Over the past year, remote workingย has proven to beย less of a hindrance and more of a benefit to a lot of UK businesses.ย As aย result,ย business decision makersย are more flexible when considering candidates for employment, with new research revealing thatย nearly three quarters (73%)ย areย open to hiringย people fromย anywhere in the UK, rather thanย just those local to their business.
The study, conducted byย The University of Law Business School,ย also found thatย more than a quarterย (29%)ย of those businesses are open to hiring new staff from outside of the UK,ย as companies look further afield for talent.
This is hardly surprising, considering that more than a thirdย (36%)ย of UKย firmsย have seenย an increase in productivity in their staff since working from home was introduced, whileย almost a quarter (24%) have alsoย enjoyedย a boost to their profitability.
Interestingly, female decision makers are the most likely to employ a candidate from outside theย businessโ local area, with more than half (51%) stating they would hire from anywhere in the UK, compared to just 38% of men.
With theย demand for remote workers rising,ย this hasย also createdย increasedย competition in the job market,ย soย what qualities will makeย peopleย stand out as a candidate?
According to the decision makers polled,ย the top five most desirable qualities for a candidate in a remote working position are:
- Self-motivation (41%)
- Good communication (34%)
- Adaptability(24%)
- Organisation (23%)
- Teamwork (20%)
The data shows that businesses find self-motivationย to beย the most appealing characteristic when hiring a remote member of staff, with 41% sharing this view.ย Being able to communicate effectively whileย working remotely away from your colleagues is also a key asset, with a third (34%) of bosses seeking thisย as a keyย attribute.
By contrast, despite the challenges many UK workers have faced through the pandemicย in the last 12 months, resilience is the least sought-after quality, with only 4% of employers looking for this in a candidate.
Speaking about the findings,ย Andres Perez, Directorย atย ULawย Business School,ย commented:ย โItโs fascinating to see how well businesses haveย adapted to working remotely in the last year or so.
โAt the beginning of the pandemic, companies and employers were thrown intoย aย scenario where they had to adopt aย workingย dynamic thatย would have made a lot of employersย nervousย to begin with,ย butย many haveย foundย it beneficial.
โWithย remote working set toย grow further in popularity,ย the job marketย isย now more flexibleย and internationalย than ever,ย however,ย also more competitive.ย We are confident our findings will help inspire the next generation of the UK workforce moving forwardย to be open to opportunities beyondย theirย geographicalย area.โ
The University of Lawย Business Schoolย offersย a variety of business courses to helpย peopleย succeed withinย the changing landscape, find out more at:ย https://www.law.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/business/
