When employing staff for your business, it’s important to consider where your employees will work. Will they work alongside you in a traditional office environment? Will they work from their home? Or will it be a mixture of the two? This post compares the three working models (in person, remote and hybrid) and their benefits/drawbacks.
In Person
‘In person’ is the term for the traditional method of hiring employees. This involves you and your employees working together in the same building. Some employers prefer this traditional model because it enables better human bonding and collaboration. There are also many employees out there who prefer getting out of the house and working with people.
Choosing to hire in person employees is more expensive than hiring remotely, because you have to provide enough office space, as well as equipment like a computer and desk. It can also limit your hiring options to local candidates who are able to commute.
Remote
Remote working became commonplace during the pandemic and has continued to be popular ever since. It allows workers who may not live within commuting distance to apply for roles, which means a greater range of applicants and more chance of finding the perfect candidate. It may even allow you to hire staff without needing an office building. Employees can also be given the freedom of working flexible hours, which can be a huge benefit for those with pets or kids, providing a better work-life balance. There are recruitment companies that can help when hiring for flexible jobs.
Of course, hiring remote workers comes with its challenges. You’ll have to communicate digitally or via the phone, and without using screen monitoring software it may be difficult to check what your employees are doing. Often, hiring remote workers requires a greater level of trust. Being more tech-savvy may also be necessary, plus it’s important that you understand the laws regarding remote employees.
Hybrid
A hybrid workforce involves hiring some people to work in person and others to work remotely. This could involve hiring some permanent in person employees and some permanent remote workers. Or you could ask employees to do a bit of both – they may have the freedom to work at home most days, but may be expected to come into the office at least once per week.
Such a system could allow you to experiment with solutions like hot-desking – If you’ve got less desks than you have workers, you can simply assign desks to different employees on certain days. This could save you money, allowing you to grow your workforce without having to upsize your office.
Overall, a hybrid workforce allows you and your employees to benefit from the perks of in person working and remote working. However, you need to be able to create an organised system for managing employees in different locations. Some employers may find this to be more stressful than hiring a wholly in person workforce or entirely remote workforce.
Conclusion
There is no right option when it comes to deciding how to hire employees. It is likely to be up to your own personal preferences and needs. Compare factors like cost, ease of collaboration, talent pool size and technological requirements to work out which method is best for you.