Thanks to substantial advances in technology, a growing number of industries and companies have taken the opportunity to utilize remote employees.
Ideas that may have sounded like science fiction just a few decades ago, such as immersive video conferencing and powerful cloud computing, have transformed the ways in which employees can work. There is no longer a need for many professionals to spend all or even part of their time in the office.
Remote employees and a growing interest in telecommuting
There are a number of employee-focused benefits that have long been associated with remote work.
The elimination of a commute on a part- or full-time basis means a variety of savings. The most obvious is the lack of a need to use public transportation or a personal vehicle to travel to and from the office. The money saved on transit passes, fuel, vehicle maintenance and similar expenses can be substantial in the long term.
Time savings are another valuable factor for employees. They can easily return a half hour or more from each workday to their personal schedules. This is time during which, with some exceptions for staff taking public transit, there is little or no productive work performed from the perspective of a business.
These significant advantages and many others can be positioned as a positive differentiator for businesses aiming to hire and retain top talent. Reminding current and potential employees of time and money savings achieved through remote work can be a powerful motivator.
2020 spurs development in an already popular trend
The COVID-19 pandemic has sped up this trend toward remote work. Research published in October 2020 by Owl Labs® and Global Workplace Analytics™ indicated almost 70% of full-time workers served as remote employees during this public health crisis. While that figure is temporary, worker sentiment has strengthened around telecommuting in the long term. Of all survey respondents, 77% said they would be happier if they have the option to continue working from home following the pandemic. Similarly, 50% of respondents said they won’t return to a job that doesn’t offer remote work options after the pandemic passes.
It is clear that the shift to remote work as a matter of public safety has increased general acceptance of and desire for remote work among employees. Businesses can take advantage of this situation through reducing costs related to renting office space, providing in-office amenities and many similar avenues. However, they must also make adjustments to effectively assist remote employees.
There is no shortage of available tools and services to enable and empower remote employees. Yet, businesses must remain financially agile to effectively offer such assistance. That can mean altering budget priorities, assessing current expenses and leveraging financial products like business loans to manage the costs of significant operational changes.
3 key areas where remote employees need support
1. IT
IT support considerations for in-office and remote employees are vastly different. Traditional strategies for providing IT troubleshooting, repair and similar types of aid center on staff operating out of a single location or relatively small network of them.
With a distributed workforce, an office-based IT team is still valuable in terms of resolving the many issues that can be addressed through instructions provided via voice or text or remote virtual access to a given machine. However, these professionals cannot always provide in-person expertise for remote employees, which is sometimes required for hardware issues and especially complicated problems.
It can be helpful to view alignment of a remote workforce and IT as a shift in plans as opposed to a drastic and complete reimagining of strategy. In-office IT staff may be required to manage the major computing and information assets operated by a business, such as servers and networking devices. At the same time, they can provide effective remote support in many cases. It’s important to note that depending on existing experience and background, in-house IT employees may require additional training to build the expertise needed for optimal remote support.
When it comes to in-person assistance, however, a change is required. Businesses may need to establish a group of IT specialists who can make in-person visits to staff members or offer a relatively convenient location for those workers to bring in troublesome hardware for troubleshooting and repair. This can take many forms, from entering into individual agreements with individual technicians or small businesses to working with a regional or national company.
Security is another foundational concept to keep in mind. IT professionals may have to make wide-ranging adjustments as a company moves from primary use of a single, in-office network to employees connecting remotely from a variety of locations. Depending on existing assets and collective internal IT expertise, additional software, consulting and other services may be required to create an acceptable baseline for security and make improvements as time goes on.
No matter how these service providers structure their fees or bill their services and products, it represents a new cost that must be addressed through budgeting and financial planning. For some businesses, a restructuring of current IT spend may be enough to address these costs without further action. For others, a short-term loan can help smooth over financial concerns during the time when traditional costs associated with a large in-person staff, like office space rentals, supplies and certain services, start to come off the books but aren’t yet fully removed or adjusted downward.
2. Equipment
Effective technology is a basic requirement for nearly all roles that can be effectively completed from home. That goes for both hardware and software. Applications and devices that may not have been required on a large scale, or at all, for in-person work can quickly become critical for remote employees. Areas of concern in this regard are productivity, access to necessary files and effectively connecting with colleagues, clients and other stakeholders.
The type of hardware your company issues may change as more employees move into partially or fully remote roles. While in-office technology like desktop computers are often stationary, options that offer more mobility can make it easier for remote workers to turn the spaces available to them into productive areas for work. Laptop computers and mobile devices make it that much easier for staff to bring their work to a private space that has limited or no background noise or other distractions.
