Should you consider a remote work model for your business?

Should you consider a remote work model for your business?

Due to the recent pandemic, a lot of people were forced to work from home. Jobs that were previously considered as office only suddenly became home-friendly. This led to a substantial number of companies turning to remote work. So, should you consider a remote work model for your business? Well, that is what we are here to find out.

To do so efficiently, we will first cover the benefits of remote work. After all, while having a decent office has its advantages, there is a good reason why so many companies are sticking with work from home. Secondly, we will cover the drawbacks that are hard to predict without prior experience. This should give you a good idea of what remote work is like and what to keep in mind when considering it.

The benefits of remote work

At first glance, the notion of remote work sounds great. If your business can sustain it, you no longer have to worry about commercial space. This eliminates the need for rent, utilities, daily commute, or office layout. Of course, work from home has its flaws. But, let’s elaborate a bit on why more companies should at least consider it.

Once you factor in the cost of commercial space, you will consider a remote work model for your business.

A-standard-office-space
A standard office space

No need for commercial space

It is hard to overstate the luxury of not having to worry about commercial space. This not only means that you avoid paying rent and utilities. But you also don’t have to furnish or maintain your office space. Keep in mind that old-school cubicles are no longer enough for decent office space. You need to keep track of lighting, office design, and overall layout so that your workers can be as productive as possible. But, if you implement remote work, you won’t have to worry about any of that.

Furthermore, you can tackle commercial relocation with much greater ease. A standard office relocation is often cumbersome and difficult to set up. But, if you incorporate the remote work model, this type of relocation can be easily organized. A small office space designed to entertain clients is much easier to relocate than a full-fledged office with the accompanying furniture and supplies.

Easier employment

One often overlooked benefit of the remote work is that you can employ people from a much larger pool. In fact, you can draw talent from the entire world, especially if you are bilingual. During the previous year, a large number of people have grown accustomed to working from home. So much so that a substantial number of them prefer not going back to standard in-office employment. Therefore, offering the remote work possibility is bound to open up your employee pool.

The potential drawback of remote work

As it is with all things in life, there are also drawbacks to remote work. And, to make a thoughtful consideration, you need to keep these drawbacks in mind and ensure that they don’t impact your business too much.

Lack of oversight

Unfortunately, even with modern tools and practices, there is no substitute for being in office when it comes to oversight. The mere fact that your workers are situated together boosts their productivity and ensures that they are more committed to work. Even the most diligent workers will find a way to slack at home, especially if they are working long-term.

Most companies notice a drop in productivity after turning to remote work.

A person working on a laptop from home
A person working on a laptop from home

The recent pandemic has forced a lot of companies to resort to work from home. This, in turn, has forced company managers to develop new methods of improving worker motivation and productivity; but there is still no substitute for person-to-person contact.

Absence of team spirit

This lack of personal contact is also visible in the general lack of team spirit among employees. It is pretty hard to feel like a member of the company when all your internationals are online. If the worker has never seen you in person, they will probably perceive you as just another client, not a full-time employer. If everything runs well business-wise, this shouldn’t pose much of a problem. But, if there are certain financial difficulties, you cannot expect the worker to stay with you out of loyalty.

Difficulties with response time

The last drawback we are going to mention is the difficulty with the response time. Certain companies need to be able to communicate with each other to solve problems quickly. Up to a certain point, this can be done online. But, again, face-to-face communication cannot be substituted. Having all of your staff available and onboard goes a long way in communicating efficiently. When it comes to customer services or managerial issues, this can be pretty valuable.

It is much easier to achieve decent teamwork in an office.

A team working in an office

Is the remote work model for your business?

Deciding whether or not the remote work model is suitable for your business is primarily dependent on its nature. If you think that it won’t suffer when it comes to productivity, you definitely should consider remote work. All things taken into account, it is simply a more cost-effective, less demanding model of working. Still, it is essential to keep in mind the potential difficulties and the ways to overcome them. A good idea to study your competition and see whether they’ve tried working remotely. Know that even if your business can function with remote work, it doesn’t mean that it will. Keeping your workers motivated and focused is hard enough as it is. So, you will probably have to examine this issue a fair bit.

Can you transition to remote work?

Setting your company for remote work from the start is much easier than transitioning to it later on. Many producers, practices, and technologies need to be adapted to accommodate the remote work model for your business. Not to mention that oversights are costly and difficult to notice. So, if possible, try to set up your company with remote work in mind. If, after a while, you decide that you need to scale up, doing so will be much easier if you are already accustomed to work from home.