Whether you are transitioning from an office-based company to a virtual one, or you simply want to augment your current workforce to complete a short-term project, hiring remote staff is an efficient and cost-effective way to solve your talent needs today.

But while remote workers are increasingly becoming popular in the global market, there are still some factors that business owners must consider first to ensure that hiring outside staff members is the right fit for their business.

Before you decide whether hiring remote staff is the route that your business should take, let us first discuss in this post the potential benefits and difficulties of having them in the mix

Pros of Hiring Remote Staff

Significant Time and Cost Savings

At the top of the list is the benefit of having a talented team member at the fraction of the price you will pay when you hire in-house. If you hire remote staff from developing countries like the Philippines, you’ll see the greatest cost-savings in terms of hourly salary rates. Hiring remote workers also means lowering your operational costs. This is because you no longer have the burden of office costs such as rent, supplies and equipment needs for a remote workforce.

Access to Larger Talent Pool

Beyond the potential cost savings of hiring remote staff, working with an outsourcing company may also give you access to skills that are quite scarce in your area. Hiring remotely allows you to find the right people that match your needs, regardless of where your business is located

Reduced Employee Turnover Rate

One of the pains of keeping an in-house team is a high employee turnover rate due to employees relocating or leaving due to a change in career path. Hiring a remote workforce means you can leave the recruiting and staff management to your outsourcing partner. Also, if you are utilising offshore resources, you can afford to have a buffer in the case that one of your staff members is sick or has to go on unexpected leave. These measures will ensure you don’t leave and critical projects hanging.

Cons of Hiring Remote Staffs

Required Investment on Necessary Tools

If you are planning to bring in remote staff workers into your business, you will need to give them access to what they need to get the jobs done. This could require tools that will allow them to access remotely your company’s database or other technology.

On the flip side, if you chose to work with an outsourcing firm, you no longer have to deal with this additional investment because they already have the infrastructure and tools in place needed by your remote team to complete their jobs. Aside from providing your remote staff with workstation and other communication tools, they also allow you to use cloud technology so it would be much easier for you and your remote staff to store and access data and other important information in a safe and cost-effective way.

Service Delivery Issues

A remote staff worker who works in a different time zone may not deliver output exactly when you want it. Logistically speaking, it could be challenging to coordinate calls and meetings while factoring different time zones in the mix.

However, this can be addressed by choosing to outsource in a country that only has a slightly different time zone than your business, such as the case of the majority of business owners in Australia who have remote staffs in the Philippines. Another solution to this issue is to work with an outsourcing firm that has a local team stationed in your country. This will allow you to easily communicate any of your concerns and have obtained a feedback or solution in a more timely manner.

Exposing Confidential Information

Handing your payroll, accounting, and other administrative tasks over to an external employee involve sharing sensitive data with remote workers as much as it does with in-house staff. This is why contracts and confidentiality clauses exist. However, if you work with an outsourcing firm that has the ability construct legitimate contracts and take legal action, then you are protected.

Remote staff, like in-house employees, can certainly be valuable assets to any business who want to enhance its operational efficiency and productivity. Also, keep in mind that hiring remote staff is not a one-size-fits-all solution. You have to review your operations and business needs, and plan a thorough outsourcing strategy to avoid some of the common pitfalls associated with taking outsourced employees.

If you want to find out more about remote staffs and its benefits, call Global Outsourcing today on 02 8916 6469.