It’s guest post week again and today we’ll hear from Nathan Hirsch about the pros and cons of hiring remote workers to help you build your business:
The Power of an Online Workforce
In today’s increasingly web savvy world, business owners are looking for new ways to hire workers and connect their businesses through the Internet. For many companies, the focus has shifted from their employee’s commute to their connectivity, or their ability to work from a personal computer.
The benefits of having an online workforce can be massive. From my own experience with hiring remote workers, I can tell you how they’ve changed my life for the better. If you able to build a system where your team of remote workers can handle a wide range of specific needs (in my case: SEObuilding, Amazon PPC campaigns, lead generation, marketing and data entry), you’ll be able to focus your attention on the growth of your company and not be bogged down with its daily maintenance.
Using Remote Workers to Maximize your Time
Not only can this save a business from having to pay large amounts of money renting out office space, it helps them find new and larger pools of workers to choose from. It’s a great way to maximize the time available for you to run your business. If you’re running a business or just trying to get started, time can become your most valuable
commodity. After all, there are only so many hours in a day. With the amount of time needed to manage your business and your home life, you’ll only be losing time going forward.
Should You Hire Remote Workers?
If you’re seriously considering hiring remote workers, you’re going to have to weigh the pros and cons involved. Think hard about the direction you want your business to go. Do you need a small team of virtual assistants to manage your company’s daytoday operations? Or do you need a massive workforce to really boost your business into overdrive? Are you comfortable hiring workers you will most likely never meet in person with some located in other countries?
These can be either good or bad depending on how you personally want to run your business. If you’re leaning on the fence, here’s a list of pros and cons that may help you come to a decision:
Pros of Hiring Remote Workers
● You’ll Free Up Your Time: Once you’ve successfully hired and trained a team of virtual assistants, you can start
setting up a system where they can help you manage the day to day operations of your business. Tasks that cost you countless hours doing yourself can be done by qualified online workers without you ever having to supervise them. You’ll be gaining back valuable hours of your life that could be better spent on maximizing your business’s future; and your own!
● Worker Availability: Online workers live up to their name; they can work anywhere and at any time. You can hire workers from all over the world and the distances involved won’t be an issue. As long as they have access to a computer, a phone, and the internet, you can set yourself up with a venerable workforce without having to scour your immediate surrounding for quality workers.
● Diverse Skillset: If you aren’t knowledgeable about a subject you feel can help boost your business into overdrive, you don’t have to spend precious time attempting to master a skillset you may never be good at. Sure you manage your business, but does that make you an SEO expert? Look into hiring a virtual assistant who is knowledgeable about the skills you need and set them to task. Stick to what you know, and let your network of online assistants handle what you don’t.
● Save on Office Space: Feeling anxious over the costs involved in renting out office space? With the majority of your workforce working from a home computer, you won’t have to spend large amounts of money renting out an office. This is especially true if some of your online workers are located in other countries. So sit back, relax, and start thinking about your home office instead!
● Attract Talent: Some remote workers may offer skills that can be hard to come by. Or perhaps there’s a virtual assistant with over twenty years of consultant experience that would fit your business perfectly. Whatever the need, there’s bound to be the right worker for the right job. Since many remote workers prefer the comforts and stability of their own home over an office, you can attract talented remote workers you may never have known existed before.
● Lower Cost: You can find workers who might be offering their services for cheaper than you’ve found with previous inhouse workers. Getting the right workers for the right price will go a long way towards saving you time and money.
Cons of Hiring Remote Workers
● Turnover Rate: While the benefits of working remotely can be a long-lasting appeal for many online workers, you’ll run into many who are only looking for a short term investment in your company. It can also take a while to find the right workers for your specific needs. Expect a reasonable turnover rate and focus your attention on those workers who display a high level of commitment to your business.
● Miscommunication: No matter how well your employees communicate, there’s bound to be issues unique to working remotely. When we look at written content through an email or a text, we lose the ability to interpret certain information that we can pick up from an employee’s face or tone of voice. Do they fully understand the content of the instructions they’ve been given? Unlike facetoface communication, you won’t be able to immediately clarify instructions given to your remote workers, especially if they don’t ask for any. Always ask and make sure that your remote workers understand your instructions and know the task at hand.
● Training: When you’re just starting out, it’s up to you to properly vet through and train your remote workers. This can take a lot of time to do, and you won’t necessarily have previous experience at training your workers the right way. Expect many bumps and bruises as you perfect a system of hiring workers that fits your needs.
It All Depends on your Preference
Your decision will ultimately come down to what you’re most comfortable working with. You can definitely build a reliable online workforce that fits your needs and relieves you of the stress that comes with managing almost all aspects of your business. However, some people prefer the more personal approach to hiring workers: being able to speak to them face to face, or shake their hands. There’s no right or wrong answer, only what’s the most appealing to you.
If you do feel that hiring remote workers is something that you want to try, plan accordingly. Find a reliable outsourcing company and talk with them about your company’s needs and how you want to proceed. You can save yourself several of the cons listed and gain all the benefits as well! I hope this has helped you.
Nathan Hirsch is a serial entrepreneur and expert in remote hiring and eCommerce. He is the founder and CEO of FreeeUp.com and the co-founder and COO of Portlight. He lives in Orlando, FL.