The days of packed subway cars, rush hour traffic, and running from your car to a meeting (that we all know should have been an email) are over. In this article, we talk about the new demands of remote workers.
The days of packed subway cars, rush hour traffic, and running from your car to a meeting (that we all know should have been an email) are over. Organizations realize that tech employees don’t want to work from anywhere; they want to work FROM anywhere, at ANY TIME.
New York City saw 68% more people leave than move into the city last year. Idaho became the most popular state to move to, with tech companies based in the state hiring like crazy even during COVID times.
When a workforce doesn’t have a central location, and so many have started to work remotely, what has changed, what do employers need to keep in mind, and how can everyone stay connected?
A Worldwide Talent Pool
Modern employees — especially those who work in tech —don’t want to sit in an office for 8 hours a day with a short time to grab a sandwich.
As proof, job postings in tech are becoming increasingly remote, with that uptick approaching 150% recently. These IT employees are in demand and looking to work outside the confines of traditional offices without traditional working hours. When developers and software engineers are looking for their next job, they may be in Amsterdam looking at a career in Los Angeles or Sydney looking at a position in Austin.
With 4.4 million software developers in the U.S. alone — expected to swell to nearly 29 million worldwide over the next three years — 29 million worldwide over the next three years — both the talent pool and the demand for specialized talent for short-term projects are only growing. Organizations like yours may need a few data scientists for six months to mine data and help leadership make informed decisions, and then perhaps a remote team of Mobile/App developers to build the perfect application across the next six months.
Ensuring the right people are being found, hired, and put to work quickly is critical to your success.
Changing Up the Onboarding Game
Once the employee is hired, they must understand what is expected of them. Here’s the thing, though — traditional onboarding is tedious for the many millennials and recent college graduates who are tired of their first week at work feeling like their first day of school. Who wants to sit in a conference room and look at a slide deck about the company outing three years ago?
The new mentality is “get me what I need, and get me working.” So what can you do to onboard new employees? Many tech companies have suggested “welcome boxes,” where employees can get a welcome package sent to their doorstep. Swag, perks, and stickers are an awesome way to welcome modern employees (especially in tech), then let them review an onboarding on their time at their pace. Paid lunches via a delivery service, hoodies, and a snack budget can help make your employees happy wherever and whenever they want to work.
Paying Remote Employees
After finding the employee and ensuring they’re onboarded, the payment process needs to be as smooth as possible. This has been a point where even the most forward-thinking organizations have struggled in the past. However, if your organization gets the reputation of being difficult to work for or be paid by, finding talent will become increasingly challenging.
Word gets around, and despite the ever-growing number of software developers, specialized talent pools are often small circles. There are backend things that talent doesn’t concern itself with but are critical to smooth payments.
Tax compliance, contract creation, and document management are all part of making sure “the trains run on time.” No matter if an employee is expecting to be paid in full for a job, paid monthly, or paid every two weeks, you need to ensure you have the flexibility to handle the expectations of your employees — and that means all of your employees—no matter when or where they work.
As you continue to discover ways to thrive in the new normal, you will face new challenges that aren’t even on your radar yet. Right now, the job market is scorching, and even the most loyal and long-term employees are taking new opportunities and leaving their organizations.
If you need to help backfill these employees, hire the right person for the right project, and ensure you’re continuing to put out high-quality work, Alto is here to help you find solutions to your unique needs. We’ll help you modernize and refresh your traditional outsourcing processes so you can build your future.
