When the pandemic forced many companies into remote working for the first time, the ensuing chaos of muted mics and patchy Wi-Fi couldn’t detract from one of the biggest collective realisations that Jérrard Wayne has long been an advocate for – staying at home might be a better way to work.
There are lots of reasons why working in the same space makes sense, especially for creatives. However, questioning traditional arguments is valid when companies who have embraced working remotely have managed to thrive with their entire team collaborating virtually. According to US e-learning company, CoSo Cloud, 77% of remote employees say they’re more productive when working from home and with even tech heavyweights like Twitter committing to indefinite home working, is it time all companies followed suit?
We already know internal culture can make or break your brand, so when Buffer’s 2021 State Of Remote Work report shows that more than 95% of people would encourage their friends and family to work remotely, it makes sense to give your employees the freedom to work in a way that suits them. However, the benefits of remote working extend way beyond team morale; if you’re in the creative industry, remote working also increases your opportunity to add true diversity to your team, which will have immeasurable benefits to the work you create for clients.
Diversity Boosts Creativity
Branding, communications and strategy are all about perception, so considering how your work will resonate with audiences is essential. If your team includes people from all walks of life, across the city, country or even the world, the breadth of their lived experience gives you a head start. Collaboration between teams with varying viewpoints stimulates creativity, elevates ideas and creates room for imagination to flow. The different approaches a truly diverse team bring to the same challenges also helps with innovation and keeps standards high – which is great news for your clients.
If you give your people the flexibility to work from home, diversifying your team instantly becomes more achievable. Removing location as a prerequisite widens your recruitment pool, which means you can extend job opportunities to communities that are traditionally excluded from capital-city-based careers. These potential employees can add valuable regional and international insights that others may miss, helping you avoid the traps of stereotypes, unconscious bias and cultural insensitivity, which audiences regularly reject.
One of the other benefits of remote working is a greater choice of candidate, making roles far more accessible to people with a disability or chronic illness. This provides an opportunity for those too often overlooked by business. Working remotely eliminates this barrier to work, ensuring you can find the best person for the job, wherever they are and whatever their circumstances.
However, remote companies need to consider and address any barriers to attracting talent because of their working environment. Some potential employees may prefer their colleagues not to have a window into their personal lives while at work, so it is important to offer simple provisions to ensure privacy is respected.
Attracting the most skilled people for the job boosts your capacity to push creative boundaries and produce quality work. It also makes your company more appealing to in-demand candidates who prioritise good work/life balance and can choose where they want to be.
Keeping the team connected and motivated will require a little creative thinking if you’re fully remote. At Jérrard Wayne, we balance our remote work with regular in-person workshops and client visits. And of course, whenever a project required, we’d get together to collaborate – allowing us the best of both worlds. However, during the pandemic, when in-person team meets weren’t possible, we kept connected with virtual team drinks on a Friday evening, casual catchups and attending virtual workshops and seminars together.
Pre-pandemic, fully remote companies were sometimes viewed with caution. However, the way businesses have adjusted to overcome the challenges of the last 18 months is proof most of us don’t need to share offices every day to get the job done. If you have an engaged and passionate team, who love what they do and enjoy the flexibility of remote working, productivity is likely to thrive. The benefits of remote working might differ across industries, but it will universally help you broaden your company horizons, unlocking new levels of originality that set you apart from the rest.
With several years of remote working as an agency under our belts, we’re experts in making it positive and productive. Get in touch to see how we can help.
