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Remote working is not a new topic, but it has become more and more important during pandemics. Can it really help startups? Yes, I think so.
I’ve been experimenting with remote working during the pandemics years. It was the first time I tried it because my company had several restrictions about it. Here are some thoughts of mine about how this way of working can impact a startup's growth dramatically.
When a startup is created, it needs to scale fast in order to increase profit and became a big company. Moreover, it has to reassure its investors about the money they have invested and nothing reassures an investor better than an increasing profit chart during a meeting. Remote working is actually able to lower the costs of a startup efficiently. The company doesn’t have to pay for the Internet connection of its employers, it saves a lot of money on energy and office maintenance and rent. If people work from home, all the costs of a physical presence are cut off. That’s a pretty huge advantage for a startup.
Let’s face it: people don’t want to go to the office, travel on public transport or by vehicle, be far from the family (for example, children). People, on average, enjoy working from home because it makes them save time and money. A remote employer saves time because they don’t have to move from home. This time can be dedicated to hobbies and family and this makes people happier. A happy employer is more motivated to work better and will be more productive. So, I definitely think that remote working increases productivity and can make a startup scale faster.
Using the remote work formula instantly gives you a wide audience of possible employers. You are not limited to your city, but you can potentially find people from all over the world. So, it’s actually easy to find an employer or a freelance who can help you. Yes, you’ll have to take several interviews, but in the end, you are likely to hire the right person. And that’s a huge competitive advantage for a startup.
Remote working encourages cooperation among people of different cultures and nationalities. Being different is a value that makes people grow and become better persons, so a multicultural team starts with the right foot to become more efficient and productive. Remember: good persons are good employers. A multicultural team makes people better and this converts into productivity and efficiency.
I have found several job boards that are specifically focused on remote working. For example, RemoteOK and We Work Remotely are very large job boards for those who look for remote jobs. These job boards are very focused on IT jobs. In order to cover all the possible kinds of remote jobs, I have created a remote job board by myself that spans different job categories (e.g. marketing, sales, accounting, content writing, social media management). My website is Smart Remote Jobs.
Somebody says that when pandemics ends, remote working will too and we all go back to the office. Although the “great resignation” phenomenon is growing (i.e. people resigns from jobs that are not remote), I think that reluctant startups should start with a hybrid approach (some days at the office, some days remote) and then move towards a fully remote approach. Remote working is not just a way to work, is a way to live and absorb our job in our lives, instead of trying to find a few hours of life when we are busy at work. And this revolution cannot be stopped.
Written by Gianluca Malato, CEO and founder of Smart Remote Jobs
