When COVID-related lockdowns first hit the world’s corporate offices, executives rushed to get their employees working from home and (hopefully) continuing to contribute productively. Now, as lockdowns ease and companies are weighing their options for the future, many managers see new possibilities in what were once challenging obstacles.

With a global distributed network of recruiting professionals, ACCUR Recruiting Services is here to help you navigate those opportunities while making the most of your existing resources with a four-part series on how to:

Is Remote Work the Future of Work?

We’ve long advocated for distributed work arrangements where they serve business objectives. Not least because we employ a distributed team globally, but also because flexible work policy is a great way to recruit and retain top talent in a tight labor market.

With the Coronavirus we’ve seen a lot of articles cropping up in our social media feeds about young professionals fleeing cities to become “location independent,” though the true realities of such a shift have not been born out in the data quite yet.

Despite the hot takes and trend pieces cropping up on Twitter, remote work may not be so much the “future” of work as an important option for companies that want to compete better in a global marketplace.

Questions to Ask Yourself When Considering Making a Position Fully Remote

Business-as-unusual practices during a global pandemic nonewithstanding, you may be asking yourself if making position X fully remote might make sense. Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

How does my team currently communicate and is this approach effective and productive?
Are there times of year when the team needs to be together in a physical space?
Does the position entail travel?
Does the candidate need to keep work hours during a specific time zone?
Do I have the right processes set up internally to support a remote position long-term?
Am I able to access the right networks to see the best possible candidates for this position, regardless of physical location?

The Pros of Making Certain Positions Fully Remote

What we’ve been hearing from our clients during their forays into experiments with remote work policies is the following:

Employees love the flexibility and lack of a commute
With some planning, productivity remains high or can even be improved in some cases
Remote and distributed policies can factor into a company’s sustainability effort in a positive way

More Flexibility in Hiring for Remote Positions

Some of the hidden benefits of planning for an at-least partially remote or distributed workforce is that it gives you a lot more options in terms of who you hire. You can consider candidates in lower cost of living areas, which may in turn positively impact your bottom line. It can also enhance the diversity and skill set of your staff to be able to bring together candidates from all over the country or all over the world.