Benefits of Working From Home

Benefits of Working From Home for Enterprise Employers

Flexible work is the future of work. With companies all over the world asking their employees to work from home, remote work has become the new normal for global businesses and enterprise employers. Some of the benefits of working from home for employers and employees can include improved well-being and lower costs. 

In this article, we’ll break down some of the other benefits of remote working and offer some tips on how to hire remote employees who are a good fit for your organization.

Remote working advantages for enterprise employers

To be clear, there are remote working advantages and disadvantages. However, with software solutions that streamline communication and improve daily workflows, managing a distributed workforce has never been easier. 

The biggest remote working advantages for enterprise employers all revolve around employee well-being, daily operations, and revenue. Here’s what enterprise work from home can do for you and your enterprise project management team:

1. Communication is more efficient 

Thanks to project management solutions like Wrike, it’s far easier to get everyone on the same page. Keep all communication, files, and approvals in one easily accessible place to eliminate time lost sifting through email chains or needlessly taxing progress reports. Improve collaboration with customer profiles and project updates in real time.

2. Productivity increases 

Studies show that telecommuting employees are 20% to 25% more productive than their office counterparts. Not only are there fewer social distractions, but there are also more opportunities to take necessary breaks when needed, which psychologists say helps with overall performance, motivation, and creativity— among other benefits of working from home.

3. Save on team building events 

Save on social events such as birthdays or holiday parties and focus your budget on high-impact areas. You can still help your team bond virtually but at a fraction of the cost you’d normally expect to spend on things like rental space and activity materials. Save money, reduce the carbon footprint involved, and build a healthy remote office culture with the help of digital tools.

4. Employee health and wellness improves 

Facilitate a strong work-life balance for your employees who work remotely simply through telecommuting. They get to customize their surroundings to suit their personal needs, get comfortable with their preferred outfits and tech setup, and take care of physical and emotional needs as they come up. 

Although there are some common pitfalls for first-time telecommuters that might decrease these benefits, you can help employees in their transition to working from home. Simply set clear boundaries and expectations for work hours, projects, and meetings that allow them to relax and feel confident in their productivity without going overboard. The best way to effectively communicate your expectations is with a work from home policy. Also, find a mutually agreeable solution for daily or weekly check-ins to eliminate micromanaging. 

5. Talent pools expand 

Enterprise employers are no longer limited to hiring local talent, meaning they have a greater chance of finding someone with the exact skills, experience, and personality to fit best within their organization. Enterprise work from home allows hiring native speakers, bringing in perspectives from other countries and cultures, and creating a well-rounded group of professionals to innovate with.

Benefits of working from home for employees

Working from home benefits for employees include the freedom to choose. Here’s how they can improve their lives and still be productive while working remotely: 

• Work and live anywhere. As long as employees are able to finish their work at the same high-quality level and communicate with their core team, as needed, they can pretty much work from any place with a WiFi connection. 
• Have flexible hours. Working nine to five isn’t a realistic model for most employees because of differing energy levels, task durations, and personal schedule needs such as childcare dropoff or health and wellness days. Remote work allows employees to remain productive within the hours when they feel the most innovative, so they can plan for the right amount of task time, and accommodate basic needs.
• Eliminate or reduce commuting. In 2019, American workers broke the historical record for commute times, coming in at 27 minutes one way (or much longer if you live or work in a big city with traffic). Long commutes negatively impact everyone involved — employees, their families, and even their employers. Eliminating this altogether will save every individual roughly nine full calendar days of driving or riding back and forth.
• Accommodate special needs. Remote working for employees with physical disabilities and mental health concerns can drastically improve their lives. Not only are their own home offices more fully equipped to help them thrive while working, but they’re also able to provide themselves with adequate self-care as needed.

How to hire remote employees

There are three simple steps to hiring fully remote employees whether it is a full-time or part-time role: 

• Find candidates through job boards and referrals. Use sites such as Indeed or Glassdoor to post open positions. Connect with peers in-person or through LinkedIn to tap into their network of talent. 
• Strategically interview top choices. Create a list of questions to ask over video chat so you can get a feel for their personality and see if their resume matches up with how they present themselves. 
• Use a skill test or trial period. Use a pre-made assessment for the non-negotiable skills on your list or create one of your own based on the day-to-day tasks this role will be responsible for.

Discover the benefits of remote working

Working from home can be positive for both enterprise employers and employees. Increased productivity, improved work-life balance, and reduced costs are just some of the ways remote work flexibility can be mutually beneficial. Hopefully, you now have some ideas for how to hire remote employees to work from home the right way.