The Benefits of Allowing Your Employees To Work Remotely

There has long been an issue for businesses over whether or not to allow workers to work remotely instead of in an office environment. 

It can be hard to trust that the work is actually being done and people aren't slacking off on your time. But did you know that recent studies have suggested that the opposite is actually true? Remote workers in Canada rank their productivity levels as a 7.7/10 compared to office workers who rated their productivity at a 6.5/10. Giving your staff more freedom and flexibility to work away from the office can actually increase productivity and efficiency too. 

Allowing your staff to do their job from a different location can have so many benefits for your company, and today's age of technological advances, there are so many ways you can keep track of what everyone is doing and where they are up to regardless of where they are working from.

Staying connected. 

It is easier than ever to stay connected with staff members. From using mobile device management to keep up to date with file sharing via cloud-based software that lets you keep track of everyone and all the devices you supply employees to be able to do their jobs. 

You can also look at using apps such as the following to help all team members stay connected with you and each other easily. This will make collaborations on projects much easier and allow you to track progress. 

• Slack
• Active Track 
• Front
• Monday.com 
• Trello
• Todoist

There is a wide selection of apps that you can use to make life easier when delegating tasks to employees and tracking progress. 

Lower Costs. 

By simply allowing your staff to work remotely, you can say goodbye to costs such as finding and renting/buying office space. There will be no equipment to buy, for example, stationery, printers, coffee machines and no insurance costs or utility bills from having members of staff working on your premises.

If you still want to maintain an office workspace, you invest in smaller premises where staff can check-in and work from the office on a semi-regular basis. 

Reduction in employee absence. 

You will find that if staff members are allowed more flexibility in their working day, they will be less likely to have to take time off for appointments, illnesses, childcare issues or sickness and school holidays. 

People will be more inclined to put in the extra effort if they are given the flexibility to work on a schedule that works for them and make up the hours I'm their own time especially as they won't have to worry about commuting to the office each day.

This makes for an increase in efficiency as they work to prove to you that this is the best decision and pay back your trust and loyalty in them. 

Remote working is also a great way to improve employee retention. The happier people are in their job, and the more accommodating the management are, leads to happier employees overall and a reduction in having to find new staff due to them leaving for different roles. 

Access to more applicants. 

Have you ever struggled to find the right person for a particular role within your company? This is one of the benefits of allowing employees to work remotely. 

As you have removed the location restrictions on working for your company, you are now able to access a wider pool of applicants. From people who are out of reasonable commuting distances, overseas or even parents who are more than qualified for the role but need the flexibility that working remotely affords them. 

This can only mean that you are now able to hire the best people for your company and not settle for someone who isn't quite right but can easily make it into the office. 

Giving your employees the option of remote working isn't suitable for every person or even every company, but the benefits are clear. With a higher rate of efficiency and worker satisfaction, you can promote a positive image of your company and show you are keeping up with changes in the working environment as more and more people opt to offer flexible and remote working options to new and existing employees. 

So why not see how you can implement remote working into your company and see how this can work for you and your staff to achieve a better work balance overall.