With Cloud Solutions for Business, Good Help Is Not Hard to Find

Hiring is a lot like dating after 30: It seems like most of the good ones are already taken, and competition is fierce for talent that's still on the market. And it can be hard to meet new people, unless you expand your search beyond those in close proximity to you.

Cloud solutions for business help to solve these challenges. By making the workspace increasingly mobile, cloud communications enable employers to widen their searches, find and hire the best people for the job, and retain those employees by offering something more and more people now want — the ability to work from anywhere.

Downshifters, Dads, and Disabled Workers

Fortune predicts that as more millennials mature into the next stage of their lives, they will soon be leaving cities in droves, opting for suburban or even country living. Add to that the tens of millions of people who already live in rural America, and you've got an enormous talent pool that may not be within commuting distance to your company offices. However, they are within telecommuting distance.

Remote work also appeals to parents, many of whom leave the workforce because they want to spend more time with their families or because the cost of childcare now amounts to an extra mortgage payment. Providing these caregivers with the technology and flexibility to work around their lives opens up a huge, untapped market of job candidates who might otherwise opt out of full-time work outside of the home.

Telecommuting has also created new job opportunities for disabled individuals, for whom traveling to an office might be difficult or even impossible. With the ability to work where they're most comfortable, they can be just as productive and innovative as anyone else on your team.

Of course, this is not the extent of those who'd appreciate the opportunity to work remotely. Most everyone is yearning for a greater work/life balance these days, and they're increasingly looking for employers who will help them achieve it.

Finding the Right People

Smart leaders don't want to hire just anyone. They want to hire people who are not only qualified for the job, but also bring enthusiasm, passion, and dedication to their work.

Depending on a business' location, this can be challenging. In smaller towns, the talent pool is often limited, particularly for highly specialized jobs. In larger cities, there are more professionals, but also more businesses seeking to hire them, many of which offer salaries and perks your company might not be able to match.

Location doesn't matter for companies that hire remote workers. Not only can they hire from anywhere, but they also have a competitive advantage when it comes to attracting top talent.

For example, Jenny Collister, founder of the Reef & Rainforest travel agency, said she believes that successful travel agents must be passionate about travel and adventure (translation: the kind of people who don't like to stay in one place). To attract these wandering souls, she offers the balance and flexibility of being able to work from home or on the road. With a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone system and mobile app, her agents can even help customers plan trips while on trips of their own.

"I like offering flexibility to my staff," Collister said. "Some employees embrace it, and others like more structure, so we try to maintain a balance that ensures that our customers are fully served during work hours and often beyond."

The Value Equation

Having a remote workforce doesn't just help companies find and hire the best talent, but studies confirm how productive these employees can be. For employees, working remotely can help meet their professional and personal priorities. There are some employees, particularly millennials, who may value work/life balance and flexibility more than a big paycheck. With the high cost of daycare, some parents may offer to work for less if they can work from home. Of course, remote workers should expect to be valued and compensated as any in-office employee would. But the remote work model sometimes offers negotiable flexibility that can appeal to both employer and employee.

Mark Krassner, founder of Knee Walker Central, has built a successful business with a team of remote workers spread across the country—all of whom are tied together by a hosted VoIP phone system. This arrangement affords employees an attractive level of flexibility. In fact, several of them have relocated their home offices without missing a beat. With cloud solutions for business, all workers need is an internet connection in their new location, and they're up and running. Krassner also points to how productive his remote team has been for the company.

So yes, hiring these days can be a lot like dating. However, there's one big difference: In the case of hiring, long-distance relationships actually do work.

Speak to a Vonage Business consultant to learn more about cloud solutions for business.