Study: Australian recruiters closed to remote employees
According to a recent survey, Australian recruiters are less flexible for remote employees compared to the rest of the Asia-Pacific region.
The survey conducted by recruitment specialists Randstad interviewed thousands of employees across the region and found that 79 per cent of Australian workers are unable to work remotely in their current job. In some cases, employees are looking for new jobs with the flexibility they desire, the survey reported.
This figure was significantly higher than the 65 per cent of workers in Hong Kong and New Zealand, 64 per cent in Malaysia, 62 per cent in India and just 59 per cent in China.
Randstad said Australian employees, on average, would like to work 70 per cent of their hours in the office and 30 per cent working remotely.
Randstad Group Director of Specialist Recruitment Steve Shepherd said if employers invest in sufficient technology to allow workers remote connection this could boost employee engagement and productivity.
"With flexible working arrangements and a good work life blend becoming more important to people, businesses which continue to overlook this could find themselves losing their top talent," he said.
"There are many ways organisations can be more flexible with their workforce, such as staggering start and finish times; hiring employees on a part-time basis; but mostly, it's just about business leaders being supportive when staff have personal commitments or need flexibility in the way they work."
Mr Shepherd said employees that really value this incentive and are given the opportunity are unlikely to waste it.
By incorporating flexible working strategies, Randstad's survey suggests 41 per cent of respondents believe it will boost employee engagement and 27 per cent agree it will assist with attracting and retaining the top talent.
Recruitment software can also be useful for businesses looking for a competitive edge. The software streamlines all processes and is an invaluable tool for hiring the best candidates over rivals.