In the past, employees were hired, worked, and retired from the same company. They punched the clock at the same location each day, like clockwork. Similar to many aspects of business, the nature of the “work environment” is changing. Hiring outside your geographical area has become the norm. Technology is the driving component in this change, allowing companies to grow internally and externally.
There are numerous benefits to hiring outside your geographical area and allowing your employees to work from anywhere at any time. These benefits are talking points throughout the accounting and bookkeeping industries. What advantages does hiring outside of your geographical area pose?
1. Diversified Employee Pool
The first, and arguably most important advantage, is diversifying your employee pool. It is easy to fall stagnant in thought patterns and ideas. You no longer need to hire from a local pool of potential employees. By hiring outside your geographical area, you’re able to hire employees with diverse personal, educational, and professional backgrounds. This can be a great advantage for your company. Along with a larger and more diversified employee pool, comes a sense of healthy competition. A competitive edge helps ensure the highest quality of work from your employees. Likewise, long standing employees have a lot to gain from new hires. They can learn from the experiences of their peers and apply new-found knowledge to their work. A diversified employee pool brings fresh ideas to the organization.
2. Cultural Alignment
Diversifying your employee pool can also improve company culture. The number of cultures identified in the United States grows daily. Representing those cultures in your employee pool allows you to align with more potential customers. This can help bridge cultural and geographical gaps. Carter Baldwin discusses the importance of bridging cultural gaps in the workplace by referencing a classic movie. In “My Cousin Vinny,” Joe Pesci plays a New York attorney who comes to the South to try to get his nephew out of an Alabama jail. The humor plays off the stereo-typically opposite styles, which every viewer sees as a credibly realistic conflict. Joe may have avoided this conflict if his firm had hired regional employees who worked remotely.
3. Flexibility is the New Functionality
Employees with more flexibility, prove to be more productive. The cloud now allows employees to work from anywhere at any time. When employees can work from anywhere at any time, they are not held to a traditional work schedule. The days of working 9 to 5 are a thing of the past. With more time to focus on the clients’ wants and needs, the relationships built are stronger, the work done is at a higher caliber, and the company builds a strong reputation.
The cloud offers numerous benefits to the companies adopting this technology. The option to hire outside of your geographical area is just one of those benefits. Having employees working anywhere, anytime is the future of business and the cloud is making this possible. By expanding your prospective employee pool, you are pushing your business into the future. Utilizing the cloud as well as other technologies to expand your search for the most qualified employees has become easier than ever. Has your firm considered hiring outside of your geographical area? If not, it may be time to transition.