Catalyst | Dexterity
D
The rise
of the remote
worker
Chris Benson Linda Iametti
As geography becomes less of a barrier to recruitment, an
organisation’s brand and value proposition will come to
the fore, write Chris Benson and Linda Iametti.
Almost overnight, the global workforce has become largely remote. While
there was a trend in this direction pre-COVID-19, organisations had
continued to voice concerns around reduced productivity and worker
collaboration, despite research suggesting that the opposite is true.
For example, a study conducted in 2017 by Stanford Graduate School
of Business found that people who worked from home displayed a
13% improvement in performance, while a 2019 survey by gig
economy platform Airtasker showed that remote workers are more
productive, working an average of 1.4 more days a month than their
office-based peers.
How well a
prospective employer
shapes and
articulates its brand
and EVP will become
the true competitive
differentiator
Casting the hiring net wider
There may be numerous benefits of homeworking for employers,
ranging from increased productivity and lower attrition rates to reduced
infrastructure costs. Meanwhile, employees gain a better work-life
balance: according to Remote Work Trends for 2020: The Present &
Future of Remote Work, 57% of the workforce say that the option to work
remotely is their top perk. Fewer commuters also impact positively on
the environment, reducing gas emissions.
From a recruiting standpoint, being able to hire remote workers is a
game changer. When geographic restrictions are removed, the talent
pool expands significantly, allowing companies to recruit the best talent
– and to hire diversely. By embracing remote work, employers can cast
their net much wider, reaching into emerging global markets that would
otherwise be very difficult to access.
Although unemployment is rising, the gap between available skills and
skills requirements remains wide. The surge in demand for technical
skills, coupled with a drop-off in manufacturing activity, has exacerbated
what has become the great divide in the US labour market. Providing
remote work options can help organisations address the issue.
Of course, the flip side of this is that skilled workers are in demand and
organisations must work harder to attract them.
Practical actions for
organisations to take
1
Review how people’s priorities have
changed since the start of the pandemic.
For example, are job security and personal
wellbeing becoming more important
to current employees and prospective
candidates?
2
3
Understand how the reputation of the
business (or that of your industry) may
have shifted over recent months.
Develop strategies to keep key talent
segments engaged while hiring
priorities change.
4
Re-strategise the employee experience
for remote/office-based/hybrid teams.
5
6
Prepare for new skills and capabilities;
for example, the ability to lead remotely.
Partner with IT to ensure that virtual
collaboration and knowledge-management
tools are in place, and that cyber risk is
being managed effectively.
The value of reputation
With geography no longer a significant barrier for employers or
employees, companies must think more strategically about how they
attract, engage and acquire contingent talent. Candidates’ decisions will
be less influenced by proximity to home and commute times, meaning
that other factors will come to the fore. These include compensation,
but their affinity with a company’s values, mission, vision and employee
value proposition (EVP) will also be front of mind.
30 % 48 %
Pre-pandemic
Post-pandemic
Nearly half of employees will work
remotely at least some of the time.
‘Paying top dollar’ is clearly an unsustainable strategy for most
organisations, particularly in times of economic uncertainty, so how
well a prospective employer shapes and articulates its brand and EVP
will become the true competitive differentiator. Research supports
this view with 84% of job seekers saying the reputation of a company is
important (TalentNow: Recruitment Statistics 2018: Trends & Insights)
and 50% of candidates indicating they wouldn’t work for a company
with a bad reputation – even for a pay increase – according to the 2017
Betterteam Blog. Staffing firms are often the vehicle by which contingent
opportunities are secured, but it is ultimately the brand attraction of
the end client which plays the biggest role in attraction… or lack thereof.
Work from home
Increase in %
share of searches
on Indeed
compared to
same week
in 2019.
173 % 404 %
The value of brand in recruitment is now more important than ever.
During the global pandemic, it is vital for companies to be aware of
the messages they transmit about their organisation – intentionally
or inadvertently – while managing through the crisis. As the American
entrepreneur Mark Cuban put it: “How companies treat employees
during this pandemic will define their brand for decades.”
The same applies to organisations’ treatment of contingent workers.
Transparency and empathy – balancing profit with a humane approach
to workers – will resonate with potential candidates long after the nearterm
impact of COVID has departed.
Linda Iametti is Contingent Workforce Solutions Consulting Lead
and Chris Benson is Head of Contingent Workforce Operations at
Alexander Mann Solutions.