Roughly 40 percent of U.S. employees now work remotely at least part of the time, and the jobs site FlexJobs has launched a website dedicated to helping employers navigate the resulting challenges.
Three main sections make up Remote.co. The first features Q&As with leaders of companies with remote workers focusing on topics such as creating a remote-company culture, the “bring your own device” trend, vacation policies and productivity concerns. Among the companies sharing their insights are GitHub, The Cheat Sheet, Fire Engine RED, Geller Law Group and Trello.
A blog section focuses on three key categories: the benefits of growing a remote workforce, how to build remote teams, and how to manage remotely. Also included are discussions of industry-specific challenges.
The third section is dedicated to job listings, offering a place where companies and professionals can post, search for and apply to listings involving remote work.
Sara Sutton Fell, CEO of FlexJobs, said that she decided to launch Remote.co because there’s a need for information about the topic. “As the founder of a remote company for the past 8+ years, I’ve navigated my way through building a company with no physical headquarters largely on my own instincts and research,” she said via email.
Remote.co is free to browse but it costs $179 to post a job listing for 30 days. Remote.co also offers consulting services.
The improving job market is prompting more companies to consider offering perks like telecommuting, said John Reed, senior executive director with IT staffing firm Robert Half Technology.
That, in turn, means more managers are suddenly finding themselves with remote employees to oversee.
“A lot of these managers historically haven’t had to do this before,” Reed said. “Many are probably seeking resources and guidance in this area. There are a lot of questions.”
Last year, Reed’s firm conducted a survey of CIOs focused on the challenges associated with telecommuting. Communication and productivity were among their top concerns.