Work from home during the pandemic have made us think about some of the biggest long-term implications of retention in an era of working remotely. Companies have witnessed these changes becoming more permanent as people adapt successfully to virtual work. However, the essence of in-person office and interactions are still fundamental to the business culture of any company. So what are the implications of a remote workforce and how are companies dealing with it?
Your Talent Competition Just Increased Overnight
Probably the scariest part for organizations should be that for people discovering they can successfully work from home, that opens up the door to many more possibilities. Similarly, there are more companies realizing they can take on remote talent than ever before.
As a result, there will be more competition than ever because people will be less tied to geography. They now have more opportunities and choices when it comes to choosing where to work and the ones that can offer the best solutions wins.
Compensation Challenges Just Increased
Let’s say your headquarter is in Ho Chi Minh City and you hired a full time executive who is based in Hanoi. Because of the relocation, you have to compensate them with an additional month’s salary as well as traveling and living expenses. However, now that the pandemic continues and everything is possible to be done online, the employee can work from home without having to fully relocate to a different city. Because the employee is in an executive role, their salary is quite a high cost to the company. What should you do to retain them while also cutting down on costs now that their expenses are less than before?
Do you keep the person’s pay the same or do you count the savings for less travelling and living expenses? Will not having them around the office as an executive affect work productivity and efficiency or does everything work just fine? If so, why the need to expand their compensation packages?
However, with an increase in remote work, that person might be able to find better opportunities for companies just happy to not have to worry about relocation plus expensive in-office costs or a company looking for an executive right from Hanoi where they are located.
Rethinking Your Perks and Benefits
It’s a nice thing to walk into an office and have a stocked kitchen, a full keg, gourmet meals, on-site services like childcare or yoga, and other perks. Some don’t directly relate to an office, but transit stipends or commuter benefits become less important to people lowering the frequency of coming into work. They can miss the traffic-densed route to work and the crazy gas money paid for all of those trips.
Working from home has its pros and cons but with people who already have children, it may be a great distraction when they are doing meetings and taking care of their child at the same time. Therefore, helping people outfit their home office easily, connecting employees with children to caregivers, and providing tutoring resources for kids in hybrid or remote learning environments are already increasing in popularity.
In reality, everyone will want different things
The truth is, everyone’s tolerance for remote work is different. Some people felt like they were walking into a WFH nightmare and never want to work in an office again. Others can’t wait to get back. Many more people will want some work from home and some working in the office, especially once they realize how nice it is to actually work from home when there isn’t a global pandemic happening. Now that people have experienced it and realize they can work this way, they will seek it out. If they can’t find it from you, there are going to be a lot more options for them.
What should your company do?
The upside for organizations that have figured out how to inject the right level of flexibility and support into remote working is that the market for talent just got a lot wider as well. Not only that, it will also help your company cut down on renting costs for your office space. It is quite obvious that working from home has become the new normal that suits the needs of a lot of people.
However, it is an undeniable fact that this also requires an efficient workforce who are responsible and focused. Not only that, with the culture and predominantly peculiar industries in Vietnam, there are simply companies that can no way afford or facilitate employees working from home.
Therefore, a remote workforce may not be a formula that works for everyone. However, for those that are already successfully applying this method, it is a good idea to look over the different benefits you can provide, the new talents you can have, and the competition that may be upcoming to choose what is best for you and your company.
JobHopin Team
Bibliography:
Haun, Lance. “Five Lasting Implications for Retention in a Remote-Ish WorkforceL.” Eightfold, 17 Feb. 2021, eightfold.ai/blog/five-lasting-implications-for-retention-in-a-remote-ish-workforce/.