The number of people opting for the remote working option is increasing rapidly along with the companies that are offering this alternative mode of employment. However, there are challenges associated with hiring people for a remote working setup.
With each passing year, more and more organizations are choosing to hire a remote workforce rather than a conventional team of employees working from the office. This practice not only allows organizations to cut costs but also increases overall productivity.
Remote Working – What Stats Suggest?
Over the years, the number of employees working remotely has increased exponentially. Have a look at these stats from 2024 that throw more light on the facts:
- There was an increase of 22% in telecommuting between 2017 and 2024.
- There has been a 44% increase in remote workers in the last five years, a 91% increase in the last decade, and a whopping 159% increase in the last 12 years.
- While the primary reasons for remote working are and increase in productivity and focus, the secondary reason is to reduce the time sent in commuting to and from the workspace.
- South America has 81% more remote working companies as compared to the global average.
- 87% of remote workers take training to improve their skills.
- Siemens invests $500 million annually to train their remote workforce.
- While 50% of remote workers who take training take online courses, 13% attend webinars while 22% use their smartphones for online training.
- 85% of remote workers confess that working remotely was their decision. Most of them chose it for flexible timings and to improve productivity.
Certainly, the number of people opting for the remote working option is increasing rapidly along with the companies that are offering this alternative mode of employment. However, there are challenges associated with hiring people for a remote working setup.
5 Striking Qualities Every Remote Working Professional Must Possess
It is not uncommon for organizations to hire candidates who are not fit for the role or for the challenges that come with the responsibility. It is also very common for the talent acquisition team to hire a candidate who just moved in from a full-time role to remote working and is unable to cope with it.
Here’s a list of five qualities and skills that an individual must possess to bring value to the team. Here it goes:
- Self-motivated: It is probably the most important trait of any employee working remotely. A self-motivated employee will have plans not just for the team or organization but also for himself/ herself. This is particularly important because it saves time otherwise invested in follow-ups. Not just this, a self- motivated employee does not wait for problems to be acknowledged by other team members but looks for problems and resolves them.
- Discipline: The employee must be a disciplined and dedicated person. Working remotely does not mean working at convenience. It simply means that the team is performing their due tasks from the location of their choice. People working remotely have to be more disciplined as compared to the ones working from the office. Following a particular time-table would enhance productivity and efficiency.
- Strong Communication Skills: This is certainly a skill that cannot be missed out when looking for candidates for remote work team setup. Without the pre-requisite set of communication skills, it won’t be possible for the team or the candidate to interact freely and will not only lead to misunderstanding but will jeopardize productivity completely. The candidate should have both verbal and written communication skills to reach out to everyone in the team and outside if required, and share his thoughts and agendas.
- Tech-savvy: Remote working is possible only because of technology. It is preordained for remote workers to be tech-savvy. On average remote workers use at least four tools just for communication. Several other online tools also contribute to successful remote working for tasks at hand every minute. People who are in constant touch with the latest technologies find it easy to incorporate themselves in a remote work setup.
Some great tools to help out with remote work are:
- Asana: Asana is a project management platform
- InfinCE: An all-in-one infinite cloud platform to enhance your remote working ability, efficiency, and productivity. With innumerable live chats and video calling options, InfinCE helps you communicate faster and coordinate effectively with your teammates.
- Zoom: Zoom is an excellent teleconferencing tool
- Quick Response Time: High response rate is an inevitable element in remote team management. While several tasks are urgent and ephemeral, the remote working professional must ensure to contribute solutions to any unforeseen circumstance.
Apart from all of the aforementioned skills and qualities, decision-makers who make the call on a candidate’s assessment usually ensure that the latter has prior remote working experience. Several online assessments test aptitude as well as attitude towards remote working. A strict assessment of time management and organizational skills is carried out for the candidates who wish to work remotely for a position.
Experience and Efficiency Go Hand-in-Hand
Experience is the key to creating a strong team that works remotely. However, this does not necessarily mean that full-time employees who have inconsiderate experience in remote working are not apt for such positions. If an individual has all of the above-mentioned qualities with no experience whatsoever in remote working, it is highly unlikely that any decision-maker would not get such an individual on board.
Moreover, remote workspace plays a big role in an individual’s performance in increasing the productivity of efficiency. Have a look at these facts that reveal what remote workers prefer to keep monotony out of the window:
- 25% of remote workers choose to turn on their television while working. This helps them concentrate as they feel like people having a conversation in the background.
- 21% of workers focus on their work in silence while 11% prefer ambient music.
- A majority, 40% work while listening to music.
Now that you have had a closer look at the attributes and qualities of a reliable remote worker, you can go ahead and start applying for remote working job roles.
With more and more organizations finding remote working model pretty effective and cost-effective, employees must showcase great ability to work independently using digital tools.
Ashni Lukose, Product Consultant – InfinCE. I am a Product Consultant, living at the intersection of empathy, design, engineering, and helping teams craft Products that bring a smile. I believe that technology best serves its purpose when we use it to address deep problems without losing sight of the human nature of its users. Truly transformative technology is one that seamlessly becomes part of the daily narrative of its customers, aiding them to achieve their goals faster and easier.