Future of Sourcing - remote work http://futureofsourcing.com/tags/remote-work en Is This the End of the Great Resignation? http://futureofsourcing.com/is-this-the-end-of-the-great-resignation <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Is%20This%20the%20End%20of%20the%20Great%20Resignation.jpg"><a href="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Is%20This%20the%20End%20of%20the%20Great%20Resignation.jpg" title="What is the state of the Great Resignation for employers and job seekers?" class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-2190-VSBfwSKqNjQ"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/Is%20This%20the%20End%20of%20the%20Great%20Resignation.jpg?itok=RDowy3x-" width="624" height="325" alt="What is the state of the Great Resignation for employers and job seekers?" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-intro field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p><em>What is the state of the Great Resignation for employers and job seekers asks Mike Gibbs, CEO of Go Cloud Careers. He looks at the factors that originally drove people from their jobs and the transition to a&nbsp; focus on advancement.</em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/dollars-talk-but-great-leaders-keep-the-best-workers-from-walking">Dollars Talk, but Great Leaders Keep the Best Workers From Walking</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>There are a lot of factors that led up to the labor trend that has come to be known as the Great Resignation, including some that were in play before the pandemic began.</p> <p>For example, the baby boomers were an aging demographic starting to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2021/10/01/baby-boomers-are-leaving-the-workforce-to-live-their-best-lives-in-a-silver-tsunami-great-retirement-trend/?sh=49fee18260bd" target="_blank">retire</a> during this season. Additionally, there&rsquo;s a population migration of people leaving jobs in high-tax or expensive-to-live areas such as New York City and the San Francisco Bay area to relocate to places like Texas and Florida where they can find either lower taxes, a lower cost of living or a more friendly business environment. When the circumstances of the pandemic were added to these factors, it made things a lot worse.</p> <h1>Tech and Health Care Workers Pushed to Their Limits</h1> <p>Initially, the pandemic affected two sets of employees who were pushed to their limits: health care workers and technology workers. <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health-news/the-shadow-pandemic-covid-19s-impact-on-healthcare-workers-mental-health" target="_blank">Health care</a> professionals were working non-stop at hospitals caring for Covid patients, especially when we did not have the therapeutics to treat the disease.</p> <p>IT professionals were also taxed. Prior to the pandemic, we were used to people working in the office. But out of nowhere, IT professionals were called upon to create remote access environments to allow work to continue during the pandemic. This required the creation of a new technology infrastructure and supporting a work-from-home workforce versus an in-office workforce. To accomplish this, technology professionals had extremely huge demands placed on them for the past two years.</p> <p>Predominantly, the industries that saw the most change were healthcare and IT, but not exclusively. Workers across a wide range of industries have been affected.</p> <h2>New Work Environments Add to Workplace Tension</h2> <p>We went from working in normal office settings during normal office hours to much more stressful environments. Now it seems as if we are in meetings 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Before the shift to remote offices, we would go to the office and we would leave the office at five o&#39;clock, six o&#39;clock or even seven o&#39;clock. Regardless of the time, eventually we would go home.</p> <p>When you work from home, however, there is no stopping. You could be getting phone calls at six o&#39;clock in the morning and you can be on Zoom meetings until midnight. We are at many more meetings because the managers can&rsquo;t see what employees are doing during the workday like they could in the office. We have no boundaries, which means people are asking us, calling us and texting us 24 hours a day.</p> <p>The work overload we experienced in this new environment &ndash; being constantly on-call and always in meetings &ndash; has been challenging for some people. The socialization that occurred at work disappeared. When you are not able to hang out by the water cooler and talk to each other, you are always going to be working. Without this socialization, we went from spending our days in a half-work, half-social place to a whole-work place with no boundaries.</p> <h2>Many Workers Want Better Pay and Conditions</h2> <p>As the controls put in place because of the pandemic began to lift, we started to see workers looking for different work situations. Instead of short-term contract situations, they started searching for long-term positions.</p> <p>People were also looking to leave lower-paying jobs in the aftermath of the pandemic. A great reshuffling occurred in the hotel and the food industry where people are looking for higher-paying jobs. We have seen a migration from lower-paying jobs toward higher-paying jobs, and a migration from in-office jobs to work-from-home jobs.</p> <h2>Cost of Living Increases May Drive Additional Shifts</h2> <p>Now we are in a new environment with new circumstances that have the potential to prolong the Great Resignation. This hyper-inflationary state will cause one of two things to occur. Organizations can make <a href="https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/benefits/pages/inflation-continues-to-surge-affecting-wage-and-benefits-planning.aspx" target="_blank">strides</a> to keep employees by increasing salaries. This would require organizations to raise the prices of their goods and services to provide resources to accommodate the higher salaries, which will cause runaway inflation.</p> <p>If organizations were able to increase wages to keep up with the inflation rate, we would see employees staying in the office. If not, then employees are effectively taking an eight-to-10% pay cut with the current aggregate rates of inflation. That would result in many more people quitting their jobs and looking for other opportunities.</p> <p>In addition, we are starting to see people called back to the office. This could also result in more resignations. There are people who are <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/16/success/pew-survey-covid-affect-on-work-from-home/index.html" target="_blank">scared</a> to go to the office due to health and other considerations. People are quitting their jobs just from the fear of going to the office and looking for work that allows them to continue to be remote.</p> <p>From increased workloads to new salary demands to new workplace expectations, there are many factors that could prolong the creation of environments in which the Great Resignation can continue. We may have seen the worst of it, but we have not seen the end of it.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/talent-management" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Talent Management</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/remote-work" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">remote work</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/covid-19" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">COVID-19</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="Is This the End of the Great Resignation? - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="http://futureofsourcing.com/is-this-the-end-of-the-great-resignation"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Fri, 17 Jun 2022 02:00:00 +0000 Mike Gibbs 2190 at http://futureofsourcing.com http://futureofsourcing.com/is-this-the-end-of-the-great-resignation#comments Dollars Talk, but Great Leaders Keep the Best Workers From Walking http://futureofsourcing.com/dollars-talk-but-great-leaders-keep-the-best-workers-from-walking <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Great-Leaders-Keep-the-Best-Workers-From-Walking.jpg"><a href="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Great-Leaders-Keep-the-Best-Workers-From-Walking.jpg" title="High compensation isn&#039;t enough to counter bad leadership and a poor work culture says Eric Harkins, President and Founder of GKG Search &amp; Consulting. He offers five things leaders can do to keep their best employees from walking." class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-2157-VSBfwSKqNjQ"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/Great-Leaders-Keep-the-Best-Workers-From-Walking.jpg?itok=6xQDfJjf" width="624" height="325" alt="High compensation isn&#039;t enough to counter bad leadership and a poor work culture says Eric Harkins, President and Founder of GKG Search &amp; Consulting. He offers five things leaders can do to keep their best employees from walking." title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-intro field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p><em>High compensation isn&#39;t enough to counter bad leadership and a poor work culture says Eric Harkins, President and Founder of GKG Search &amp; Consulting. He offers five things leaders can do to keep their best employees from walking.</em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/boomerang-employees-what-to-consider-before-working-together-again">Boomerang Employees: What to Consider Before Working Together Again</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>For months and months, we&rsquo;ve heard and read ad nauseam about &ldquo;The Great Resignation.&rdquo; We&rsquo;ve been given numerous reasons why record numbers of people are leaving their jobs.</p> <p>But let&rsquo;s be real about the main root cause. We are experiencing a great exodus of employees nationwide largely due to bad leadership.</p> <p>One recent study found that toxic work culture was the primary factor pushing workers out the door. Leaders are most responsible for the kind of culture created. Abusive managers and failure to recognize employee performance were two of the common themes in the MIT Sloan Management Review.</p> <p>People are just <a href="https://www.hourly.io/post/10-rules-of-leadership" target="_blank">not going to tolerate bad leadership</a> anymore. The last two years dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic confirmed what we already knew: life is too short. Why would I put up with a bad leader, who has never given me a compliment or let me know how I&rsquo;m doing, when I can go somewhere where my new boss will?</p> <p>That&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s happening.</p> <h1>The Cost of Poor Leadership</h1> <p>Work cultures need to evolve the same way they have always needed to: to be the company that doesn&rsquo;t tolerate bad leaders; to be the company that sets an expectation that the leaders&rsquo; only job is to make sure Monday morning isn&rsquo;t miserable; to be the company that recognizes its high performers and addresses poor performers. A company that does those essential things is not experiencing a great resignation.