America’s workforce experienced a seismic shift in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only did it shrink, it became immediately remote — a change of a magnitude that many experts predicted would have ordinarily taken years or even decades to achieve.
And, according to a recent survey, this new, remote workforce is ready to settle in. The survey, conducted by Blind — an anonymous professional network — found that most employees (64%) at some of the country’s largest companies would choose the opportunity to work from home over a $30,000 raise. In fact, of the 45 companies surveyed, just two had more employees choose the salary increase over the option of remote work.
In the mind of the American workforce, the work from home workday is here to stay.
A tight labor market favoring a qualified workforce is complicating any company’s efforts to recall its staff to the office, as employees know they now, more than ever, have the option of finding remote work elsewhere. So, the onus of adjustment falls squarely on employers, particularly those who believed that managing a remote workforce would be a temporary obstacle.
Not so, it appears.
A widely-accepted life that once revolved around an office as an external, physical destination has evolved to one that accommodates business and home in one space, eliminating commutes, eliminating time cushions for child care coordination and eliminating office-based HR interactions typical during recruitment and onboarding efforts, as well as long-term retention practices related to time off and benefits.
A cloud-based platform, however, allows employers to easily meet their workforce right where it has become comfortable. HRNext Direct, offering integrated solutions with its SaaS platform, simplifies HR processes, reporting and compliance and allows employees to manage all of their HR needs from afar, wherever they are.
Affordable, scalable and dependable, HRNext Direct’s platform allows remote workers to access records related to payroll, request and manage time off, track accreditations, and record time and attendance — all while providing visibility to managers, keeping them aware of an individual’s progress and activity.
And all of that accessibility leads to valuable, increased efficiencies.
For example, HRNext Direct’s employee self-service portal empowers a company’s workforce to keep personal records and data updated by allowing individuals easy access to make changes to marital status and address without needing support from an HR staffer. In addition, the portal allows companies to create and make available contact lists and organization charts for reference at any time.
And, HRNext Direct’s time and attendance function tracks hours worked, including overtime, while tracking capacity, so project managers and HR staffers can more appropriately schedule projects and staffing increases to match busier periods.
Not only does the versatile system eliminate unnecessary paper processes, it seamlessly integrates with an already mobile workforce that still requires the same level of sophisticated support as a pre-COVID workforce did.
To see how HRNext Direct could benefit your remote workforce, reach out and request a demo.
