.webp?width=1200&height=800&name=Mariah-Collins-Axcet-HR-Solutions-Speaks-on-National-vs-Local-Candidate-Pool%20(1).webp)
There are countless jobs that can be carried out completely remotely. But should they be?
Years after the pandemic drove employees who could (technically) perform their roles at home out of the office, the question lingers: are we doing our jobs just as well from home? And if we are, should we continue to work remotely when it serves us? Should we hire workers with the understanding that they’ll work remotely—perhaps indefinitely?
One of the most frequently asked internal hiring questions of the decade, from 2020 onward, will likely be: “Should we recruit a remote candidate for this role?” There are countless pros to recruiting a remote candidate. Most obviously, your candidate pool is widened exponentially when you do so. But what are you giving up, and where is the balance?
In this article, we’ll explore these questions, with a focus on how you might consider your own organization’s remote capabilities in order to widen your candidate pool for a necessary hire.
Generally speaking, yes, recruiting remote workers widens your candidate pool—often exponentially. According to Forbes Magazine, “companies that are willing to look further” for their next hire “open themselves up to a much larger talent pool.”
A wider candidate pool almost certainly leads to an increased quality of candidates, too. As Forbes puts it, recruiting remotely “means you can expect more qualified candidates with sufficient training and experience.”
RELATED: Remote Work Best Practices for Improved Productivity & Mental Health >>
RELATED: Managing Remote Employees >>
The main difference between a national candidate pool vs local hiring is the geographical reach. A national candidate pool opens up opportunities to find talent across the country, offering a diverse range of skills and perspectives, while local hiring targets individuals within a specific region, often facilitating in-person team dynamics."
When it comes to hiring for remote vs in person work, you might be convinced of the benefits. It can be tough, however, to get the rest of your organization’s leadership on board. According to the Society for Human Resources Management,
“Although numerous studies have shown that employees are often more productive when they have the option to work remotely, more than three-quarters of the leaders surveyed by Microsoft remain skeptical, a phenomenon that the researchers dubbed productivity paranoia."
But the statistics on the viability of remote recruiting are clear. If you’re looking for data-driven support for remote vs in person work, consider the following:
According to a USA Today Blueprint poll, employees love the benefits of remote working. Fifty-nine percent of workers believe they have better work-life balance, 55% say they save time not commuting to work and 40% say they’ve reduced their stress or burn-out.
An Upwork study found that far more hiring managers saw increased productivity in their remote workers rather than decreased productivity, and over half of hiring managers believe that the transition to remote work has “gone better than expected,” while only one in ten believe it has been worse.
According to the US Career Institute, “companies can save up to $10,600 per employee that works remotely.” Savings come from all angles, including the lower costs of office rent, utilities and in-office perks like coffee and snacks, reduced wear on office fixtures and furniture, reduced use of in-office supplies, lower parking and commuter reimbursements, and more.
While many companies are open to hiring a remote worker if the candidate is the perfect fit, it’s not uncommon to retain a preference for an employee who can come into the office, at least part of the time.
If you have concerns about wanting to attract local workers as well, you can absolutely recruit in a dual way—for example—by creating one job posting using “remote” or “United States” as the listed location, and another using on or more of your in-person hubs as the listed location.
Once you receive candidate resumes from both postings, you can compare and contrast the options you have at hand.
RELATED: Remote Work: Four Key HR Compliance Concerns >>
There are so many benefits of tapping into the national candidate pool vs local candidate pool—too many to let concerns over payroll administration and HR compliance slow you down. If you’re considering switching to remote vs in person work, Axcet HR Solutions is here to help you make the transition a smooth one.
How can we help you expand your candidate pool? It’d be easier to list the ways we couldn’t. From our advanced nationwide recruiting capabilities, to our comprehensive payroll administration assistance, to our talented team of HR compliance experts, we exist to help small businesses succeed.
When it comes to HR, Axcet has you covered. Schedule a consultation with us today to learn more.
.png){kind=logo}
Let us know what you think...