</p> <p>And notably, higher pay doesn&rsquo;t matter if leadership is poor.</p> <p>Amazon was in the news recently for more than doubling its maximum base pay &ndash; to $350,000 &ndash; for some corporate and tech employees. The company reasoned that a tight labor market prompted the big boost as Amazon aims to attract and retain top talent.</p> <p>How much should leaders prioritize compensation across all employee levels in order to retain good employees, and to build and maintain a strong work culture? Pay has been just one of several reasons, and often not the only or main reason, that people have left their jobs in droves the last few months.</p> <p>In the last few years, the subject of pay has dropped off some lists as to why people leave or join a company. Things like culture, quality of leaders, working environment and flexibility have taken over as key factors driving people to either stay or leave.</p> <p>I still think these non-pay-related items are most important but pay seems to have come back into the mix as the competition for talent is as high as it&rsquo;s ever been. But I go back here to my theme: people are not going to tolerate bad leaders anymore. And it doesn&rsquo;t matter what you&rsquo;re willing to pay them. Getting all the money a person wants as fair or even overboard compensation for a certain job isn&rsquo;t going to keep them at their job if they hate it because their leader is terrible.</p> <p>As companies consider raising pay to attract more people, they also need to ask whether or not they have the right leaders, the right culture and the focus to attract people. If everyone is paying $20 an hour now for a job that used to pay $15 per hour, then you still have the same challenge: why would I work for your company when I can go down the street and work for a company that knows how to make sure Monday morning isn&rsquo;t miserable?</p> <p>Companies need to be willing to pay what the market is requiring them to pay. But the companies with good leaders that create a culture high performers will always pay less in the long run. That&rsquo;s because they won&rsquo;t have to hire as many people, train as many people or lose as many people.</p> <h2>The 3 Cs of a Good Work Culture</h2> <p>I learned the value of hard work from my parents as well as the importance of staying humble. I&rsquo;ve worked for all kinds of companies &ndash; Fortune 500, privately-held, family-owned and private-equity owned. I&rsquo;ve been lucky because I worked for some good leaders, but I was even luckier because I worked for some really bad ones, too.</p> <p>One thing that&rsquo;s always been true, and always will be true, is that a bad leader will never create a good culture. The importance of having great leaders in your company is, was and will always be the only thing that sets you apart from your competition.</p> <p>Great leaders are great leaders, and it doesn&rsquo;t matter if you&rsquo;re in an office, on Zoom or have a hybrid model. A great leader knows how to create a culture that high performers want to be a part of.</p> <p>Companies need to set expectations for how they want their leaders to lead. Few companies do this and it&rsquo;s the biggest gap to building a great culture. Tell the leaders in your company that they only have one job: to make sure Monday morning isn&rsquo;t miserable. And every leader should know that employees want three things when they go to work:</p> <ul> <li>A cool place: There is something about the company that makes me proud to say I work there.</li> <li>Cool projects: The work is engaging and rewarding and I&rsquo;m recognized for my contributions.</li> <li>Cool people: This has to be the company&rsquo;s commitment to not allow bad leaders to hold leadership positions. A company doing things right has the type of people you want to work for and with.</li> </ul> <h2>Leading in a Remote Working World</h2> <p>COVID has brought more remote working and, as conditions improved, created tension between some companies and employees in terms of how often people should be allowed to work from home versus coming to the office.</p> <p>Clearly most employees prefer working remotely most of the time. And leaders who don&rsquo;t get this and accept this will lose more people, including their top performers. The availability of talent willing to go into an office five days a week is much smaller than it was a couple of years ago.</p> <p>Company leaders need to realize there&rsquo;s been a shift. Ultimately, I think this shift brought visibility to leaders in a different way. Great leaders knew/know how to create a culture that high performers want to be a part of in person and on Zoom, but bad leaders have struggled to <a href="https://www.hourly.io/post/employee-engagement-in-your-business" target="_blank">keep the engagement of their team</a>.</p> <p>The remote working angle forces companies to focus on all that matters &ndash; the work getting done, and not getting caught up in the &ldquo;how&rdquo; and &ldquo;where&rdquo; the work gets done. The &ldquo;where&rdquo; it gets done has always been a barrier to companies focusing on the right things. Employees who showed up every day and sat at their desk for eight or nine hours underperforming were often rewarded more than the high-potential employee who was exceeding expectations but doing it remotely.</p> <p>Another important aspect of the leader-in-a-remote-working-world concept is, do they care about their employees as much when they aren&rsquo;t in the office or on Zoom as when they are? Do they get to know them enough at an individual level that they know how to show empathy and compassion when employees are dealing with real-world issues? Great leaders do these things because they are great people.</p> <h2>5 Things Leaders Should Do</h2> <p><strong>1.</strong> <strong>Create a culture that high performers want to be a part of.</strong> Poor performers don&rsquo;t quit voluntarily. Show your high performers you value their work by addressing the poor performers in your company.</p> <p><strong>2. Bring energy and enthusiasm to work every day.</strong> Are your leaders the most positive and engaging people in the company? They should be.</p> <p><strong>3. Build relationships at all levels of the organization. </strong>Everyone remembers the last conversation they had with you, the leader. Was it one that fostered excitement about meeting again, or one that left the person hoping they never have to talk to you again?</p> <p><strong>4. Support the direction of the company with no hidden agendas. </strong>When the leaders in your company need to communicate a message to their teams, do they communicate as &ldquo;we&rdquo; or &ldquo;they&rdquo;?</p> <p><strong>5. Help the company grow by developing people.</strong> Are the leaders in your company excited about the idea of having their backup on the team, or threatened by it? A bad leader will never want someone who is capable of taking their job working for them.</p> <p>The pressure for companies to have good leaders truly leading people is finally at a point that it should have always been. Companies that allow bad leaders to lead people will lose. They&rsquo;ve always lost, but now they can lose more than ever.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/leadership" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Leadership</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/talent-management" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Talent Management</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/remote-work" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">remote work</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="Dollars Talk, but Great Leaders Keep the Best Workers From Walking - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="http://futureofsourcing.com/dollars-talk-but-great-leaders-keep-the-best-workers-from-walking"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Mon, 28 Mar 2022 02:00:00 +0000 Eric Harkins 2157 at http://futureofsourcing.com http://futureofsourcing.com/dollars-talk-but-great-leaders-keep-the-best-workers-from-walking#comments Sourcing in the Time of Remote Work http://futureofsourcing.com/sourcing-in-the-time-of-remote-work <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Sourcing%20in%20the%20Time%20of%20Remote%20Work.png"><a href="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Sourcing%20in%20the%20Time%20of%20Remote%20Work.png" title="With more candidates seeking remote or hybrid jobs than ever before, the competition for top talent is fierce." class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-2089-VSBfwSKqNjQ"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/Sourcing%20in%20the%20Time%20of%20Remote%20Work.png?itok=shTgSsvd" width="624" height="325" alt="With more candidates seeking remote or hybrid jobs than ever before, the competition for top talent is fierce." title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-intro field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <h1>Sourcing in the Time of Remote Work</h1> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/why-hiring-professionals-should-take-a-skills-based-approach">Why Hiring Professionals Should Take a Skills-Based Approach</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Although major world cities such as NYC and London have begun moving forward with plans to bring employees back to the office, it is an undeniable fact that the pandemic has changed how we work forever. Like it or not, remote work is here to stay in some form &ndash; most likely in the form of hybrid working, where a portion of one&rsquo;s working hours are spent in the employer&rsquo;s office and a portion remote.</p> <p>Off the back of this, a clear trend is emerging wherein employees are crying out for remote working to become a permanent fixture of employment. We are seeing that even as pandemic restrictions are loosening, pandemic-era measures have shifted attitudes toward work itself. Remote working is a popular initiative that many people wish to maintain. In fact, <a href="https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/remote-work-statistics/#:~:text=Employees%20are%20eager%20to%20continue,want%20a%20hybrid%20work%20environment." target="_blank">a recent survey</a> found that 58% of respondents report wanting to remain as full-time remote employees post-pandemic, while 39% want a hybrid work environment. The bottom line is that after having experienced the benefits of remote working, many employees do not wish to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeswigunski/2021/10/28/6-reasons-remote-workers-are-refusing-to-return-to-the-office/?sh=5ed9c3db6407" target="_blank">return to the office</a> in a traditional sense.