The internet has brought us all closer together in so many different ways. One particular phenomenon which has transformed the way we do business is the ability to tap into a global workforce, making a remote company model easier than it has ever been.
Making that happen is what Hubstaff is all about. Their primary aim is to provide you with the framework and the infrastructure to create a platform, which allows your workforce to work together in real time and with a high degree of transparency.
Greater Level of Freedom
It does not take long to discover that there are already a multitude of companies around the globe who are positively thriving on their ability to create and maintain a successful remote business model.
One of the many features surrounding Hubstaff is that it allows you to give yourself, and any other team member, the freedom to work remotely. It also provides the monitoring and performance tools necessary to ensure that everyone is putting in the hours and delivering the work you expect from them. The same way as you would as if you were in an office.
Overcoming Barriers
There are numerous companies, who operate with a distributed team, that work from many different corners of the planet.
There are definite cost advantages here as you don’t have the traditional overhead associated with setting up an office. Although, there can be other barriers to overcome with a remote working setup.
Communication between team members generally has to be more deliberate and structured than it might be if you were all sharing an office space together and bouncing ideas off each other. Remote working can make it harder to brainstorm, interact, and form personal bonds. Although, there are plenty of pros to counteract these cons.
There is evidence to suggest that productivity levels are high among remote workers, mainly because the team members have the freedom to choose the work environment they find most conducive to their performance and comfort.
In addition to working in comfortable and familiar surroundings, without the need to commute, employees can enjoy the freedom to set their own hours and fit their work around their family commitments and leisure pursuits.
There may be perceived barriers to overcome regarding remote working. However, the feedback from existing companies, who have fully embraced the concept, is that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. If you approach the idea in the right way and give team members the right level of autonomy whilst still being part of a workforce with schedules to meet and targets to achieve.
Tap into Talent
One of the fundamental advantages to your business not being tied to a specific physical location, is that it gives you access to a much wider talent pool.
Taking away the physical barriers of location, allows you to cast the net far wider than you could if you were trying to recruit within a specific region or locality.
With a fully operational remote working facility like Hubstaff at your disposal, it gives your business the potential to tap into talent that you may have otherwise been unable to attract.
The lack of geographical constraints is a positive point for your business model. It allows you to take a more global approach to recruiting. It can also make you attractive to someone who wants to work for you remotely without having to consider a relocation or a long commute.
Monitoring Employees
One of the main stumbling blocks to fully embracing a remote working arrangement is that business owners will not be able to see what their employees are doing. At least, not in the same way, that they could in a traditional office environment.
The point to consider, is that monitoring employees using timesheets or via some form of software, involves analyzing historical data and reviewing performance data that is based on the past and not the present.
Services like Hubstaff offer you access to real-time data. This can actually be a positive point that is embraced by employees rather than met with the fear of being constantly monitored as though the company doesn’t trust them.
Accessing real-time data allows you to see exactly what is being done. It allows you to obtain better data as well as making more informed business decisions which are not based on historical data. There are also plenty of employees who positively enjoy the experience of software that is tracking their performance in this way, as it allows them to demonstrate what they are working on and how fast and efficient they actually are in completing the task presented to them.
Taking an Alternative View
If you use remote working properly, there is every chance that you will soon adopt a more positive and alternative outlook to running your business than you may have considered previously.
If you consider the idea of managing a specific work project as your primary objective and then the person or team assigned to the task,as your secondary consideration, you will quickly find that you start to operate your business on a results-driven basis, rather than concentrating on the volume of work or tasks completed.
This alternative emphasis can be achieved using project management tools. It will allow you to divide up responsibilities amongst team members much more easily and reduce the risk of burdening one person with a workload or level of responsibility that they can’t deal with efficiently.
Using a resource like Hubstaff allows your business to continually manage any number of remote teams, working on separate projects, efficiently and without any hassle.
The above is a guest post by Joseph Handley of HubStaff.