5 Factors to Consider When Hiring Remote Workers

Are you moving your business to a remote-only lifestyle? You’re not alone.

More business owners are choosing to have their employees work from home (or wherever else they can drag their computers). It’s lowered costs and made for happier employees. 

There are benefits to hiring remote workers. Yet, how do you know when you’re ready to make the change? What do you need to keep in mind when your employees are working from home?

Keep reading for four factors to keep in mind when hiring remote workers.

1. Compensation

Not all businesses are going to have to worry about this, but anyone who hires outside of their local area needs to keep compensation in mind.

Paying remote workers who live around the world isn’t the same as paying ones who live in your city. 

You’re going to have to take into consideration the minimum wage of the areas where your employees work as well as the cost of living.

Employees who work full-time should be able to survive on your wages, but an employee in Kansas will have a very different experience from an employee in Seattle. Adjust accordingly. 

2. Communication

How are you going to communicate with your employees? How are they going to communicate with each other?

Some employers choose to hold mandatory meetings over video chat. Not all employees are happy with this. However, if they’re brief and laser-focused, they can foster great communication. 

Employees with unreliable video equipment, who live with children coming in and out of their home office spaces, may be better off with phone meetings or a text-based chat platform.

You’ll want your employees to be able to talk to each other as if they were in the office. 

3. State Laws

With the variety of locations that your employees can work from, you’ll have to consider various laws and regulations that relate to your industry.

For example, in California, your employees need to be classified as employees. You can’t hire freelance workers to do employee-style jobs. You need to know the difference between employees and contractors. 

You also have to be careful to not transfer the costs of doing business to your employees. You may be responsible for some of the costs associated with doing the remote work, depending on your state.

4. Time Zones

If your employees are working all over the world you’ll need to have a bit of flexibility regarding work hours. Even if you only hire American workers you have four well-known timezones to consider and several lesser-known timezones. 

If you want the best talent that you can find, you will want to have a broad reach. It might be helpful to allow your employees to set their own hours or complete work on their own time.  A specified time limit can ensure that everyone has a standard workday.

5. Home Office Design

When using remote workers, it is easy to forget about their workstation (out of sight, out of mind). However, because they’re remote workers it is much more important to be involved in ensuring they’re properly set up to perform the job.

For example, if your remote workers are using a laptop from their bed, they are less likely to be as productive had they been working at a desk with a proper home office setup.

Every remote worker needs an ergonomic workstation assessment. This includes ergonomic furniture like the desk and chair, as well as ergonomic gadgets like the mouse, keyboard, and monitor. It may take a small financial investment from the employer or employee, but we suggest an ergonomics assessment to assist your company in setting up a home office for your remote workers.

Right now, companies like Solutions Northwest Inc. are offering virtual ergonomic assessments specially designed for remote workers. During an ergonomics assessment, an ergonomics consultant will help you design the ideal home office setup for comfort, injury prevention, and work productivity.

Just because your employees are working remotely doesn’t mean you can stop catering to their needs.

Using remote workers can give your business a huge boost. Make sure you consider several factors before assigning your employees to remote work. Consider everything that comes along with remote workers and prepare yourself for your new venture. 

If you’d like some assistance on the perfect home office setup for your remote workers,  contact our ergonomics experts at Solutions Northwest Inc. and inquire about their affordable virtual ergonomics assessment.

Looking for more tips on how to create an ergonomic workspace? Contact us at SolutionsNW.com, we will be happy to help you!

At SolutionsNW.com we value the importance of a positive workplace culture. Part of a positive workplace is a safe workplace, Contact Us to schedule an ergonomics consultation or ergonomics assessment for your office today.

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