</p> <p>For employers, this means that the talent marketplace has changed. With more candidates seeking remote or hybrid jobs than ever before, the competition for top talent is fierce. Employers who wish to hire the best people will need to offer a remote option, or risk losing out on bagging the best hires to competitors who can offer a remote working option. In this way, the remote revolution changes not only how we work, but how employers and recruiters source talent and how companies must position themselves in the marketplace.</p> <h2>Market-Leading Companies Offer Remote Options</h2> <p>As attitudes toward work evolve amid the current conditions, there has been an <a href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210618-the-workers-pushing-back-on-the-return-to-the-office" target="_blank">employee pushback to fully in-person work</a>, with candidates increasingly applying to work with companies that offer remote working. This trend also reveals that employers who offer a remote working option are <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/business/work/remote-working-a-deal-breaker-for-close-to-half-of-job-candidates-1.4592306" target="_blank">becoming more popular</a> with jobseekers. This is compounded by a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/10/12/jolts-workers-quitting-august-pandemic/" target="_blank">record number of employees</a> quitting their job in dissatisfaction over working conditions. These facts, when taken together in one big picture, make it clear that there is a revolution afoot related to the future of work. More specifically, the shifts we are seeing have to do with the changing norms around what it means to work, and how and where that work should be carried out.</p> <p>For employers, these are important trends to pay attention to. The fact that jobseekers are becoming bolder about their needs and wants when it comes to remote working demonstrates the importance of incorporating remote working into the future of work by normalizing it and offering it as a benefit at the hiring stage.</p> <p>This also means that companies looking to recruit talent must have a remote-working option to stay competitive in the talent market. Market-leading companies like <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2021/10/02/pwc-accounting-and-audit-giant-announced-40000-us-employees-will-work-from-home-how-this-can-cause-a-chain-reaction-of-companies-offering-competing-remote-options/?sh=680ff665f3c1" target="_blank">PWC are already doing this</a>, announcing a hybrid working model available to their employees. With the current conditions favoring jobseekers, those organizations that wish to recruit top talent must rethink how they imagine the practicalities of the future of work &ndash; and that means offering a remote option.</p> <h2>Update the Employer Brand to Improve Sourcing</h2> <p>A key part of being in an attractive position to candidates is through having a strong employer brand at the hiring stage. Leading large organizations, such as Google and Spotify, are successful in this regard, because over time they have aligned themselves with attractive employee perks, such as on-site childcare, laundry services and free cafeteria food. These are not the only reasons that such companies attract top talent, but it certainly does contribute to their success in sourcing talent.</p> <p>In the current social and economic situation, remote working will likewise need to become a core part of the employee package for top talent to continue to vie for roles. &ldquo;Companies that can successfully update their brands to align with the future of work by offering remote working solutions will see stronger candidate pools than those who do not,&rdquo; comments Product &amp; Marketing Strategist Kate Moskalenko. &ldquo;This is because sourcing relies heavily on an employer&rsquo;s brand and reputation. In the current climate, the forward-thinking companies that leverage the power of remote working will inevitably see more success in their hiring initiatives.&rdquo;</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/05/hybrid-working-your-office-future/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a> has already established that remote working &ndash; in the form of hybrid working &ndash; is here to stay. Offering flexible working options, therefore, is no longer a nice-to-have but rather becoming a necessity of the modern workplace. At the HR level, putting corporate promise behind remote working demonstrates to prospective candidates that the company is on board with the future of work and understanding of modern forms of productivity and how to best achieve them.</p> <h2>Remote Working Brings About a New Model of Future Sourcing</h2> <p>Because of these trends and shifts toward remote working, companies can respond by revamping how they source talent. The new, more successful model of sourcing talent will be less of a top-down model, and will likely look more collaborative, driven by the employee&rsquo;s needs to work from anywhere.</p> <p>Companies with their eye on top talent will do well to remember the positive impact <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/whats-next-for-remote-work-an-analysis-of-2000-tasks-800-jobs-and-nine-countries" target="_blank">remote working has on productivity</a>. No longer something to be feared because it occurs outside of the four walls of the company office, remote working provides a new way for companies to increase productivity while delivering a tangible work-life benefit to their employees. Just in the way the free lunch and the subsidized gym pass have changed the benefits structure during the sourcing process, we will likewise start to see remote working as having a huge impact on the companies who lead in sourcing success.&nbsp;</p> <p>As we move into 2022 and beyond, the companies that update their sourcing processes with remote working at the heart of each job advertisement are those which will be better placed to compete for talent in the modern marketplace. The companies that take the time to reimagine their own brand in the context of remote work, aligning it with a more remote-friendly option, will start to see increased success in the sourcing process, attracting some of today&rsquo;s top talent. The future of work has arrived &ndash; and it is led by remote working. A sourcing process that aligns with this will be poised to benefit from a modern candidate pool of top talent from the outset.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/remote-work" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">remote work</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/pitchme" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">PitchMe</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="Sourcing in the Time of Remote Work - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="http://futureofsourcing.com/sourcing-in-the-time-of-remote-work"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Thu, 02 Dec 2021 17:00:00 +0000 Dina Bayasanova 2089 at http://futureofsourcing.com http://futureofsourcing.com/sourcing-in-the-time-of-remote-work#comments When Outsourcing Leads to Agility and Innovation, You’re Doing It Right http://futureofsourcing.com/when-outsourcing-leads-to-agility-and-innovation-youre-doing-it-right <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/When%20Outsourcing%20Leads%20to%20Agility%20and%20Innovation%2C%20You%E2%80%99re%20Doing%20It%20Right.png"><a href="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/When%20Outsourcing%20Leads%20to%20Agility%20and%20Innovation%2C%20You%E2%80%99re%20Doing%20It%20Right.png" title="When Outsourcing Leads to Agility and Innovation, You’re Doing It Right" class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-2013-VSBfwSKqNjQ"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/When%20Outsourcing%20Leads%20to%20Agility%20and%20Innovation%2C%20You%E2%80%99re%20Doing%20It%20Right.png?itok=x6bsnJC3" width="624" height="325" alt="When Outsourcing Leads to Agility and Innovation, You’re Doing It Right" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-intro field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <h1>When Outsourcing Leads to Agility and Innovation, You&rsquo;re Doing It Right</h1> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>COVID-19 resulted in over <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/02/business/economy/jobs-report-march.html" target="_blank">20.5 million jobs</a> lost in the U.S. alone. As the economy recovers, workforce participation is at an all-time low, falling to <a href="https://www.bls.gov/" target="_blank">61.2% in March 2021</a>, the lowest it&#39;s been since 1976. Unemployed, laid off and furloughed workers that do return to the workforce do so with a fundamental shift in the mindset, impacting how and where work gets done.</p> <p>For starters, the pandemic taught us that being physically co-located is not always required for success. Hybrid working models that focus more on how work gets done than where and when are the way of the future from Microsoft, IBM and many other companies across the U.S. In addition, average workday hours may also be a thing of the past.</p> <p>The pandemic had working parents juggling remote learning, making flexible work hours a necessity. Productivity looks different for every worker, which may not be during a typical 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. window. These fundamental shifts are showing that flexibility is the name of the game, from geography to talent.</p> <p>The shifts in the mindset of the worker <em>and</em> the workplace are enabling innovation and agility within outsourcing. Companies once destined to hire in one office within one specific city now have the opportunity for the best talent, which may be outside traditional geographic boundaries.</p> <p>Additionally, businesses can fluctuate all too quickly and needs can change overnight. A larger, more diverse pool of resources can help companies navigate these shifts seamlessly. The companies that are able to navigate the future of work with cost-effective strategies for managing staff, output and culture will be the cream that rises to the top.</p> <p>To dive into more detail, I&rsquo;ve laid out five areas where outsourcing will enable a new level of innovation and agility for enterprise companies at any stage in their digital transformation journey.</p> <h2>1. Scalability</h2> <p>The power of scalability in outsourced resources is practical for the typical seasonal or quarterly fluctuations of any business. In 2020, scaling up and down to meet demand was crucial for many businesses. An outsourcing solution that provides virtual or broad geographic reach helps maintain business continuity for unexpected events -- whether it be a global pandemic or an extreme weather event.</p> <p>Scaling up processes and resources on demand will ultimately lower costs across all functions, including finance, marketing, sales, operations, and more. In a contact center, outsourced agents often minimize or eliminate the idle time often seen in a brick-and-mortar center.