10 Benefits of Working with a Remote Agency / Team

2020.09.11 02:13 PM By Joshua Taddeo, Principal Consultant

The ability to work outside of a conventional office setting has recently become mainstream due to the coronavirus. Companies all over the world were forced to transform their workplace to a virtual office to thrive through this new challenge. While most struggled with this transition, established remote companies have taken the reins, rising at full speed without fail. More and more companies are starting to realize the benefits of working with remote teams as this pandemic highlights and reveals its benefits.

Remote working has a substantial positive impact on productivity and performance, reflecting directly in the satisfaction of employers, employees, and customers alike. Working remotely is gaining momentum, and many companies worldwide are harvesting the benefits that remote solutions bring to the table.

Remote agencies are not an exception to the rule, as they can also avail from the advantages of hiring a remote task force. By providing remote services, thousands of consulting agencies worldwide have found a more efficient and cost-effective window of opportunity to increase their profit and make their clients happy.

All remote agencies operate on win-win strategies. A freelance team will always strive (and succeed) to keep their clients pleased, to meet every deadline, and to offer all the benefits an onsite agency would, along with several other perks. Teleworkers will also feel more fulfilled by the massive incentive of managing their own time.

More Profitability With Less Overhead

There are several widely demonstrated methods to cut overhead costs in all sorts of traditional businesses. Simple actions, such as going paperless or getting partners, make a tremendous difference in a company's yearly expenses budget. A famous saying states that to make money, you have to spend money. However, swapping a physical office for a virtual one is a great way for employers to start putting more cash in their pockets.

Remote working is one of the most cost-effective solutions out there. It is the ultimate way of reducing and sometimes eliminating overhead costs. In recent years, remote work saved billions of dollars in operational expenses for many companies. Not having a physical office allows remote agencies to avoid paying for real estate, electricity, landlines, maintenance, and supplies, which automatically favors more profitability.

With all these savings, agencies with a remote-based business model are more likely to offer better salaries and incentives. This results in an increased possibility of potentially attracting more and more skilled and talented individuals to work for them.

More Remote Prospects and Wider Talent Pools

According to recent surveys, the number of organizations with a remote workforce grew significantly in the last couple of years. As of 2020, 66% of companies allow their employees to occasionally work from home, while 16% are entirely remotely based. What started as a nice perk offered by some renowned corporations, has become a widespread expectation for employers and employees from all kinds of businesses worldwide.

Remote workers seek greater flexibility and a healthier, more balanced lifestyle. Companies that offer these advantages are incredibly appealing for a more significant number of talented job seekers with exceptional skills. Studies show that 74% of workers said they would consider quitting their "traditional" jobs to work for an organization that would allow them to do their tasks remotely more often

‍The lack of location limits that long-distance working provides opens a world of possibilities for all hiring companies, making it a lot easier for their recruiters to find a better fit for every position. It's also an excellent hook for new potential clients, given that remote agencies are way more versatile than their onsite counterparts.

Being able to choose from a wider variety of candidates is one of the most significant benefits of being a remote agency. Today, more people are interested in working remotely than ever before, and any visionary employer can make this situation work in their favor. Data from different recruiting companies like Indeed show that, as of 2020, the search for teleworking opportunities is up by 32% compared with earlier years.

The flexible nature of remote agencies enables them to hire staff that works from different countries and time zones, creating a more inclusive team that takes advantage of the strengths a diverse workforce brings to the table.

By offering remote positions, an agency is more likely to find skilled global talents that they wouldn't have discovered otherwise. Employers can easily hire candidates with a more specific set of skills regardless of their location. The difference in time zones can benefit the agency by providing a more extensive timeframe for their clients.

Hiring remote workers from other countries complements an agency by adding different perspectives that can be appealing to attract new customers. This is particularly helpful when trying to expand a business to different locations since a part of the agency's remote workforce can help employers better understand new markets and communicate more clearly with their foreign clients.

Cost-Effective Solutions

Let's break down the expenses that come with having a physical office. For instance, to establish a comfortable and attractive workplace, agencies need to invest in leasing a well-located space, finding suitable and ergonomic furniture, getting office supplies, and buying computers, fax machines, printers, and other relevant equipment. Some employers will even go to the extent of adding some amenities to the mix to keep employees motivated. On top of that, there are also tons of associated bills such as electricity, heat, and parking spaces. All these essential costs, combined with salaries and incentives, keep adding up and making dents on the company's earnings.

The good news is that most of the items mentioned above are not vital for a company to flourish. All a remote agency needs to grow in the market relies heavily on its human resources. By embracing long-distance working, employers can forget about these extra expenses and focus on what matters. When companies and clients require more cost-effective solutions, remote working is the way to go.

Now, let's focus on salaries. Remote work gives employers the flexibility to test the waters when it comes to their workforce. Agencies can even hire people on a per-project basis, which also cuts down on costs when the workload is low. Moreover, employing remote work can ultimately save organizations thousands per employer per year as they can expect a significant decrease of unscheduled absences, in addition to eliminating office rental and commuting expenses. Most remote companies also now offer unlimited vacation to improve employee engagement and provide better work life balance which ensures higher performance, better time management and increased productivity from employees. This allows a workforce that’s more goal-driven rather than time, cutting even more costs in the long run without sacrificing output and talent quality.

