How Remote Working Can Help to Grow Your Startup

The number of startups working remotely is on the rise with a growing number of micro businesses allowing their employees to work from home in order to reduce costs, boost employee satisfaction and gain a competitive edge. In this post, we’ll run through some of the key ways a flexible or remote working policy can help startups to grow and thrive.

Surge in productivity

For small business owners, ditching the office may seem like a scary thought. After all, you’ll be placing a lot of trust in your employees in the hope they’ll continue to work hard at home.

Thankfully, research suggests that employees are likely to work more at home than they do in the office. Remote workers are twice as likely to work beyond 40 hours a week at home.

Distraction free working

Working as a team can be great for motivation, but when everyone is working from the same room, it’s easy to get distracted. By allowing employees to work from home (or from anywhere else in the world) they can work at their own pace without interruption.

A survey revealed that 86 percent of those questioned said they prefer to work alone to “hit maximum productivity”. Now working alone is not the same as remote working. Even at the office, you can do the same by going to a cubicle etc. But in general, you have fewer distractions when working from home.

Boost employee happiness

Research suggests employees are likely to be happier if they can work from home. They’ll no longer have to spend time commuting, they’ll be able to work at times that suit them best, and they’ll be able to travel as much as they please. Employees are also less likely to be stressed.

Appealing to prospective employees

Although flexible working is on the rise, it’s still rare enough for the companies that do embrace it to see a surge in applicants whenever they advertise a new position. For early-stage startups hiring top talent can be a problem so incentives like these extremely useful for hiring.

Also, by allowing workers to work from anywhere in the world, you’ll be broadening your search and will have a pick of a larger number of candidates rather than just those that live in your area.

Improve staff retention

Not only can a remote working policy help you attract new talent, but it can also help you retain it. Employees are likely to be grateful for the flexibility your company offers, as it’ll allow them to fit work in around their day-to-day lives. As a result, they’re likely to stay with your company for years to come.

Reduction in expenses

By abandoning the office environment, you can, of course, reduce your overhead costs. You’ll no longer need to supply employees with office equipment and you won’t have to pay for an office or electricity.

Thanks to improved productivity, staff retention and a reduction in office costs, it’s clear that remote working can help your startup to grow. However, you’ll need to make sure you arrange regular meetings with your employees to ensure the whole team continues to communicate with one another.

This is where our diagramming tool Creately comes in handy. We provide you with a visual communication platform with real-time collaboration to work easily with remote teams.

If your team is spread out across the world, there are numerous cloud-based apps available to help you talk to one another online. You’ll be able to have conference calls and share documents and projects without having to leave the comfort of your own sofa.

This post was provided by Molly Benson on behalf of Synextra, a cloud computing and IT support company based in Manchester in the UK.