</p> <h2>2. Better Talent Drives Better Outcomes</h2> <p>Better talent cannot be understated when needs aren&rsquo;t necessarily connected to a singular geography. Outsourcing means you can access educated, experienced staff with the right personality and skills. Rather than recruiting within their geographic boundaries, businesses can tap into diverse pools of talent with varied personal and professional experience. Virtual outsourcers attract people who desire more flexible options and tend to be more entrepreneurial by nature. In this model, workers tend to be uniquely invested in your brand&rsquo;s success, which leads to innovation with phenomenal outcomes.</p> <h2>3. Experts on Experts</h2> <p>Innovation requires cutting-edge expertise, sometimes in a unique competency. Need an expert in creating a community? In distance learning? In implementing the right level of security? Outsourcing provides access to subject matter experts who are experienced in areas where you don&rsquo;t need a large team for an extended period of time, but have a definitive need for a short or sporadic time. From project management to quality assurance, you can lean on your outsourcing partner.</p> <h2>4. Enhanced Reporting and Analytics</h2> <p>Outsourcing creates a metric-driven culture of output and delivery. Leaders can track key performance and deliverables more closely when support is focused and goal oriented. This will lead projects to get done faster, on budget and with greater output.</p> <h2>5. Culture and Diversity</h2> <p>Outsourcing, especially across geographies, brings together people with different backgrounds, philosophies and approaches to achieve one common goal. That richness in culture cannot be understated for keeping employees fulfilled while also delivering the best possible product.</p> <p>While organizations are navigating a &ldquo;new normal,&rdquo; it&rsquo;s more competitive and advantageous to instead focus on the future of work via innovations, efficiencies and output for your business. Outsourcing can solve many of those problems, realizing the average workplace and average workday may be outdated concepts in the future of work.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/remote-work" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">remote work</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/diversity-and-inclusion" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Diversity and Inclusion</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/outsourcing" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Outsourcing</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="When Outsourcing Leads to Agility and Innovation, You&amp;rsquo;re Doing It Right - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="http://futureofsourcing.com/when-outsourcing-leads-to-agility-and-innovation-youre-doing-it-right"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Wed, 30 Jun 2021 02:00:00 +0000 Ellen Hanh 2013 at http://futureofsourcing.com http://futureofsourcing.com/when-outsourcing-leads-to-agility-and-innovation-youre-doing-it-right#comments The Future of Work: Why the C-Suite Needs To Align With HR on Employee Mobility Issues http://futureofsourcing.com/the-future-of-work-why-the-c-suite-needs-to-align-with-hr-on-employee-mobility-issues <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/The%20Future%20of%20Work%3A%20Why%20the%20C-Suite%20Needs%20To%20Align%20With%20HR%20on%20Employee%20Mobility%20Issues.png"><a href="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/The%20Future%20of%20Work%3A%20Why%20the%20C-Suite%20Needs%20To%20Align%20With%20HR%20on%20Employee%20Mobility%20Issues.png" title="Why the C-Suite Needs To Align With HR on Employee Mobility Issues" class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-2009-VSBfwSKqNjQ"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/The%20Future%20of%20Work%3A%20Why%20the%20C-Suite%20Needs%20To%20Align%20With%20HR%20on%20Employee%20Mobility%20Issues.png?itok=fbAFV_nn" width="624" height="325" alt="Why the C-Suite Needs To Align With HR on Employee Mobility Issues" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-intro field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <h1>The Future of Work: Why the C-Suite Needs To Align With HR on Employee Mobility Issues</h1> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/are-independent-contractors-covered-by-workers-comp-insurance">Are Independent Contractors Covered by Workers’ Comp Insurance?</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>A landslide of remote work requests is crashing into businesses, and it&rsquo;s revealing alarming holes in the way corporations are managing employee mobility. Chances are, remote work is already bogging down your HR department, and if you don&rsquo;t act soon, your company and employees could be exposed to global tax compliance and employee incentive problems.</p> <p>Most C-suite executives know the remote work revolution is coming, but not all see the pressing reasons to align with HR on employee mobility issues right now. I&rsquo;ve picked out some of the most important reasons alignment is needed and how C-suite executives can successfully plan for an increasingly mobile workforce.</p> <h2>Remote Work and Tax Enforcement Agencies are on a Collision Course</h2> <p>Most C-suite executives are seeing a massive workforce shift toward remote work and global employees. In fact, remote work has skyrocketed during the pandemic, with <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1122987/change-in-remote-work-trends-after-covid-in-usa/" target="_blank">44% of employees</a> spending at least five days per week working in a mobile setting. What&rsquo;s more, it looks as though the number of remote workers will continue to climb in the future. According to a recent <a href="https://www.hrdive.com/news/gartner-over-80-of-company-leaders-plan-to-permit-remote-work-after-pande/581744/" target="_blank">Gartner survey</a>, more than 80% of corporate leaders plan to let employees work remotely at least part time after the pandemic subsides.</p> <p>For C-suite executives, a move toward more flexible work appears to be inevitable, and it presents new opportunities to lower operational costs and dip into a wider talent pool. However, some leaders don&rsquo;t realize how lenient tax officials and regulatory bodies have been up to this point, and even fewer see the potential compliance violations mounting on the horizon.</p> <p>As employees flock to new locations and their companies lack the resources to track their whereabouts, governments are increasing their ability to monitor who is working within what borders. More and more regulatory agencies now have the technology to monitor employee activity, and immigration offices are linking up across the globe to coordinate their tracking efforts. With a growing number of employees clamoring for remote work and few companies actively mapping out a compliance plan, companies could face heavy consequences in the near future.</p> <h2>Why Do C-Suite Executives Need to Align with HR on Mobility Tax?</h2> <p>As employees begin to work across state and country borders, their employers (often unknowingly) also become responsible for reporting wages and withholding taxes according to the specific obligations of the jurisdictions in which the employees are working. With so many different tax rules tagged to different areas, keeping track of mobility tax alone becomes extremely complicated. If C-suite executives and HR aren&rsquo;t aligned, these complications can escalate into company-wide problems.</p> <p>Here are a few of the most immediate potential consequences that could soon hit company leaders:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Tax and compliance penalties</strong>: With the confusion of COVID-19 throwing off processes, many regulatory agencies gave non-compliant businesses a pass in 2020. That&rsquo;s a trend that&rsquo;s likely to change in the near future. Unfortunately, if companies don&rsquo;t have a way to track where employees are and ensure tax compliance, they may risk damaging their reputation or incurring penalties, fines or even jail time.</li> <li><strong>An overwhelmed HR team:</strong> Remote work is popular among employees. In fact, according to a recent Buffer survey,&nbsp;<a href="https://buffer.com/2021-state-of-remote-work" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">97.6% of employees</a>&nbsp;want to work remotely at least part time for the rest of their careers. So, it&rsquo;s no wonder that C-suite executives are often quick to promise flexible work opportunities for employees. Unfortunately, if there aren&rsquo;t policies backing up those promises, they can overwhelm the HR team and impact a company&rsquo;s culture. As requests flood in, HR professionals will need to know where employees can work, for how long, and how to manage tax compliance in different scenarios to avoid an overwhelming workload of one-off requests.</li> <li><strong>Discouraged employees</strong>: Without a clear remote work policy, employees can become frustrated and even leave for other opportunities. If they don&rsquo;t have clear answers and direction about where they can work and how long they can work there, it can sour the entire company&rsquo;s culture.</li> </ul> <h2>What Critical Actions Should the C-Suite Take?</h2> <p>Adjusting to the mobile work onslaught may seem overwhelming, but there are some clear-cut actions C-suite executives can take with their HR teams to properly manage their global teams:</p> <h3>1. Let Your Company&rsquo;s Priorities Guide Your Efforts</h3> <p>Companies generally have three broad priorities fueling their policies: employee experience, cost reduction, and corporate compliance. By determining your company&rsquo;s biggest concerns and setting priorities accordingly, you narrow the scope of responsibilities&mdash;making it easier to drive remote work policies that promote your company&rsquo;s goals.</p> <h3>2. Designate a Remote Worker Project Manager</h3> <p>To lay out expectations for employees and push mobile work policies forward, it&rsquo;s important to assign a single remote worker project manager. As remote work requests ramp up and employees come up with inevitable questions, your project manager will spearhead new initiatives and help identify what processes your employees need.</p> <h3>3. Give Your Remote Worker Project Manager Support</h3> <p>It doesn&rsquo;t matter how capable your remote worker project manager is&mdash;they&rsquo;ll need support going forward. Addressing remote work requests on a case-by-case basis creates a bottleneck in HR. To properly manage mobility tax issues arising from remote work, your project manager and HR leaders may need to consider everything from immigration, corporate tax, employment tax, retirement benefits and other areas outside their expertise. That&rsquo;s why it&rsquo;s a good idea to empower your project manager to build a cross functional internal team that can address all remote work compliance work issues. Additionally, it is critical to give them the budget they need to bring in external vendors to address the complex mobility tax issues that come with remote workers.