessary for the production of goods or services is one of the top problems facing humanity. Working from home not only reduces travel time and salary expenses but also reduces the amount of gas necessary for that transportation and a number of other resources used to organize a workspace in the office.
Taking into account the above mentioned we may predict that in the nearest future all the positions that are not directly connected to the production process may gradually disappear from the job market. Nowadays, companies turning to remote employment are setting examples for others in different industries. And this pushes the development of different technologies and IT support for various demands and needs of remote employers in a wide range of fields.
Remote job trends
Actually it’s an extremely quickly developing sphere that may bring positive changes not only to the lives of many people, earlier left behind by the bubbling experience and opportunities of large cities, but also to a large number of rural areas and those territories that sometimes lose connection with the “great land”due to different natural effects – like territories in the extreme north or any other. Remote employment removes the obstacle of finding the best team member in the area. Instead, it allows you to find the professional that fits the job and your company best.
At the same time, youngsters who have a great desire or need to work may start their professional careers before they graduate from school or college while staying at home. If the younger generation can make a good sum of money without leaving their native cities it will help to solve the problem of uneven distribution of population within the country or even the world in a longer perspective.
It may even become a good retirement plan, when a person after retirement may become a consultant or work part-time from their home or while traveling around the world.
Even now there are different remote work patterns and everyone may find a position that would fit their idea of a comfortable work environment.
Most popular skills for remote positions
Whatever skills you have now, you may find a position that would be perfect for you. But if we touch upon the most popular or demanded skills, then for the next 10-15 years the leading position will be held by the IT sphere and work with people, i.e. – customer service or any kind of support (technical, financial, psychological, etc.). A good combination of foreign languages will also remain one of the most popular skills for remote employees.
Frankly speaking, almost every industry has a number of jobs that can be performed remotely and it’s only a CEO’s decision what functions and responsibilities can be moved to a remote part of the office.
We invite you to learn more about our capabilities and use the cost calculator for remote employees to evaluate the benefits of working with us!
Front Desk Helpers Co, 2019. Change your business mind!
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