Why is a remote work policy so important for employers?
Joanne Mangan, Employers Lead at Grow Remote
According to recent research only 50% of employers have confirmed what their remote work policy will look like in the future. This means at least 50% of employers in Ireland do not have a remote work policy in place.
In reality, this number could be even higher, since many employers may have decided how they will work remotely, but may not have put this into a written policy yet.
So what is a remote work policy, and why is it so important?
A remote work policy is an organisation-wide document that captures the rules, norms and guidelines around how a company works remotely. There are many elements to a good remote work policy, including the remote working model, eligibility, security, working hours, equipment, in-person time and much more.
Here are 5 reasons why every company needs to have a strong remote working policy.
It will soon be a legal requirement
According to the Right to Request Remote Working Bill 2022, all employers will be required to have a written remote working policy. The policy will have to set out how remote work requests are managed and the conditions that will apply to remote work generally within the business.
It will mitigate compliance risks
A strong remote work policy should clearly outline the organisation’s policies around important aspects of remote work – such as health and safety guidelines, data protection, working hours etc. Having these elements documented gives everyone a defined framework to work with, leading to lower compliance risks for the company.
It will minimise the risk of attrition
Many employees say they are still uncertain about whether they will be able to stay working remotely in the long term. With the ‘Great Resignation’ continuing at pace, it is important to provide clarity to employees about how remote work will be managed, or risk your top talent making the move to a company which has a more clearly defined remote work policy in place.
It will help to attract the best talent
In today’s competitive hiring market, where everyone wants to attract the best candidates, it is essential to have a clearly defined remote work policy. According to research by LinkedIn, remote jobs in February 2022 made up less than 20% of all paid job postings, but attracted 50% of all applications. So companies cannot afford to be ambiguous about their remote or hybrid working policy.
If you are not clear about how remote working is managed at your company, you run the risk of losing out to the remote-first companies who showcase their remote working policies loudly and proudly on their careers pages and within their job descriptions.
It will help organisations to scale and grow
A strong remote working policy enables organisations to plan future growth. The policy should be designed to grow as the business grows, which means organisations will not have to go back to the drawing board when they scale.
Want to learn more?
Register for our workshop on October 22nd and learn how to build a great remote work policy for your organisation.
Sign up here https://growremotelearning.com/cfcourse/remote-work-policy/workshop/
