Remote work has become increasingly common over the last several years, and the COVID-19 pandemic ramped up the number of remote workers in the United States big time. Employers and employees have both had to make a lot of changes to their day-to-day lives to adjust to the new environment and new working relationships. What many companies haven’t considered is adjusting the pay for their remote staff. Should your remote workers be paid differently? Here are a few things to think about.
Review the Market
First and foremost, you need to review the market to ensure what you are providing your staff with is fair. You need to determine what you can afford, whether it is at or below market. See what competitors in your industry are offering remote workers in terms of compensation.
The location of your business and the locations of your employees come into play too. Review what the standard pay rates are for where your employees live versus where your company is located.
Identify Effective Work From Home Strategies
Unfortunately, not all positions should be worked remotely forever. It isn’t a good fit for all jobs or all companies. Take the time to truly decipher what jobs can be done effectively from a remote location. If remote work simply isn’t feasible for your company, don’t break your back trying to make it happen.
Identify the positions, if any that can be worked remotely long-term and make them part of your business strategy. Then, take some time to consider what resources will be needed, and changes will need to be made to provide your remote workers with a positive environment.
Adjust Your Policies
Before you make any changes, you need to adjust their policies around pay. While you may have decided that remote workers will take a pay cut or increase, you need to write into your policies that pay changes may occur. You should also include any information about location-based pay or compensation for materials for their remote office. This will help your organization ensure consistency and equity across the board.
Be Proactive
You need to be proactive in communicating with your employees. If your staff finds out independently that they are being paid differently, it could hurt morale on the job. Take the time to explain any discrepancies, such as location-based pay or altered pay for remote workers. Having policies in place and strategies for hiring remote workers will help make sure all of your practices are consistent and equal. However, communicating with your employees about these policies directly will help instill trust in you as an employer.
The Staffing Resource Group can help your organization with your remote staffing efforts. We will discuss your goals, pinpoint the talent you need, and assist you in every step of the hiring process. Our team of professionals will also help you stay updated on changes in the industry and suggested pay rates. Really, the ways our team can help you are endless. Contact us to learn more about our services.
