Why Working Remotely Can Improve Your Business Financially

Sophia Belnap

Being able to work from anywhere can be a huge advantage to professionals working in a variety of industries. While a lot of companies originally made a shift to working from home out of necessity, many are opting to maintain these types of operations permanently because it offers so many different benefits. Here are a few of the most salient financial advantages of being able to work remotely.

Avoid Paying for Commercial Space

Commercial rents are increasing throughout various regions. Many types of businesses need to allocate a considerable portion of their operating budget towards rent. Moreover, it is worth noting that commercial leases often do not offer the same maintenance and managerial benefits of residential leases. In contrast to renting a unit for habitational use, renting a commercial space for a business purpose may entail a lot of responsibility for maintaining the premises. In effect, this means that a lot of companies have to pay out-of-pocket for essential needs such as electrical work, landscaping, or snow removal.

Having a team of remote workers can spare companies from increasing rental prices. If you can take renting commercial space out of the operating budget, you may be able to lower your monthly overhead substantially.

Save on Insurance

Renting a property to operate a business instead of buying one will not necessarily enable you to avoid insurance costs. In fact, running a business in a property that you don’t own involves a considerable amount of risk exposure. It is prudent for all commercial renters to get comprehensive insurance coverage that can address potential liability to a property owner. This type of coverage can be an important safeguard for a business in the event that there is some type of accident on the premises that results in costly damage. In fact, agreements to lease a commercial space commonly contain a clause which requires lessees to maintain minimum threshold levels of general liability insurance as a condition of their tenancy.

Prevent Interruptions

Centralizing your business’ activities in one location could ostensibly offer some elements of convenience, but it also bears a couple of risks. A problem affecting the site of your business’ operations could make your regular activities impossible. For example, a weather event could force your entire workforce off of the road. Likewise, a building issue that interferes with your use of the premises such as a power failure or a structural problem could bring your operations to the standstill. Having a remote sales team averts these types of business interruptions and the expense that goes with them.

Enhance Efficiency

In general, remote workers are able to reach higher productivity levels than they could in an office setting. When people are in an environment where they feel comfortable, they can stay engaged in their work tasks and tackle their to-do lists more efficiently. In a typical office setting, there are many different sources of distraction that can take workers off track. When you are working from home, you are largely in control of your working environment and less vulnerable to distraction. Of course, it is worth noting that working from home could involve its own set of distractions, but you will likely be better able to manage distractions in an environment where you are able to exercise a higher level of control. When you and your colleagues can boost productivity and get more work done in the same amount of time or less, it has the effect of raising the quantity and quality of work product on a company-wide level.

Retain the Most Important Members of Your Workforce

Being able to work remotely is a big perk for a lot of people. Some exceptionally qualified job candidates might come to consider it as a prerequisite for any new employment position that they take on. 

In addition to getting the benefit of highly qualified personnel, you’ll probably be able to contend less turnover. In general, turnover can have costly ramifications for a company particularly in small businesses. They may be forced to operate at a diminished capacity until they can find an acceptable replacement for a departing employee. Also, they may have to expend a substantial amount of time and resources in their talent acquisition process. Furthermore, it may be a while before a new team member is operating at full-speed. During the time that they are ramping up capacity, their work may have a reduced value to the company. Ultimately, it is advisable for companies to minimize the possibility of turnover and the hardships that it presents by working to recruit and retain outstanding team members.   

By implementing the option to work remotely in your company, it can help you attract and retain the most qualified applicants in your industry and prevent you from losing them to competitors. Likewise, your current roster of MVPs may be more likely to stay on.