The COVID-19 pandemic has curtailed many avenues for telecommuting outside the home, but places like coffee shops and libraries will eventually return to hosting remote employees. And when in-person internal and client meetings become more common, devices that travel well and work in a variety of settings help staff stay productive and engaged — no matter where they’re working from that day.
In cases where staff generally work in a stationary setting, a traditional or Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phone network can address a variety of communication needs. This dynamic can change significantly with dozens or hundreds of remote employees distributed across a state, region, country or the globe. Smartphones and tablets provide effective mobile communication and access to key messages, documents and applications even in places where a laptop may not offer full functionality, such as an area without a hard-wired or Wi-Fi connection. Wi-Fi hotspots may also be needed for remote employees who travel or work outside their home offices on a regular basis. In some cases, a mobile phone or tablet might not be enough to effectively complete work while on the go.
New types of software, or more licenses for applications with narrow use cases in a traditional office, may also be required. Videoconferencing and telepresence tools are a must in many circumstances. There are a variety of reliable free options, but a company’s unique needs may require a more expensive solution to address needs like security and connecting many users at once. Remote desktop tools are also often broadly necessary. An effective remote desktop application can assist in everything from bringing in IT support for troubleshooting to remote file access. This is especially important for employees who split their schedule between the office and their home, as well as staff who need to access large or specialized files and programs.
In a situation similar to adjusting IT services to align with the realities of a distributed workforce, businesses will likely have existing equipment costs that can be mitigated or eliminated as well as new financial obligations that need to be addressed. Along with careful consideration of budgets and a logical, realistic plan for the necessary transitions, a short-term business loan may help address potential spikes in equipment and technology spending. This is especially important in cases where existing costs are tied to contracts or otherwise can’t quickly be reduced.
3. Employee support and development
Many remote employees have already adjusted to the current need to work from home. Unique circumstances can drive the creativity and problem solving that allow telecommuting staff to capably perform in their roles while away from the office. However, as remote work becomes more common in the long term, recent graduates and new hires who haven’t had this experience may require some assistance to get up to speed with their responsibilities and the tools used to complete them.
Remote employee support can also involve exposure to company culture in situations where visits to the main office are rare or nonexistent. The growth of remote work has allowed businesses to cast a much wider net in terms of the location of prospects and new hires. There’s no longer an absolute need for a new staff member to either reside within a reasonable distance of the office or relocate. Yet, this shift in hiring means it may not be practical for remote employees to regularly visit the office, due to a combination of price, travel time and other factors.
In-person interactions are valuable for building bonds between colleagues, especially when such meetings are rare. They can allow for the development of positive relationships and a greater understanding of the skills, experience, interests and personalities of coworkers. A relationship with a fellow team member as a person, as opposed to only a voice on the phone or the source of text typed in an email, can help to diffuse conflicts and encourage effective collaboration.
Training is critical, too. While the costs of videoconferencing and telepresence applications have already been addressed, HR specialists, team managers and others may need to review and adjust the context and format of educational sessions that are currently geared toward in-person attendance. The time spent on updating these materials represents a potentially significant cost. Staff may need to step back from other duties temporarily as they work to ensure remote employees can be educated and informed in an applicable and relevant fashion.
While travel budgets have long existed for many types of companies, remote employee travel to headquarters and satellite offices has often been a minor or nonexistent cost. This isn’t something businesses must immediately address, due to widespread travel restrictions. However, organizations relying on the benefits that remote work options bring will likely need to eventually factor in the cost of bringing distant new hires into the office to address training and cultural needs. They may also want to address costs related to bringing in staff for important companywide events, awards ceremonies, occasional team gatherings and similar situations.
As with the other financial considerations related to broader utilization of remote employees, some existing costs, like substantial budgets for office amenities, can decrease over time. However, the time spent updating training materials and the direct financial costs of transporting, housing and feeding staff travelling a significant distance to the main office on special occasions need to be addressed. A combination of careful budgeting and, in some cases, short-term loans can allow businesses to remain financially agile and provide vital support to new and experienced staff alike.
Financing to help businesses empower remote employees
Remote work was already growing in popularity before current circumstances forced a widespread and sudden shift to this practice. It is clear that general worker sentiment indicates a strong preference to have such an option available, whether on a part- or full-time basis.
Your business can benefit in the long term from increased adoption of remote work practices because they effectively address common pain points and concerns among employees. However, your organization also needs to carefully develop financial plans that address the costs of this new strategy.
Comerica Bank provides business loans and lines of credit, among many other financial services and products, for small companies, middle-market organizations and large enterprises. Our position as the Leading Bank for Business1 helps build effective relationships that make your needs a priority. If a short-term cash crunch may be in your future due to overlapping costs and other issues related to increased utilization of remote employees, business financing can help your company maintain financial stability while providing critical support to remote workers.
To learn more about the business financing options offered by Comerica Bank, get in touch with us today.