</p> <h2>C-Suite and HR Alignment is the Recipe for Better Work in the Future</h2> <p>As the workforce changes, C-suite executives have an opportunity to stay ahead of trends, keep HR employees happy and safely manage the tax complications that are inherent to remote work. To achieve this, it just takes stellar communication and policies that align C-suite executives and HR. By bracing for changes early, corporations can fight off the tax hazards that are on the way and propel work forward in this new employee landscape.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/tax-compliance" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Tax Compliance</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/remote-work" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">remote work</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/c-suite" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">C-suite</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="The Future of Work: Why the C-Suite Needs To Align With HR on Employee Mobility Issues - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="http://futureofsourcing.com/the-future-of-work-why-the-c-suite-needs-to-align-with-hr-on-employee-mobility-issues"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Wed, 23 Jun 2021 02:00:00 +0000 Brett Sipes 2009 at http://futureofsourcing.com http://futureofsourcing.com/the-future-of-work-why-the-c-suite-needs-to-align-with-hr-on-employee-mobility-issues#comments 5 Remote Employee Advantages for a More Effective Workforce http://futureofsourcing.com/5-remote-employee-advantages-for-a-more-effective-workforce <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/5%20Remote%20Employee%20Advantages%20for%20a%20More%20Effective%20Workforce%20%281%29.png"><a href="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/5%20Remote%20Employee%20Advantages%20for%20a%20More%20Effective%20Workforce%20%281%29.png" title="5 Remote Employee Advantages for a More Effective Workforce" class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-2001-VSBfwSKqNjQ"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/5%20Remote%20Employee%20Advantages%20for%20a%20More%20Effective%20Workforce%20%281%29.png?itok=p9OR26eA" width="624" height="325" alt="5 Remote Employee Advantages for a More Effective Workforce" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-intro field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <h1>5 Remote Employee Advantages for a More Effective Workforce</h1> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/2021-state-of-manufacturing-report-reveals-shifting-trends">2021 State of Manufacturing Report Reveals Shifting Trends</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Until recently, remote work has not been common in the procurement field. Nonetheless, the <a href="https://www.toptal.com/insights/rise-of-remote/history-of-remote-work" target="_blank">history of remote work</a> started in 1560 when the predecessors to the first corporate offices were built. Nowadays, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of remote work across disciplines, including sourcing and procurement.</p> <p>With the end of the pandemic in sight, many small business owners wonder whether their procurement professionals should continue working from home or return to the office. Although each case is unique, the pandemic has demonstrated that procurement and sourcing can be done effectively from home.</p> <p>Enterprise companies have a lot to gain by making remote procurement a permanent part of their business strategy. This article explores the five remote employee advantages for a more effective workforce.</p> <h2>1. Increased Productivity</h2> <p>If you want to increase employee productivity, implementing a remote work program and considering several <a href="https://everhour.com/blog/easily-distracted/" target="_blank">productivity tips</a> at your company is one of the easiest ways to accomplish this goal. Various studies have proven that employees who work from home are more productive than their onsite counterparts. Many employees are willing to go above and beyond for the privilege of working at home.</p> <p>Employees who work at home are often willing to put in extra hours than if working in the office. Companies have reported gaining the equivalent of an additional workday from employees working from home. There are many reasons employees&#39; productivity increases when working from home, including having a quieter place to work.</p> <p>Many companies have implemented open workspaces, which many employees find distracting. Working at home allows them to focus on their job uninterrupted while <a href="https://thebetterwebmovement.com/help-remote-team-work-more-efficiently-web-based-tools/" target="_blank">using tools</a> that increase efficiency and help them have better results. Beyond distractions, the primary reason remote work employees are more productive is they work more hours.</p> <p>The average commute in the U.S. is almost 30 minutes. Telecommuting allows employees to save time, time they often spend working. Remote workers also take fewer sick days and less likely to take unscheduled days off work. Small business owners interested in increasing their employees&#39; productivity should seriously consider letting them work from home.</p> <h2>2. Happier Employees</h2> <p>Increased <a href="https://markuphero.com/blog/best-productivity-websites-blogs-tips-you-dont-know/" target="_blank">productivity</a> often goes hand in hand with employee happiness. If you create an environment where your employees are happy, it will pay dividends far into the future. One of the best ways to make your employees happy is by letting them work from home. Remote workers report higher levels of happiness and higher job satisfaction than office workers.&nbsp;</p> <p>Work-at-home employees list a better work-life balance as the top benefit from working at home. They also said lower levels of stress, reduced absences, improved morale, and fewer sick days were among the most beneficial aspects of working from home.</p> <p>In contrast, not having a remote work policy resulted in employee dissatisfaction, most saying they wanted to work from home. Many employees of companies lacking a remote work policy had considered looking for remote work jobs.</p> <p>Employees who work at home have more time to pursue their hobbies and other interests and spend time with friends and family. All of these things make for happier employees. Implementing a permanent work from home policy will gain your employee&#39;s loyalty, improve morale and foster a happy workforce.</p> <h2>3. Lower Attrition</h2> <p>Reducing turnover is a priority for many small businesses because finding talented procurement professionals is often difficult. After onboarding and training employees, the last thing you want is to lose them to the competition. Replacing employees is expensive.</p> <p>Allowing your employees to work from home is one of the most effective ways to keep them working for your business for many years to come. Since remote workers tend to be happier with their jobs, it makes sense that they would stick around longer than dissatisfied office workers.</p> <p>Allowing your employees to work from home allows them to live where they want. If they need to relocate to take care of ailing parents, they can continue working for you.&nbsp; Expectant mothers also benefit from remote work policies, which allow them to keep working longer they could onsite. All of these factors will keep trained staff working for you longer.</p> <h2>4. Save Money</h2> <p>Maintaining procurement and sourcing staff onsite is more expensive than many enterprise companies realize. Allowing your employees to work from home is one of the easiest ways to cut expenses. When employees work at home, businesses save money on real estate costs. There&#39;s no need to invest in a costly office space if you maintain a remote workforce.</p> <p>The savings don&#39;t end with real estate. Companies also save on furniture, electricity, furniture, and other overhead costs when their employees work from home, making remote work a boon for small business owners.</p> <p>Employees also save money when they work from home, including childcare and transportation costs. As gasoline costs and public transportation costs increase, workers are spending a significant amount of money commuting to work. The average remote worker saves about $4,600 on commuting costs when working from home.</p> <p>Working from home also allows remote workers to live in more affordable areas, allowing them to save even more money. Many workers are willing to accept lower salaries for the convenience of working at home, making it a win-win for employees and employers.</p> <h2>5. Easier to Recruit Top Talent</h2> <p>Embracing a remote workplace makes it easier for companies to attract and retain top talent. Recruiting only in your geographic area significantly limits your access to top talent. Transforming your company into a remote workplace will allow you to recruit the best and brightest from around the world.</p> <p>We&#39;ve already discussed how work-from-home policies lower employee attrition. You&#39;ll avoid brain drain because talented employees will be more likely to stay with your company longer. Low attrition coupled with recruiting the best talent frees you up to focus on the big picture &mdash;generating profits and growing your business.&nbsp;</p> <p>Since many workers are looking for employers offering remote work, implementing a work-from-home policy will make your company more attractive to prospective employees.</p> <h2>Final Thoughts</h2> <p>The remote workplace has countless benefits for businesses and procurement and sourcing. With the right digital procurement and sourcing tools, your employees can do their jobs effectively without commuting to the office.</p> <p>Going remote will increase your employees&#39; productivity, make them happier, create loyalty, save you money and make it easier to attract top talent. As a business owner, allowing your employees to work from home may be the key to taking your business to the next level.