Why Small Businesses and Startups Are Pioneering the Remote Working Revolution

April 28, 2016

The remote working revolution is in full swing and it’s showing no signs of stopping. The latest numbers reveal that 67% of companies now allow employees at least some time to work remotely from home. This is a trend that is not going to change anytime soon.

But small businesses and startups are the organizations that have pioneered this growth. Why has it happened and why is it going to continue long into the future?

It’s Cheaper

Small businesses and startups are notorious for not having the financial resources necessary to do what they want. With increasing real estate prices, it’s caused many smaller entities to seek alternatives. Working remotely negates the need for all the usual office facilities in the center of town.

Simply by opting for a remote working arrangement you can shave hundreds of dollars off your monthly expenses.

Getting Talent from Elsewhere

For many companies, remote working has presented an opportunity to manage talent that may not be available in the local community at the right price. Tech companies in San Francisco may have an ample amount of talent to take advantage of. However, a small tech company in the middle of rural Wyoming may struggle.

To get around a talent shortage, remote working comes in. It allows companies from anywhere to take advantage of top talent from all over the world. It’s not uncommon to have teams consisting entirely of people who have never met people in person. Furthermore, many small businesses and startup have used this to their advantage.

It’s What Employees Want

Corporations are notorious for not really caring what their employees want. If you work for Apple, you are working for one of the most well-known companies in the world. Should you decide to leave there will be hundreds of other people lining up to take your job. Large corporations can afford to disregard what their employees want.

But the new generation is coming of age and they are less likely to accept the traditional way of doing things than ever before. They are known for how likely they are to skip companies and switch to somewhere else if they don’t like the working arrangements, even if this happens to mean less money.

Small businesses and startups can’t afford to lose their employees. It causes far too much disruption and they are too reliant on their teams. Many companies haven’t survived simply because a team leader left when they weren’t happy with something.

Studies have shown that employees love remote working because it staves off stress and allows them more flexibility with their personal lives. As more and more people realize the benefits of remote working, they are going to demand it more and more from their employers.

Advancing Technology

One of the reasons why remote working has taken off now is because it didn’t stand a chance of taking off before. The technology wasn’t there to make it a reality. A phone call isn’t enough to trust a worker to leave the office and work from home.

But technology has come a long way in recent years. Gone are the days where you had to use multiple pieces of software to work from home. It’s now possible to use combined remote working platforms to collaborate, communicate, and stay on top of things.

And why are small businesses and startups more likely to start using this software?

It’s not expensive to pick up and use. There’s very little expense involved, and many of these software providers offer payment plans exclusively for small businesses and startups.

Customer Facing Environments are in Decline

Due to rising real estate prices and the increasing globalization of the web, the customer facing businesses are steadily dying out. Only bigger businesses are maintaining huge superstores in the real world. For startups and small businesses, it doesn’t make financial sense to run these operations.

It means that customer facing employee teams are also unnecessary. The fact is remote working simply makes sense for these businesses when most of their operations are in an online capacity.

Conclusion – Remote Working is Set to Continue

The future of remote working is bright because the tools that make remote working function correctly are only becoming more effective and more advanced. Small businesses and startups have been able to employ better talent and increase their bottom lines like never before due to this.

In your point of view, where is remote working heading and will you be utilizing it in your company anytime soon?

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