Remote is the New Rage

63% of agencies in the U.S have hired remote workers.

The inevitable question here is “Why?” (after a surprised “What?!”).

Well, businesses know that to thrive in the competing world they must reach for the best skills available. Again, these should be within the company’s budget. To find and hire such dream talent often turns out to be a tough challenge for agencies. Thanks to technology, communication across the globe has relieved businesses of this headache to a great extent. (Nod if you agree.)

Exploring the pros and cons of remote hiring, here’s what we’ve found:

Vast Talent Pool

With the help of platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, Behance and many more, reaching out to resources across the globe has become quite easy. Most agencies have at least one team or team member working remotely, often from a different time zone.

This helps businesses to access the skill-set they dreamt of but could not find locally. Also, depending on the location of the worker, cost of hiring might be less than that in the local market.

The More the Better

Another great advantage comes in when one hires or works in collaboration with an agency instead of an individual. With the cost of hiring more or less the same, you can receive a whole team of talent – designers, developers, project managers – anyone and everyone you need.

So, basically your agency gets an extension of its team – a large extension, in this case.

Wide Range of Ideas

Whether we agree or not, the fact remains that when people from the same background work together for a long time, their ideas become similar – and sometimes (here comes the worst part) stagnant.

No matter how long and hard you put your heads together, your ideas will revolve around the same spot. Now imagine another head bobbing in from a different state or country, and joining the huddle. There you go – a flow of fresh ideas and perspectives just got you.

Solution to Global Problems

For businesses trying to reach out to the global market, it becomes almost impossible to understand their audience while sitting inside the office. Data and statistics on the internet do come in handy but don’t always provide the actual scenario, especially if one is trying to reach out to the Third World countries.

Here’s where your remote worker from that far away country contributes to the solution. (S)he shares first-hand experience about the scenario in his/her country, describes the issues faced and the solutions desired by your target audience there.

Now that’s some real data to work on.

A 24/7 Working Team

Working across different time zones isn’t as bad as people usually think. Picture this:

When your in-office staff wish each other good night and leave for their homes, your remote workers sit at their desks and start the day with a fresh mind and a cup of coffee or tea by their sides.

Hey! You’ve got a global team that works round the clock!

Sounds great, doesn’t it? Now tell that to your clients and customers, and bask in pride. Having a global team and having the ability to work 24/7 shows that the agency has a great potential and is in high demand.

There are a couple of other benefits of working across time zones:

• Someone will always be ‘on’ to address issues, be it the local team or the remote.
• By the time you start the day, you’ll already have the drafts, which your remote team has worked on while you were sleeping, in hand. Thus you get all day to test and review the work. By the end of your day, you send your feedback, and get a good night’s rest while your remote workers get the next draft ready for you.

Still think spanning across the globe for hiring isn’t good for business?

Get More for Less

Think of all the benefits that you can receive from your remote workers. And all these come at a price that’s less than what you spend on your staff at your office.

Let’s break down the costs that you save when you use remote staff:

• Extension of team doesn’t require extension of office space.
• You don’t have to pay for their equipments and electricity bills. Oh! And the coffee, too.
• You get to save the money you’d have invested in health insurance, pension and any other employee benefit had you hired them for onsite work.
• They don’t need to be (can’t be, actually) invited to office parties and picnics, thus saving a lot of bucks again.
• Depending on the location of your worker, the cost of hiring can be much less than what you invest on your in-office staff.

In any case, businesses save at least 20-30% when they hire remote talent.

Tried and Tested Talent

When you invest in expanding your business, make sure that you get people with proven working skills.

Freelancers or agencies with experience not only have a great portfolio but also have the knowledge of handling a lot of different projects and the challenges that come with them. They can adapt to different working environment, manage projects with flexibility and ease, and have an appetite for delivering the best service. They have a reputation to maintain, after all.

All these sum up to one good thing: you can sit back and relax. You’ve hired the best in the industry!

What Could Go Wrong

Of course, there will be few demerits like maintaining seamless communication, adjusting with the work culture etc. but with a little effort from both ends, these can be easily overcome. Nothing that’s good comes without a tiny hiccup. If one looks at the bigger picture and thinks of profits in the long run, hiring remote talent is certainly advantageous for businesses.