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/talent" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Talent</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/remote-work" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">remote work</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/business-strategy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">business strategy</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="5 Remote Employee Advantages for a More Effective Workforce - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="http://futureofsourcing.com/5-remote-employee-advantages-for-a-more-effective-workforce"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Tue, 15 Jun 2021 02:00:00 +0000 Romy Catauta 2001 at http://futureofsourcing.com http://futureofsourcing.com/5-remote-employee-advantages-for-a-more-effective-workforce#comments What it Takes to Retain Employees in 2021 http://futureofsourcing.com/what-it-takes-to-retain-employees-in-2021 <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/What%20it%20Takes%20to%20Retain%20Employees%20in%202021.png"><a href="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/What%20it%20Takes%20to%20Retain%20Employees%20in%202021.png" title="What it Takes to Retain Employees in 2021" class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-1999-VSBfwSKqNjQ"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/What%20it%20Takes%20to%20Retain%20Employees%20in%202021.png?itok=0E6Kek1h" width="624" height="325" alt="What it Takes to Retain Employees in 2021" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-intro field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <h1>What it Takes to Retain Employees in 2021</h1> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/remote-work-four-ways-ai-creates-a-talent-procurement-advantage">Remote Work: Four Ways AI Creates a Talent Procurement Advantage </a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Employee volatility across the Fortune 100 is up <a href="https://www.workforcelogiq.com/news/pfizer-cardinal-health-merck-lockheed-martin-and-best-buy-lead-the-fortune-100-in-employee-retention/" target="_blank">8% on average over last year</a>. This means most companies in the Fortune 100 are facing above-average risk of losing key talent.</p> <p>Even with the labor market generally improving with the rollout of vaccinations, employee volatility and sentiment will be a top concern for employers in 2021. <a href="https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/media/press-releases/2020/08/ceo-outlook-press-release.html" target="_blank">KPMG</a> found as a result of COVID-19, CEOs across the world foresee talent risk as one of the most significant challenges for their organizations moving forward.</p> <p>Retaining key talent is just as important as finding new, high-quality candidates when it comes to building back and growing the workforce.</p> <h2>Leading the Charge Despite Uncertainty</h2> <p>Despite the labor market challenges of the past year, several Fortune 100 companies came out of 2020 with exceptionally strong employee retention rates. Workforce Logiq&rsquo;s annual <a href="https://www.workforcelogiq.com/workingbest2021/" target="_blank">Working Best Awards</a>, which are based on proven and proprietary data science, recently unveiled eight Fortune 100 companies that had the lowest levels of employee volatility &ndash; or in other words, the highest retention rate &ndash; over the course of 2020.</p> <p>According to the data, employees at the winning companies are six times less likely to look for external job opportunities than those at other Fortune 100 companies. And when it comes to what&rsquo;s making employees stay, the top retention drivers are strong leadership and business stability. This demonstrates these employees&rsquo; confidence in leaderships&rsquo; ability to navigate last year&rsquo;s disruptive events, what could come and the value they place on safe, healthy and stable work environments.</p> <p>Leading the charge in first place was Cardinal Health with a volatility rate 162% lower than the Fortune 100 average of 50.89. Northrop Grumman Corporation secured second place with a volatility rate 125% lower than the average, followed by Merck, Pfizer and Verizon which rounded out the top five. Also making the list are Lockheed Martin Corporation, The Proctor &amp; Gamble Company and Best Buy Co., Inc.</p> <h2>Let&rsquo;s Talk About the Data</h2> <p>The 2021 Retention Leaders were identified based on their Talent Retention Risk (TRR) Score<sup>SM</sup>, a proprietary, predictive measure of how likely employees are to be open to receiving unsolicited recruiting messages and external job opportunities over the next 60 to 90 days. The lower the score, the higher the retention rate. Only companies that have an average annual TRR score of below 45 and no single-month score above 50 qualify as an Employee Retention Leader.</p> <p>This year, just eight of the Fortune 100 made the cut &ndash; an especially noteworthy achievement considering 2020 was such a tough and uncertain year for the labor market.</p> <p>The scores are calculated by using AI to predict how various factors, including industry, company, and candidate-specific benchmarks contribute to employee stability and volatility. The AI algorithms consider macroeconomic trends, company-level social media and news sentiment, announcements of leadership changes or layoffs, job posting trends, industry news and events, and more, to evaluate retention risk.</p> <p>While every company&rsquo;s talent retention journey looks different based on their unique organizational factors, employers of all sizes and industries can become retention leaders and foster attractive work environments.</p> <h2>Looking Ahead: Where Tech Can Help</h2> <p>There are several ways organizations can leverage AI to achieve retention goals. In addition to predicting internal talent volatility and the work attributes most important to employees, which enables employers to proactively target at-risk talent with retention-based messaging and campaigns, the technology can project skills gaps. This gives employers an opportunity to get out ahead of capability and subsequent retention issues by upskilling existing talent and talent pooling new candidates to meet those future needs.</p> <p>Offering remote work arrangements even after the pandemic lifts will be a key part of most organizations&rsquo; retention strategies. As worker expectations shift toward more flexible options, employers can use AI to identify which roles are best suited for on-site arrangements versus remote or near-remote arrangements, where employees are within commuting distance from an office.</p> <p>The technology looks at job descriptions, salary profiles, local commuting patterns, employer-specific metrics, the level of collaboration required of the role and more, to predict the best arrangement for the role. This equips employers to make the staffing decision that is both best for the business and positions the employee for the most success. The flexibility of a hybrid remote work model meets employee needs and wants today and allows organizations to quickly pivot back to a fully remote workforce if there&rsquo;s ever a need.</p> <p>Gender, ethnic, neuro and other diversity are also directly linked to talent retention. When employees feel respected, heard and included, they&rsquo;re more apt to want to stay with the organization long term. &nbsp;For example, our AI-powered algorithms show that women are 40% less likely to be a retention risk if their job category has higher female representation in the workplace. Workers also tend to perform better in a diverse workplace, given they are regularly exposed to different ideas and ways of thinking, and can pick up new skills and knowledge from colleagues with different backgrounds, which can eventually create new career opportunities.</p> <p>AI can help employers move the needle on diversity initiatives and foster an inclusive and equitable environment. By predicting which prospective hires are likely to have diverse backgrounds &ndash; gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status and more &ndash; employers can include these candidates with the right skillsets earlier on in the recruiting funnel. This boosts employee representation and creates a more inclusive workplace where employees want to work and can thrive.</p> <h2>Retention and Recruiting Go Hand-in-Hand</h2> <p>Employee retention has always been a top challenge, but in today&rsquo;s hyper-uncertain landscape, retaining high-quality talent is essential for stability and growth. The key to being successful: leveraging AI and technology that enables companies to make smart, data-driven workforce decisions, equipping them to win and retain the talent they need to be agile and perform.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/employee-retention" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Employee Retention</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/artificial-intelligence-ai" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Artificial Intelligence (AI)</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/remote-work" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">remote work</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/neurodiversity" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">neurodiversity</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="What it Takes to Retain Employees in 2021 - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="http://futureofsourcing.com/what-it-takes-to-retain-employees-in-2021"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Mon, 14 Jun 2021 02:00:00 +0000 Christy Petrosso 1999 at http://futureofsourcing.com http://futureofsourcing.com/what-it-takes-to-retain-employees-in-2021#comments Outsourcing in the Age of COVID-19 and Beyond http://futureofsourcing.com/outsourcing-in-the-age-of-covid-19-and-beyond <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/FoS%20Graphic%20%282%29%20%281%29.png"><a href="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/FoS%20Graphic%20%282%29%20%281%29.png" title="COVID-19 Outsourcing" class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-1912-VSBfwSKqNjQ"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/FoS%20Graphic%20%282%29%20%281%29.png?itok=Ok01-l44" width="624" height="325" alt="COVID-19 Outsourcing" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/new-survey-reveals-impact-of-covid-and-remote-work-on-employees">New Survey Reveals Impact of COVID and Remote Work on Employees</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Among the multitude of challenges the COVID pandemic has inflicted on businesses, the heightened requirement to straddle the precarious divide between prudency with operational budgets on one side and not throwing the return-on-investment baby out with the expenditure bathwater on the other represents a particularly painful headache.&nbsp;</p> <p>Recouping lockdown losses while re-establishing and building new business flows to even survive (let alone compete) in increasingly difficult markets demands innovation, a highly skilled workforce and reassurance that all critical role bases are covered. However, with the level of commitment involved (budgetary prudence being the key, but not the only, aspect to consider) in engaging employees to deliver those vital skills, particularly in tough times when headcount, inevitably, is in the cost-pruning crosshairs, &ldquo;to recruit or not to recruit?&rdquo; is a conundrum at best. At worst, it&rsquo;s unfeasible wishful thinking.</p> <p>It is, then, unsurprising that more organizations are turning a fresh eye to outsourcing. The pandemic-driven acceleration of shifting towards some degree of remote working by in-house employees has arguably contributed to increased confidence in engagement of other forms of &ldquo;satellite expertise&rdquo; that previously may have been viewed with suspicion.