Help Wanted
Amazon, Dell, GE, American Express, and Apple are a few of the household names that are hiring. Regarding volume, Fortune magazine’s recent analysis highlights 10 companies that include SAP, Kaplan, and Convergys who hire significant numbers of remote workers. If you are looking for one of today’s best resources, review the annual Top 100 Companies to Watch for Remote Jobs created by FlexJobs which spotlights organizations that recruit for remote or work-from-home roles. The comprehensive list is based on analysis of over 30,000 real companies and organizations involved in a variety of industries.

Communication is Key
Several large companies indicate that the best remote workers are strong communicators who value teaming and sharing ideas that drive results. Other success criteria include accountability, goal setting, and having the ability to measure success. It is clear that introverts and those with a “lone wolf approach” will struggle in a remote job.

Companies Leading the Trend
Why is hiring remote workers and adding flexibility into the work week gaining ground? It is due in part to the financial success stories. Here are a few highlights from Steven Greenhouse’s New York Times interview with non-profit and finance leaders that is worth sharing:

Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute, saying, “The nation’s accounting firms excel at this for a boring, accounting reason — they’ve looked at the numbers, and they see it helps.” Jennifer Allyn, managing director inPricewaterhouseCoopers’ office of diversity, notes that stepped-up flexibility policies have helped cut turnover to 15 percent a year, from 24 percent.

The article adds, “Firms estimate that the cost of hiring and training a new employee can be 1.5 times a departing worker’s salary, so reducing turnover by 200 employees could mean $30 million in savings.” Sharon Allen, Deloitte’s chairwoman, said her firm’s flexibility policies saved more than $45 million a year by reducing turnover.

Moving Forward
Now that you are armed with a better understanding of today’s workplace trends, is it time for you to find a new or improved role? In either instance, here’s a strategy from Sara Sutton Fell, CEO and founder of FlexJobs that may help you take a step forward in your current role:

If you are already employed and like your job, there’s no reason why you have to start a brand-new job search. Find out your company’s policy on workplace flexibility to see if it already offers work-from-home options. Then, go through your job duties to see which ones need to be done in the office and which ones can be done from your home office. Schedule a meeting with your boss to see if you can transfer your in-office job to a virtual one by pointing out how much of your job is already telecommuting friendly. And be prepared that your boss may only let you work from home a day or two each week to start until he or she gets used to the new working arrangement.

Wrap Up
Have you successfully captured a remote working role or added flexibility to your work week? Share your thoughts with the audience by adding a comment below. Here’s to your future success.