Thanks in part to many of the ingenious cloud tools and services available today, telecommuting remote jobs are on the rise, offering a great deal of flexibility and, for the lucky few, the options to travel and explore. CloudTweaks for example, is a huge supporter and believer in providing telecommuting opportunities especially in this day age with the large number of Cloud based tools available. The cost cutting is another major benefit which helps keep overhead costs to a minimum.
Now for some resources for those startups interested in offering telecommuting opportunities.
Nomad List’s selection of welcoming locations with cost of living ranging from $456 to $5,897 per month is enough to inspire even the most fainthearted among us to take advantage of today’s cloud tools and opt for a remote working experience, but aside from the thrill of adventure, remote jobs are also offering benefits such as reduced overheads, decreased travel time and costs, and improved work-life balance.
According to Flexjobs, an online job site for remote employers and employees, the list of top 100 companies offering remote jobs in 2016 includes a number of the tech giants such as Amazon (3), IBM (7), VMware (21), and Apple (47), and according to their research, telecommuting job listings increased by 36% between 2014 and 2015. IT jobs seem to offer the most opportunities, but remote appointments in healthcare, education and marketing are also making their mark.
Though we all know one or two nomads, most of us are happy to settle in one spot and just take the odd vacation. Several startups are catering to these more common needs of flexibility and short-term adventure. Sabbatical provides one- to three-week remote work experiences, complete with accommodation, co-working space, and business and social programming while Nomad Pass offers professionals access to co-working spaces in cities globally. Teleport helps keep the cost of living low by analyzing data from various cities and has also created a new tool, Flock, that helps those who manage remote teams find affordable and appropriate meeting spots for their dispersed team members.
Aside from the above startups inspiring employees to work remotely, a wide assortment of tools which support and enable remote working are being developed. Included are collaboration tools for better communication and project management, productivity tools that help create routines and prevent distractions, and virtual office tools for suitable administration and management.
iDoneThis – a simple but effective tool for maintaining clarity, each day team members receive an email reminder asking “What’d you get done today?” This allows users to record achievements and consolidate team accomplishments in one place.
HelpScout – “customer support software with a personal touch”, HelpScout keeps teams organized and customers happy and offers a host of features for managing email at scale.
Xero – bringing enterprise level accounting to the multitudes, Xero offers endless levels of reporting and customization and saves the rainforests by eliminating the need for paper invoices and receipts. Simply snap a photo from your smartphone or forward receipts to your Xero inbox. The enormous array of 3rd party integrations serves only to make Xero all the more ingenious.
TOPDOX – this document collaboration platform supports any document format across any cloud storage. Now you don’t have to choose between OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.
Remote working policies are not only boosting happiness and reducing expenses but improving staff retention, and with the support of the cloud we’re seeing tools that promise greater productivity, distraction-free environments, and global reach for both employers and employees.
By Jennifer Klostermann