<br />&nbsp;</p> <h1>Remote Working: The New &ldquo;Office&rdquo;</h1> <p>The infrastructure to support remote working was established during the first lockdown in the early spring of 2020. Business leaders were pleasantly surprised to discover that, far from employee engagement diminishing when not under the beady in-situ gaze of the presenteeism culture, motivation and, subsequently, productivity actually flourished. Work-life balance was no longer compromised by the relentless slog of the daily commute.</p> <p>It became clear that it simply isn&rsquo;t necessary for people to be entrenched within the same office building for 40 hours a week to successfully work together as a team. Quite the opposite was found. In fact, many organizations viewed remote working as an advantageous way forward. This sentiment was expressed by PWC&rsquo;s Director of Experienced Recruitment, Sam Ellis, in a recent Guardian online feature [2020], &ldquo;Location and where you actually do your work may be less relevant in the future. I think we&rsquo;ll still come together as a knowledge-based organization to share and collaborate but maybe not all the time.&rdquo;</p> <h1>High Quality &amp; Reduced Overheads: The Outsourced Solution</h1> <p>With remotely-based individuals and teams now a natural part of working culture, engagement of a trusted outsourced supplier as another off-site, dedicated team &ldquo;within&rdquo; a business represents an even more attractive prospect today than it did previously.</p> <p><a>The benefits of building a relationship with the right external supplier team are manifold, including:</a></p> <ul> <li>Relieving management from a lengthy recruiting process</li> <li>No longer wading through a mountain of CVs</li> <li>Easily accommodating worker absences</li> <li>Efficiently providing onboarding, ongoing training and performance management</li> <li>Expert service delivery from specialists in their field</li> <li>Flexible expansion of capacity to meet changing demands in uncertain times and tighter budgetary control</li> <li>Uninterrupted business continuity because supplier teams will never be absent from their &ldquo;posts&rdquo;</li> <li>High-level service delivery from Day 1 with no training or bedding-in period necessary, leaving permanent employees free to focus on core roles, increasing productivity and profitability</li> <li>Stability during uncertain periods because as businesses negotiate their way through challenging days, they are reassured the outsourced field of activity is being expertly handled, while demanding no internal management time<br />&nbsp;</li> </ul> <h1>Only the Best for the Best</h1> <p>The emphasis above on locating the right outsourced team is critical. Outsourcing will undoubtedly reduce costs in comparison to permanent employee recruitment but, as with anything, basing a &ldquo;purchase&rdquo; on cost alone while disregarding all else will often subsequently (and painfully) reveal the &ldquo;cheapest deal&rdquo; as being a false economy.</p> <p>Taking the time to research and choose a professional and conscientious supplier who will work with you to become an integral part of your business operation is crucial and certainly worth the time invested. At the very least, seek a company with ISO 270001 accreditation as reassurance that the company has been stringently examined to ensure quality and security at the heart of its operation.</p> <p>When a crisis compels businesses to find new ways of working and employ fresh initiatives to navigate through the turbulence, and the tangible worth of those initiatives soon becomes apparent, they endure beyond the crisis and become part of the organization&rsquo;s standard practice.</p> <p>If skills are needed that fall outside of an organization&rsquo;s own area of expertise, it makes sound sense, even in terms of quality alone, to seek and engage the same premium level of expertise that they themselves deliver to clients. When benefiting from that quality also sees reduced financial outlay, it is clear how in both challenging and more benign economic climates an outsourced model is a wise choice.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/outsourcing" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Outsourcing</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/covid-19" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">COVID-19</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/remote-work" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">remote work</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/supplier-relations" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Supplier Relations</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/recruiting" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Recruiting</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="Outsourcing in the Age of COVID-19 and Beyond - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="http://futureofsourcing.com/outsourcing-in-the-age-of-covid-19-and-beyond"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Fri, 15 Jan 2021 22:03:58 +0000 Marian Shepherd 1912 at http://futureofsourcing.com http://futureofsourcing.com/outsourcing-in-the-age-of-covid-19-and-beyond#comments New Survey Reveals Impact of COVID and Remote Work on Employees http://futureofsourcing.com/new-survey-reveals-impact-of-covid-and-remote-work-on-employees <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Remote%20workforce%20%281%29.png"><a href="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Remote%20workforce%20%281%29.png" title="Organizations have made significant changes to enable working from home, but what has it meant for employees, and, specifically, their expense claims?" class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-1897-VSBfwSKqNjQ"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/Remote%20workforce%20%281%29.png?itok=hxg6j99h" width="624" height="325" alt="Organizations have made significant changes to enable working from home, but what has it meant for employees, and, specifically, their expense claims?" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Organizations have made significant changes to enable working from home, but what has it meant for employees, and, specifically, their expense claims?</p> <p><a href="https://www.appzen.com/">AppZen</a>, the leading AI solution for modern finance teams, released new data that reveals how the pandemic and remote work have impacted company expense reports. CEO Anant Kale provides insights into the findings and how companies should take note when it comes to handling employee expenses moving forward.</p> <h1>Why did AppZen conduct the survey and what were the primary findings?</h1> <p>We surveyed 1,000 workers of companies with at least 250 employees to gain insight into how companies have adapted new expense policies and how those changes have impacted staff.</p> <p>AppZen&rsquo;s research shows the drastic shift from office to home working and the importance of clearly stated policies. Seventeen percent of employees worked remotely prior to COVID, spiking to 83% during the pandemic.</p> <p>We also found that 75% of employees submitted work from home expenses during the pandemic versus 69% of employees who submitted expenses pre-COVID.</p> <p>The findings also shed light on the importance of ensuring policies are current. Eighty-three percent of employees who received an updated policy said their employer fairly compensates them for work from home-related expenses compared to only 29% of employees at companies where the policy was not updated due to COVID.</p> <h1>What are employees submitting expenses for?</h1> <p>Our research discovered that claims for internet usage at home rose 6% and 46% of companies are reimbursing their employees for internet during COVID.</p> <p>While the pandemic has led to different kinds of expenses for workers, only 29% of employees feel they are fairly compensated for these new types of work from home expenses, such as childcare. Furthermore, only 26% say they feel uncomfortable about actually claiming these types of expenses.</p> <h1>How do gender and position play a role in expense reports and company reimbursements?</h1> <p>AppZen&rsquo;s data shows differences among executives and non-executives in the expense report process and a gender divide.</p> <p>Women are less likely (59%) than men (80%) to feel fairly reimbursed for work from home-related expenses.</p> <p>Perhaps not surprisingly, the C-suite and company executives are more likely to have company credit cards and expense accounts while the majority of employees are reimbursed for work-related expenses paid for with their own money.</p> <p>The COVID lockdown had a disproportionate effect on the shift to work from home on specific jobs and roles. Notably, 42% of business owners/business partners and 37% of sales managers worked from home prior to the COVID lockdown.</p> <h1>What can companies learn from this survey?</h1> <p>Our research has highlighted some of the challenges faced by organizations during the COVID pandemic.</p> <p>Most have resulted from a lack of action or, to be more precise, a lack of proactive steps to adapt to the changing situation. Here are three recommendations for organizations to re-engage with their workforce and build a modern, repeatable structure for managing expenses and change moving forward.&nbsp;</p> <h1>What shift do you see in work from home expenses?</h1> <p>Expense types have changed. Employees are not claiming classic travel and entertainment (T&amp;E) expenses. However, they are claiming new types of work from home-related expenses. These include one-off items such as office chairs, external monitors and desks; subscription costs such as internet usage; and COVID-specific items like hand sanitizer and face masks.</p> <p>Organizations need to adapt their expense policies quickly to embrace this changing environment. The new policies need to be clear, fair and configured in a software system that can apply them the second they are activated.&nbsp;</p> <h1>Once policies have been adapted, what else should employers be aware of?</h1> <p>Crises come and go but what we have learned from COVID is that the ability to adapt and roll out new policies quickly and dynamically is the cornerstone of resiliency.</p> <p>Best practice organizations will utilize their AI-enabled expense management platforms to automatically identify trends and changes in expense behavior. All enterprises should create adaptive policy frameworks to ensure policies receive regular reviews.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>With new policies in place, the organization should proactively communicate the changes and why the changes have been made. The first time such a significant change is made, the communication should be as visible and personal as possible. Webinars or video meetings are ideal in this situation.&nbsp;</p> <p>Communication should not stop after the initial flurry of activity. Reinforcement of the new policy rules and regulations is essential for ensuring maximum understanding and compliance.</p> <h1>What else does the research tell us and what should companies keep in mind?