When based in a city with a high cost of living, remote agencies can benefit from hiring people who live in places where they don't need such a high income to ensure a comfortable lifestyle. Remote working helps employees save on commuting costs, making their rates potentially lower since they no longer have to factor in gas, public transportation costs, etc.

Clients also end up benefiting from all these cuts, since remote agencies can potentially reduce their rates when they don't have to spend that much money to stay afloat.

More Energy to Focus on Growth

Remote working not only gives employees the time to catch up with friends and family, but also to attend personal meetings and appointments, have a mid-morning workout session, eat better, and have a healthier lifestyle in general. The benefits go way beyond that. Newer generations of remote workers highly value having time for meaningful experiences while still being able to stay productive at the same time. By achieving a more balanced lifestyle, employees are more likely to have the energy to go the extra mile when doing their job.

According to the American Psychological Association, ditching fixed schedules dramatically reduces workplace stress, which is an excellent perk for employers. Higher morale is a crucial ingredient for a company's success. A happy remote team is more likely to achieve short and long-term goals, meet their deadlines, and take a more proactive approach when finding better solutions. By not having to stick to strict agendas, remote workers have more possibilities and motivation to focus on personal and professional growth, which is beneficial for them and the agency itself. Education gives remote workers in all types of positions the additional skills and knowledge they need to better perform their tasks, ultimately benefiting the company.

More Efficient, Better Results

Agencies tend to be more productive when working remotely and have more time to focus on their performance management. Contrary to popular belief, remote agencies have a great communication flow that allows them to fulfill their clients' requests and have a better work dynamic among employers and employees. Now it's easier than ever for remote teams to stay in touch and track their progress. Efficiency tools enable remote employees to still function as a team and work together despite being apart.

Remote workers tend to accomplish more quality work a lot faster. With more time on their hands, remote teams tend to have the ability to find the most practical solutions to the agency's everyday predicaments, pay more attention to each project, and give an overall better experience to the client. Efficiency makes it possible to fulfill the agency's ultimate goal: keeping customers satisfied and coming back for more.

More Engagement

Remote work is associated with a higher commitment from employees. Remote teams are more likely to feel that the agency cares for their well-being and life balance, and that their employers trust them enough to let them manage their own time and productivity. Teleworking has a higher probability of creating a community among the employers and employees, making their relationship feel more like a partnership, a joint effort towards the same cause.

Remote workers tend to feel closer to the company and to self-identify with their goals and mission, thus giving employees a sense of belonging while performing business operations. This synergy keeps the workforce motivated to complete their collective and individual tasks more efficiently.

Agencies that set clear and measurable goals for their remote employees are more likely to succeed. To keep the workflow running smoothly, it's necessary to be clear about the duties each member of the crew needs to work on. Better communication makes it easier for remote agencies to engage their employees by keeping everyone on the same page.

More Flexibility

Without the constraints implied by working onsite, remote employees and employers have a lot more time available. A freelancer is a lot more likely to be willing to accommodate some work requests, even outside regular office hours. Flexibility works both ways, and this can benefit agencies and customers alike. It's important to remember that happy teams make happier clients.

The possibility of working from pretty much any space available helps every employee successfully finish their tasks. Providing the employees with a wider variety of choices to find the ideal environment that helps them feel more comfortable and focused, remote working increases their efficiency and productivity as a result. Promoting each employee's freedom to work from home, a park, or a coffee shop and encouraging them to pick the timeframe in which they're more likely to thrive will positively impact their work quality.

Increase Budget for Growth

As mentioned earlier, cutting on all the unnecessary expenses that come with a physical location will significantly increase the amount of money an agency can use for different purposes. Remote agencies can invest those savings in more beneficial tools to help their employees get better results. Another good idea is to offer better salaries, bonuses, and rewards to maintain current workers and attract new talent at the same time.

Some agencies invest part of their budget in annual company retreats, which are an excellent idea for increasing morale by giving workers a sense of unity and the opportunity to get to know their teammates better. Deeper connections may positively impact the workflow and the dynamics between employers and employees.

Better Time Management

It's common to find that onsite office employees tend to overwork and stay extra hours. Freelancers are more motivated to be productive during business hours, by having more freedom to sneak in some personal activities in between assignments. By making their own schedules, remote workers are more in tune with the number of hours they need to work on a task before moving to a different one. Remote workers tend to stay more aware of their deadlines. Clients benefit from this by always receiving what they asked for promptly, which makes them more likely to seek the same agency's services in the future and even recommend it to others.

Conclusion

Remote working is not only a growing millennial trend, its enormous benefits for employers, employees, and clients alike are giving this model a more prominent shot of becoming the future norm of how we conduct business everywhere. While this may not mean total depletion of central offices and traditional workspaces, companies should continually support and train their own teams to work virtually should the need arise. Working alongside experienced remote teams will help empower your team members to develop the needed skills to stay agile, and endure the challenges going forward of the long envisioned digital future which the pandemic has only brought closer.If your company is considering transitioning into teleworking, agencies like Universal Creative Solutions provide remote operations consulting and carry out the breakdown, research, planning, and leadership necessary to optimize any business to reach their full potential.