Strategies to Attract Remote Workers


From time to time, most companies have to look for experienced workers outside of their workforce. This practice has several benefits for your company, particularly if you are looking for remote assistance only for a single project or a specific period. Likewise, freelancers from various fields have the opportunity to work for your company without the need to quit their regular job or relocate to another city. This short guide will list the most successful strategies to attract remote workers for your convenience.

Remote working has become a force to be reckoned with. In fact, there is hardly an industry that does not rely to some extent on hiring remote employeesOpens in a new tab.. It is not only workers in the creative industries and the IT sector that are hiring their staff to work from a distance; it is also travel agencies, e-commerce, the healthcare industry, and other sectors that are switching to remote working.

Having workers work for you from their home office is a good way to cut down on the costs of having a ‘physical’ office.

Some companies and organizations have entirely turned to this business model because it saves money that would otherwise be spent on renting office space and time spent commuting every day to and from work. The ‘digital officeOpens in a new tab.‘ is slowly making the dreaded nine-to-five workweek a thing of the past.

Admittedly, attracting remote employees can be challenging, especially if you do not have many resources to invest in the scouting, recruiting, and training process. However, by implementing a few useful strategies, you will be able to achieve your goal and bring in the necessary expertise into your company.

Your company’s online image and presence will make all the difference

Regardless of the sector or niche in which they operate, most companies devote their time and resources to building a favorable reputation online as well as offline. Although relying on the age-old word-of-mouth marketing strategy has its advantages when looking for employees in your vicinity, unfortunately, this recruitment approach will not meet the grade if you want to expand your area of influence. That is why your online presence is crucial for building a favorable reputation that will attract remote workers.

The first (and easiest) step is to establish your company as an authorityOpens in a new tab. in the field by improving your website’s design. Think of your website as your resume – nobody likes an outdated, sloppy, and unappealing CV. Just as you would probably be reluctant to hire a remote worker who did not put enough time and effort into producing a clean and professional CV, the same logic applies in the opposite direction.

The visual design of your website sends a message that you care about your online image.

Present your company as a brand

Try to channel all the aspects of your company that are appealing through your website design. Think of what you want to project as a brand – what your values and vision are. If you are building your brand as a trustworthy company that has been in the business for quite some time, you have to design your website to relate that idea to both your customers and potential distance workers. If you are running a relatively new business, be sure to take the modern and innovative approach to your overall online image, which also means you should pay attention to your companies’ social media presence.

Good website design is important, but may not be enough to attract remote workers

There is more to a website than just the layout and font. Remote workers will visit the site to find out more about the job position, the work culture, level of formality, the dos and the don’ts, etc. An excellent way to approach this is to describe:

• what your company does,

• who is in your team,

what a typical workday looks like,

• what you expect from your workers

• what they can expect from you and your company in return.

This way, the job offer will be as transparent as possible. The remote workers will know how to integrate your project tasks into their schedules.

Another strategy you can apply to improve your ‘about us’ section is to include major company projects, employee testimonials, blog posts about team building workshops, or trips that you organized. Although this may seem counterintuitive at first, given that you are looking to hire remote workers, this ‘personalization’ serves to show your future remote employees that maintaining a healthy work environment is what your company is all about.

Advertise job openings for remote workers in the right places

The fourth technological revolution has probably changed the process of hiring employees for good. Which revolution are we referring to? The advent of the internet, of course. We should probably forget about classifieds in newspapers now that we have LinkedIn, Upwork, and other websites that make freelancing experts easy to find and reach.

If you would like to ‘keep it in the family’ and avoid having a middleman in the form of a platform that takes a certain percentage for each collaboration with a freelancer (ahem, Upwork), there are a number of massive online job boards that are incredibly effective for reaching the desired remote employee without paying too much in advertising fees. Check out online job boards such as WeWorkRemotely or Working Nomads to get a clearer picture of how you can recruit remote workers in this way.

If you have a soft spot for good-ol’ paper and pen, bulletin board type of job advertisement, then you should stop by a few co-working places where you can expect to find good remote workers. It is also a good idea to collaborate with universities since you can delegate minor tasks to students looking to work in the industry in the future. A job offering on the university website will most likely attract undergraduate and graduate students who would love to work remotely for your company.

The days of finding workers through job advertisements in newspapers are behind us.

Pay attention to the way the job advertisement is phrased

As with everything, the way you articulate what you are looking for will also make a difference when it comes to attracting remote workers. As with your website’s design, your language should reflect what your company is and who it is that you need.

Keep your language clean and to the point if you value professionalism above all, or fun and humorous if you approach work in a creative manner. If you want to make your job advertisement search engine-friendly, the SEO team at wpfullcareOpens in a new tab..Opens in a new tab.comOpens in a new tab. recommends analyzing how the job listing is phrased and how likely prospective employees are to see it.

Keep in mind that this job listing might be the only opportunity to reach remote workers. This means that you should clarify right from the outset what you want and what you offer. Accordingly, avoiding vague and inaccurate job requirements and unrealistic descriptions will save both your and the remote worker’s time.

Attract remote workers by offering the right benefits

When you have to hire remote workers that are in demand, providing coupons for free coffee and bagels at the local pastry shop is not going to cut it. Remote workers appreciate different kinds of incentives that make their job easier and more pleasant. For this reason, you could offer a slightly adjusted remuneration package for your employees who work for you remotely.

Remote workers will appreciate that you want to help them work more efficiently.

Offer professional development

Since remote workers’ main selling point is that they are experienced and skillful in their area of expertise, offering professional development opportunities is an attractive offer for freelancers and people who mostly rely on their vast knowledge and skills to find work. For this reason, a great strategy to attract remote workers is to offer courses on Udemy or other such websites.

Offer to cover all or part of your remote worker’s day-to-day expenses

For instance, securing life and health insurance will definitely attract the desired expertise to your company. Besides this, perks such as paid memberships at a co-working space in the city where your remote workers live will improve efficiency and the quality of the work they are contributing to your project.

Some remote workers find it hard to work from home, so offering employment perks such as financing part of their coworking membership is a good employment strategy.

It is most likely that the freelancers you want to hire already have an established routine and working spaceOpens in a new tab.,Opens in a new tab. so communicate with the candidate and inquire about their needs and then offer to cover a part of their daily costs on top of the fixed salary or hourly rate. Covering all or part of your worker’s monthly expenses is a great way to invest a tiny amount of money and get the best worker in return.

Photos used:
https://www.pexels.com/photo/happy-ethnic-woman-sitting-at-table-with-laptop-3769021/
https://www.pexels.com/photo/young-lady-typing-on-keyboard-of-laptop-in-living-room-4050315/
https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-using-black-laptop-computer-on-white-table-4065890/
https://www.pexels.com/photo/focused-mother-working-on-laptop-near-daughter-on-couch-4473903/
https://www.pexels.com/photo/computer-desk-hand-laptop-374631/
https://www.pexels.com/photo/pensive-black-man-with-newspaper-in-hands-4990926/

Steve Todd

Steve Todd, founder of Open Sourced Workplace and is a recognized thought leader in workplace strategy and the future of work. With a passion for work from anywhere, Steve has successfully implemented transformative strategies that enhance productivity and employee satisfaction. Through Open Sourced Workplace, he fosters collaboration among HR, facilities management, technology, and real estate professionals, providing valuable insights and resources. As a speaker and contributor to various publications, Steve remains dedicated to staying at the forefront of workplace innovation, helping organizations thrive in today's dynamic work environment.

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