I have spent a big chunk of my career working for clients based all over the UK and Ireland. Traveling with my life on my back – Laptop, Mobile Phone, Tablet and Docs!
My office is wherever I can find Wi-Fi or have reception on my mobile – I’ve never had pictures of my family on my desk and can’t remember the last time I had a desk drawer filled with spare shoes, tights and emergency snacks! I’ve gotten used to making myself comfortable wherever I am. Which is pretty useful in my line of business and to be honest, I really love it!
Interestingly for me, it was losing that flexibility in my last corporate role that partially led to me deciding to make Eden Mayers HR Consulting a full-time business, rather than a part-time side hustle!
Flexible working as a way of saving space, creating efficiencies and reducing overheads are being implemented in the majority of companies at the moment. The issue in many organisations is that they haven’t been flexible in the past and so some staff don’t want to work from home and some managers don’t have the skills to manage a workforce they can’t physically see.
On the other hand when I speak with small business owners, often the cost of office space needed to add to their team, can put them off of expanding and I have to remind them that they don’t have to have office space to have staff and they can also consider outsourcing work, too!
Did you know you can have employees who work from their own homes?
You have an obligation to ensure that they have the correct equipment, including a proper chair and workstation. You have to be clear about their objectives and how you monitor success, but with the right framework in place, it is possible and cheaper than expanding your office space.
If you need some help to grow and scale your business, without the cost or commitment of an additional work-space; here are some things to think about:
Does the role require expert knowledge or qualifications?
The cost of employing a full time Accountant, HR Manager, Legal Counsel etc; can be very high. It may well be better to look to outsource these types of skills until you are of the size that can bear the costs of the overheads (including training and development).
Is this a long term or short term need?
Work that is short term, may be able to be packaged as a project and outsourced or advertised as a fixed term contract. If it is a long term need then looking for an individual to employ or a contractor may be a better option.
Is it a full time or part time role?
Often we believe that all roles need to be full time and permanent. There are a lot of highly qualified individuals that wish to use their skills but cannot commit to a full time role. If you can be flexible to open yourself up to a wider skills pool, who may well be open to working from their own homes.
Can the work be carried outside traditional working hours?
Work that isn’t time bound can generally be delivered from anywhere in the world. This opens you up to work with night workers or skilled individual in other countries.
If you need some assistance getting the right policies and procedures in place for a home based worker, book a risk free call and let’s discuss how we can help you to grow your business