</h1> <p>We see several unexpected nuances in the research. From a perception that senior executives are getting preferential treatment to women feeling less well compensated for work from home expenses, these nuances can only be truly understood by talking to staff.&nbsp;</p> <p>CFOs understand the cost of perpetuating harmful industry and societal practices. This can cost the company valuable employees and put the organization at risk of blowback. Through analytics and rapid adaptability, finance leaders are equipped to change these practices and therefore the overall health of the business.&nbsp;</p> <p>In addition, organizations should create a regular cadence for feedback from staff. This ongoing dialogue should be at least quarterly and involve both the finance team and leaders from within the business.</p> <p>By actively eliciting details of employee concerns, the organization can continually develop and refine policies that fairly compensate employees for out-of-pocket expenses.</p> <p>For more information, recommendations and a look at the full report, visit: <a href="https://www.appzen.com/blog/four-ways-for-finance-teams-to-avoid-employee-disengagement-during-covid/">https://www.appzen.com/blog/four-ways-for-finance-teams-to-avoid-employee-disengagement-during-covid/</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/covid-19" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">COVID-19</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/remote-work" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">remote work</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/artificial-intelligence-ai" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Artificial Intelligence (AI)</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/expense-management" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">expense management</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/chief-financial-officer-cfo" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Chief Financial Officer (CFO)</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="New Survey Reveals Impact of COVID and Remote Work on Employees - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="http://futureofsourcing.com/new-survey-reveals-impact-of-covid-and-remote-work-on-employees"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Mon, 07 Dec 2020 20:00:27 +0000 Anant Kale 1897 at http://futureofsourcing.com http://futureofsourcing.com/new-survey-reveals-impact-of-covid-and-remote-work-on-employees#comments How to Successfully Mine Remote Contact Center Talent http://futureofsourcing.com/how-to-successfully-mine-remote-contact-center-talent <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Remote%20Contact%20Center%20Talent%20%281%29.png"><a href="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Remote%20Contact%20Center%20Talent%20%281%29.png" title="Recruiting and hiring remote staff is only the first step." class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-1885-VSBfwSKqNjQ"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/Remote%20Contact%20Center%20Talent%20%281%29.png?itok=MRSN_6Xk" width="624" height="325" alt="Recruiting and hiring remote staff is only the first step." title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/remote-work-four-ways-ai-creates-a-talent-procurement-advantage">Remote Work: Four Ways AI Creates a Talent Procurement Advantage </a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>When change is difficult it sometimes takes a little nudge to move in the right direction. Like many business environments, the contact center industry wasn&rsquo;t nudged this year&mdash;it was pushed.</p> <p>With most call center providers still cemented in the brick-and-mortar model, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the need for transformation. This is due to the restriction of operations at these businesses as well as employees&rsquo; hesitations to work on busy call center floors.</p> <p>The pandemic has made it clear that the future of contact centers is remote. The work-at home agent model and fully virtual solutions will eventually become standard practice. As a result, service providers must be ready for burgeoning recruiting opportunities and challenges.</p> <p>Identifying and hiring top call center agents is already more competitive than it has ever been. With a shift to AI solutions (including chat bots and virtual assistants), &ldquo;super agents&rdquo; who can handle more complex customer interactions with a white glove approach are in high demand, yet hard to find. We&rsquo;ve seen our fill rates drop as much as 50% as we&rsquo;ve become more selective in our search for the right agents.</p> <p>Going remote significantly expands your talent pool. However, while the quantity of candidates will skyrocket, quality may not. Your recruiting, hiring and on-boarding strategies must adapt to this new reality. Many providers who have shifted to either a remote service delivery or a hub-and-spoke model may still be using traditional hiring practices from their brick-and-mortar days. Unfortunately, these do not translate well. For a successful shift to a virtual setting, consider the following six ideas.</p> <h1>Do Your Homework on Local Labor Laws</h1> <p>The traditional brick-and-mortar setup limits your recruiting geography. Candidates will only drive so far for a contact center job. Alternatively, going remote allows you to hire agents from anywhere, at least theoretically. Whether or not you want to is another story. When recruiting nationally or internationally, be aware of logistical challenges as well as country, state and local labor laws.</p> <p>Let&rsquo;s look at a scenario where you are based in the continental United States. Do you have the resources to ship equipment to Hawaii, Alaska or other countries? Even within the U.S., labor laws vary significantly. In some regions you&rsquo;re required to furnish offices for your home-based agents. Is that something you can afford or are prepared to do? It is a smart idea to weigh these considerations before starting to recruit.</p> <h1>Find Agents Where They Are</h1> <p>The moment you cast a wider net, you&rsquo;re going to catch a lot more fish. Candidate flow will go up, which means fill rates will come down.</p> <p>To find qualified talent, it&rsquo;s critical to fish in the right waters. Think about what skills you&rsquo;re looking for in agents and determine where the ideal candidates congregate online. You can run banner ads on subject-specific forums or advertise on gaming and social media platforms that attract a tech-savvy crowd who thrives in a digital environment. This will allow you to optimize your marketing spend and increase the overall quality of your talent pool.</p> <h1>Introduce Realistic Job Previews</h1> <p>When you over-recruit in terms of volume you inevitably run into many &ldquo;tire kickers,&rdquo; candidates who apply without having a strong interest in the job. In an industry with high turnover, be extra vigilant in selecting hires with commitment and grit. The best way is to let candidates self-nominate out if they determine the job is not the right fit.</p> <p>There are companies that offer to pay new hires to quit before they walk onto the job in order to gauge their true passion for work. At KellyConnect, we take a different approach by introducting realistic job previews. Our candidates walk through interactive scenarios giving them an accurate sense of what the job entails. They also hear from advisors who share authentic testimonials highlighting benefits and challenges of the role. It&rsquo;s a process that eliminates many tire kickers.</p> <h1>Use Behavioral Assessments</h1> <p>Before we interview candidates, we want to know if they have the right personality and behavioral attributes to succeed as contact center agents. We have created behavioral profiles from our top performing advisors and screen candidates against them.</p> <p>Using data and business intelligence gained from a closed-loop process, we refine profiles over time as we learn that certain attributes are more or less important than we originally thought.</p> <p>There are constants, however. We&rsquo;re looking for candidates with an innate desire to help and those who exhibit a strong passion for something in their life, whatever that might be. In customer service, empathy and excitement are just as important as logical reasoning and trouble-shooting abilities.</p> <h1>Don&rsquo;t Schedule Interviews</h1> <p>We also don&rsquo;t schedule interviews. Our candidates do.</p> <p>This provides an additional layer in identifying truly committed job seekers. Up until this point the recruiting process has been fully automated. Once candidates have been vetted through that process, we invite them to interview online. They can schedule one within the hour.</p> <h1>Onboard and Engage Remote Talent Meaningfully</h1> <p>Recruiting and hiring remote staff is only the first step. For virtual contact center solutions to succeed, building a strong team culture is key.</p> <p>When colleagues are not sharing office spaces, fostering a strong sense of community is that much harder. We leverage an internal social media tool that allows employees to launch interest-specific clubs, host contests, share best practices and recognize top performers. We govern the platform, but don&rsquo;t police the content. It&rsquo;s our digital watercooler where friendships are being built. In fact, our advisors tell us one of their biggest fears about leaving is losing that community.</p> <p>There&rsquo;s always room for improvement, of course, but the numbers show that our recruiting, hiring and on-boarding process is working. Our employee satisfaction score is over 90% and our net promoter score is 80%. We attribute that success to how selective we are in the hiring process. We believe our fill rate of 5% shows our tools are working and helping us identify the diamonds in the rough. It&rsquo;s up to you to start mining yours.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/talent-management" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Talent Management</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/remote-workforce" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">remote workforce</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/remote-work" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">remote work</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/labor-practices" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Labor Practices</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/business-intelligence" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">business intelligence</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="How to Successfully Mine Remote Contact Center Talent - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="http://futureofsourcing.com/how-to-successfully-mine-remote-contact-center-talent"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Thu, 19 Nov 2020 17:52:23 +0000 Jeff Christofis 1885 at http://futureofsourcing.com http://futureofsourcing.com/how-to-successfully-mine-remote-contact-center-talent#comments