The future of your business could be in the hands of remote workers. Back in 2015, 23 percent of employees spent time working remotely, and 79 percent of knowledge workers reported working online. If you aren’t currently hiring remote employees or contracting with freelancers online, consider the pros and cons of hiring remote workers and tapping into this dynamic and growing workforce.
Pros of Remote Employees
It's no secret that employees love working remotely. The rise in workers, particularly Millennials, who want a job online is helping create a group of employees who value flexibility and a positive work environment over traditional benefits. This trend has been around for long enough for companies who hire remote employees to begin sharing the benefits of this strategy:
- Higher levels of productivity
- Cater to older and younger workers
- Lower operational costs
- Lower turnover rates
These are just a few benefits that employers have shared after hiring remote or changing their current business model to a more flexible, remote alternative
Cons of Remote Employees
The trend, however great it appears, doesn’t always produce positive results. Hiring a remote worker, in particular, an independent contractor or freelancer comes with a few notable disadvantages:
- Contract issues
- The difficulty of scheduling face-to-face meetings
- Irregular work hours
When you hire remote employees or contract workers, you may be working with an individual in another state, time zone or even country. It can be difficult to have the same level of real-time interactions and accountability that you enjoy with in-house employees.
The Future of Hiring
Hiring remote workers isn’t for everyone. Some businesses are far more suited to this type of work, such as knowledge-based industries. From accounting to web design, there are many positions that naturally transition out of the office, but others make a more difficult transition, like sales teams that are used to working as one cohesive unit.
The growing trend shows that remote employees are on the rise.