Why Remote Working Is the Future for Small Business

Remote working is the new normal. A lot of industries are adopting remote working techniques because of the recent coronavirus pandemic. Companies are embracing this trend not only because it’s a “nice option” but because it has become a necessity these days.

It turns out that a lot of small businesses and startups are benefiting from it as it has a lot of positives such as reduced infrastructural costs, increased productivity, and better business decisions.

A notable stat from the CoSo cloud survey shows that 77 percent of people working from home report higher productivity. A considerable percentage of employees prefer working remotely because it reduces stress and helps maintain a better work-life balance.

So, let’s see how remote working can turn out to be advantageous for small businesses:

Remote Working Is an Effective Alternative

Given the current circumstances, remote working has all of a sudden become a necessity, and small businesses must immediately adapt to the changes to remain competitive. It turns out to be more productive because employees can work from wherever they want, with flexible shift timings without being distracted by their co-workers.

The most significant advantage of remote working is the flexible schedule that lets employees juggle between work, hobbies, and household chores to result in a positive work-life balance.

However, it’s also essential to stay connected with your colleagues and keep their morale high. With regular stand-ups and daily meetings, the team can stay connected with each other.

To do so while working remotely, video conferencing comes out to be the best solution. Some of the employees might be reluctant at first to show up on camera but eventually would grasp the feel of it as they’d feel that connect like they used to have in the office.

Increased Productivity with Remote Working

Remote working helps you analyze the quantitative and qualitative factors based on the number of apps used by the employees and for how long.

Managers can simply determine productivity by calculating the time spent on a particular activity by an employee. Remote working tools and software makes tracking more manageable for the team leaders.

With simplified monitoring over the software, they can easily track how much time their employees are spending and on what tasks. This will also help them differentiate between the more productive employees.

The temptation to use other apps like YouTube and Netflix often reduces productivity for some employees. At the end of the day, employees must remember that they’re their own managers now. And if they are unable to meet the deadlines by the end of the day, then they are probably not ready for remote working yet.

Larger Pool of Talent

If you’re a small business without any branches in multiple locations, you might feel tied up while hiring talent as it isn’t always possible to convince the right talent to move upto your location.

But, with remotely working, you can hire employees from across the globe to fit your requirements on a permanent or temporary basis without any geographical limitations.

Moreover, it is predicted that the workforce in the near future would either freelance, outsource, or prefer working remotely as per their flexible schedules and locations. So, employers can hire skilled workers from a larger pool in a shorter time.

Building a Healthy Company Culture

The mental health benefits that come out of remote working are the most striking of all. Employees get to work as per their comfortable schedule. They also spend time with their families and work on their hobbies that they didn’t have time for earlier and lead to higher productivity.

Remote working can lead to happier and healthier employees and can directly have a positive impact on your business.

Anywhere, Anytime, Any Device

Another advantage that comes while working remotely is that employees are not bound to one place throughout their shift. They can work from any corner in their home or from a nearby cafe via any device, be it a smartphone, tablet, or laptop, as per their convenience.

Remote working enables small business owners to have their teams stay back in their comfort zones and drive positive results and remain safe and healthy at the same time.

Save Money

With remote working, you can take advantage of the related cost savings. While businesses save on infrastructural cost and office expenses with help of cloud solutions, employees will prefer working from home as they can save on commuting and wardrobe costs.

Employees can cut expenses spent on junk food as they cook their own meals at home. Along with it, they can engage more in their health and have more money in their pocket. I’m sure if you do the math yourself, you’ll realize how much can remote working save for your small business.

What the Future Holds

In the age of innovation, remote working is going to be the next big thing. Employees can now work more conveniently and peacefully from wherever they wish and stay mentally and physically fit.

Share your thoughts about how you have been working remotely in the comments section below.