For many organisations, remote work started out as an extreme measure against the restrictions wrought by the pandemic. It has since been recognised as a new working norm or a prevailing feature in our digital world. Many employees are reaping the benefits but what about for employers like you?
Importance of employee satisfaction and retention
Despite their qualms about working remotely, over 25% of managers haven’t taken any measures for tracking productivity. Around 30% of business leaders care more about maintaining the company culture over performance monitoring too. Over 60% are demanding more frequent check-ins since the shift to hybrid or virtual working.
This is concerning because flexible work has a significant impact on employee retention and satisfaction. In turn, these affect the overall success of your team and your company for the following reasons:
They cut operating and hiring costs
When you look for replacement employees, you must pay for advertising, interviewing, and filtering candidates. Plus, you have to invest in on-boarding, training, and mentoring them. Tasks abandoned by previous employees may lead to penalties from your clients as well.
They boost employee morale
High turnover rates always affect the morale of your team. Not only do your staff lose connections but also they take on heavier responsibilities to make up for the reduced manpower. They’re given the idea to search for greener pastures because others are doing it too.
They appeal to experienced staff
When a senior employee exits your organisation, you lose their skill sets, connections, and institutional knowledge as well. Greater retention rates mean that you’re keeping team members who are familiar with your clients and projects. Also, they’re capable of training newer workers for promotion.
They improve productivity
An article by Training Industry Quarterly reveals that it takes at least one to two years before a worker becomes fully productive. Even if you do have a new hire virtual assistant in the Philippines, it’s rare for them to hit the ground running so they’re unable to really replace your staff that departed.
They boost customer experiences
Continuing from the previous point, as your new hire remote staff in the Philippines take longer to get things done or are prone to make mistakes, clients may end up with negative experiences. Your customers then share these incidents online thereby putting your reputation at risk.
They hone company culture
Corporate culture is formed by the behaviours, preferences, and impressions of the people who work at your organisation. This plays a major role when you’re hiring Filipino remote workers who may question their own loyalty when their co-workers keep on leaving.
They foster positive worker experience
Employee experience covers everything from when you first decided to hire a Filipino VA to when they choose to leave. A positive experience makes your staff more productive and engaging towards your customers. In turn, this leads to greater loyalty amongst your existing client base.
They increase revenue
Higher revenue results from lesser operating costs and greater productivity, among other factors. To compute the return on investment of human resource initiatives, it’s a good idea to monitor the increase in revenue from retention policies.
Implications of flexible work on employee happiness
Now that it’s clear how employee satisfaction and employee retention both impact your business, you may be wondering if remote work is necessary at all. There are certainly ways to make your team happy while urging them to return to the office. However, why don’t we look at the following data to find out more?
It improves relationships
According to a 2022 survey of full-time employees by Cisco, 74% responded that working from home boosted their family relationships. Over 50% also say that it strengthened their friendly relationships, addressing the typical concern of isolation.
It boosts work-life balance
From the same Cisco survey, 55% of respondents found their stress levels decreasing by working from home. Take note that it doesn’t prevent employee burnout altogether, though it does eliminate some sources of stress. These include long commutes and rigid work schedules.
It heightens worker loyalty
Although it’s a bit older, a 2019 FlexJobs survey reports that 80% of respondents are more loyal to their employers when they’re given flexible work arrangements. The State of Remote Work by Owl Labs and Global Workplace Analytics also found that 50% of US workers would rather take a pay cut to continue working remotely.
It reduces sick leaves
You might think that this means greater productivity for your team but the truth is that more employees are choosing to work despite being ill. Workers who are sick are far from productive and are more likely to make mistakes so you need proper sick leave policies in place.
It encourages longer hours
Like the previous point, this sounds like a good thing for employers but only at the first glance. This actually leads to more exhaustion, stress, and employee burnout. When you hire a Filipino freelancer with limited experience in remote work, they have a hard time setting boundaries leading you to this dilemma.
Impact of working with Remote Workmate
Even if there are negative impacts of remote work, choosing to hire VA in the Philippines with Remote Workmate prevents them because we work together to cultivate a great remote work environment.
We prefer to endorse candidates who have experience with working from home so they are already adjusted to the arrangement. Plus, we properly orient and train our candidates about your company before endorsement so they’re familiar with your expectations.
When you hire a freelancer in the Philippines through us, it’s possible for them to hit the ground running while avoiding the common pitfalls that come with home-based professions.
Are you ready to hire a Filipino virtual assistant? Click the button below to begin your hiring journey.
