As work life balance becomes workforce priority, flexibility is placed above the pay package and as talent scarcity calls for breaking geographical barriers, we are now witnessing the rising popularity of remote work, which is bound to change the nature of work in the coming times. As workplace expands beyond the office and distances become irrelevant due to technology, Recruiters must evolve to accommodate the same in their policy to acquire talent who will accept the job based on the flexibility it offers.
Remote working simply stated means working from outside traditional corporate office structure and communicating with the company via means such as telephone, email, video conferencing etc. It can take form of full time remote work or can be incorporated in the schedules of employees where they can work from whichever space they like but need to commute to the office for meetings and certain arrangements at specified time
periods.
LESSONS FOR RECRUITERS:
1. More attractive job: Offering remote work option as a part of the job offer serves as an advantage in recruiting talent. It makes the offer more attractive as in present world the candidates look closely at the work life balance policies of the company. It serves as a cost efficient and more effective alternative to offering pay package hike to the candidate to lure him to the company.
2. D&I Tool: Remote work can also serve as a significant tool in the Diversity and Inclusion strategy as this kind of arrangement enables women, parents, disabled and diverse people to participate in the workforce thereby creating a larger diverse pool of talent.
3. Acquire future Workforce: With millennial workforce dominating the talent landscape, the option of working remotely is one of the important considerations for them while taking up a job. Hence, for Recruiters to acquire the future talent, they need to acknowledge and adapt to norm of remote work.
4. Bigger Talent Pool: There is no doubt that talent acquisition has become harder due to the scarcity of talent. Recruiters now have to curb geographical barriers and job mobility problems so as to widen the pool of talent to choose from.
WORDS OF CAUTION
Remote work though offers multitude of benefits does come with certain drawbacks that need to be scrutinised.
1. Lack of direct supervision and
guidance
2. Distractions to hurdle work
3. Missing workplace culture and
team companionship
4. Technical and communication
problems