The Remote
Potential
Sharon Eme
k, Ph.D.
S
ince 2012, the number of companies with the
majority of their employees working remotely
has increased to over 50%, says the US
Department of Labor. According to a Gallup
poll, 43% of the 15,000 employed Americans asked, spent
at least some time working remotely in 2016.
That statistic prompted 15Five, an employee feedback
and engagement software provider, to ask 500 managers,
supervisors and executives about their own experiences
and observations with remote workers. The news
was similar: those surveyed said that productivity and
performance improved for 21% of the 500 companies
surveyed.
So what does this mean for the insurance industry? Can
an agency in a small Midwestern town really see the same
results from remote workers as a large insurer in the
Boston area?
The answer, of course, is yes! Moreover, your small agency
may also gain a competitive advantage. That’s because
remote workers can be assigned those tasks that your
current in-house staff handles, freei