As we enter a post-Covid world, remote staffing and outsourced business models are on the rise in a big way. Prior to this world-altering pandemic, there had been a negative stigma surrounding the quality and productivity of remote staff. But we’ve seen a major shift in employers’ perspectives on remote staffing over the past two years, driving a sharp uptick in outsourced labor.
Despite companies’ ability to re-enter office spaces and reignite the traditional corporate work model as restrictions ease, many employers are choosing to build wholly remote teams to drive the future of their business. In this blog, let’s explore the key industry shifts that are fueling this change.
1. Workers Choose Remote Work
Demand drives change. Throughout the pandemic era, workers have shifted their mindset from wishing for more flexibility to demanding it. HR Dive’s survey found that 80% of workers prefer flexible work options over other opportunities. In other words, companies that fail to incorporate remote staffing within their operating model are missing out on top talent.
Additionally, a booming job market in a tumultuous sociopolitical environment has led many workers to rethink their career goals and reconsider their priorities. 4.5 million people quit their jobs in November 2021, launching the so-called “Great Resignation”, which forced employers to focus more on employee benefits and well-being. As Forbes suggests, there is a cultural shift underway in the American workforce wherein workers are using collective bargaining to create the change they want.
With more professionals choosing remote work environments, the outsourced staffing model is reaching new industries and incorporating a wider range of jobs and skill sets. Workplaces across the globe are listening and responding.
2. Bridging Gaps
In many ways, COVID helped employers recognize that remote staffing provides flexibility, affordability, and can bridge the gaps in their business model. So many organizations spent months on hiring and recruiting pre-pandemic for a role that could have easily been filled by a remote employee.
Embracing remote staffing automatically broadens the available employee pool. A company headquartered in Oklahoma can now employ a highly-skilled worker residing in New Hampshire or the Philippines that would otherwise never have considered working for the organization in question. International employees in particular provide a fresh perspective and are typically more affordable than US-based personnel. That’s why so many organizations have embraced and benefited from outsourced, offshore remote teams over the course of the past two years.
3. Increase in Productivity and Growth
As more pandemic era studies become available, it’s clear that remote work does not cause the drop in productivity that most employers were expecting. In fact, for many companies, productivity has increased. According to CNN, 94% of employers reported their remote staff as either “the same” or more productive as compared to their in-office workforce. The productivity factor is key to the employee-driven longevity of remote work because it makes companies’ arguments for returning in person less about business and more about personal preference.
The evidence that remote workers are more productive has muffled many employers’ preconceived notions about remote staffing. This cultural shift is causing businesses to invest in an outsourced model to drive company growth. Utilizing a remote workforce is not only more affordable but also increases the opportunity to hire the exact people any organization needs to succeed.
Conclusion
Of course, there will always be industries that cannot function successfully without an in-house team. But all organizations have divisions that can be successful, and even more productive, remotely.
At Extend Your Team, we’ve worked with organizations big and small that were new to, and even skeptical of, the remote staffing model. They soon found that the savings and growth associated with outsourcing represent only a fraction of the overall benefits. Extend Your Team is most excited about helping organizations leverage outsourced talent to achieve growth aspirations by adding new skills and capacity to their in-house team.
If you’re considering remote staffing, schedule a free consultation with Extend Your Team to learn more about our approach and talent pool.