5 Benefits of Having a Remote Team
Many leaders may be reluctant to make the change into hybrid or remote working; like any major change, this can feel intimidating. Leaders might be concerned about their lack of visibility of the team, lack of connection between employees and losing a sense of camaraderie.
In this post we’re going to break down five key benefits of having a remote team that would undeniably make a positive impact in your organisation.
Staff retention
With more companies offering remote working, employees will likely start to exit their roles to seek out these more flexible opportunities.
Replacing staff is a vacuum for time and money. From advertising to recruiting, onboarding to training; the process is laborious. According to Global Workplace Analytics, 72% of employers say that remote work helped their staff retention rate - saving you time, money and the hassle of starting from scratch with each position.
Rather than wasting energy recruiting for the same position over and over again, you can use that time far more productively on tasks that will actually propel your business forward.
2. A diverse, global team
With a remote team, you can recruit talent from all over the world. Individuals that might not have always been available to you due to geographical constraints can suddenly fit right into your new way of working.
Thousands of incredibly talented people in various industries aren’t considered for jobs due to where they live; so you’re not only providing opportunities for them, but you’re also probably bypassing your geographically-restricted competition with an absolutely killer team.
With the growth of sites such as LinkedIn, accessing global talent has never been easier. But do you have the infrastructure to support it? If not, it might be time to consider how having a remote team can benefit you.
3. More cost-effective
We already know we’ll save some money on staff retention, but the more obvious overhead is your office.
According to Orega, the average annual cost of a London office space, per person, is £12,028. So for a team of 30 people going remote, that’s £360,840 being saved just on the space, we haven’t even started on office supplies or those fancy fruit baskets and breakfast pastries.
Impressing your team with perks like freshly ground coffee every morning at the office is a thing of the past; you just can’t compete with freshly ground coffee from a beachside cafe in Malta.
4. A happier, mentally fit team
Actually championing mental health and wellbeing rather than just claiming to makes a huge difference in today’s workforce. And, bottom line, a happier team produces results.
With socially and morally aware Gen-Z now entering the workforce, companies need to stay hot on implementing positive well-being policies into their work culture. This should include far more than just box-ticking exercises like ‘cycle to work schemes’ and a gym subscription
With an array of personality types, neurodiversity and mental health considerations becoming more widely discussed online, remote working is one way that companies can be more inclusive.
Rather than sitting in a traffic jam for sixty minutes a day, your team can choose to spend that time eating breakfast with their family, working out or getting an extra hour of shut-eye. Whatever wellbeing looks like to them, having the choice will make all the difference to their mental health.
5. Choosing where to work
For individuals who want to be digital nomads, globetrotters, home-bodies or cafe-crawlers, there’s space for everyone in remote working.
Giving you and your team the choice of where to work is invaluable for improving staff recruitment and retention, according to Havard Business Review.
This can be a double edged sword, however.
Be mindful when organising your team’s next away day or catch-up; whether it's a chain of soulless co-working spaces or stuffy hotel rooms that put even the brightest of faces to sleep, it’s easy to make the wrong decision in choosing a venue.
At Anomalous Space, for example, our rooms facilitate creativity, whilst remaining comfortable and familiar. We champion flexibility, creativity and not conforming to the norm.
We’ve housed numerous remote teams over the years, and we’ve gotten pretty good at it. Drop us an email if you’re looking for your team’s new home away from home.
