5 Reasons Why Remote Team Members Are Good For Your Nonprofit

Finding and recruiting professionals for your nonprofit can be a time-consuming task. You likely have a list of qualifications, expectations and goals, but can be limited to your city when it comes to finding that perfect person.

This is where remote work can help.

By removing the geographical barrier, a nonprofit organization can reach its full potential by finding employees who truly care about making the business prosper. This applies to both part- or full-time staff, and when searching for volunteers.

It may seem hard at first glance. It may also require a cultural shift within the organization.

However, the positive outcomes of hiring remotely can mean big things for your nonprofit. Since 2014, Harvard has shown that remote teams are more productive than their office counterparts.

And that’s just one benefit. Let’s get into a few more.

5 Reasons Why Hiring a Remote Workforce Can Benefit Your Nonprofit

1. It’s a Fiscally Sound Decision

Many nonprofits are looking for ways to cut down on costs, so that more donations and fundraising can go toward their missions instead of overhead.

Having a physical office translates into multiple costs, both fixed and variable. Such costs include rent, heating, electricity, supplies, equipment and others.

Avoiding these expenditures allows for smarter budgeting and less waste. You can either provide equipment or have your team use their own devices if they’re working remotely.

Many remote hires clock in from the comfort of a home office, co-working space or while traveling whenever they wish.

2. Relevant Experience

Better productivity is not the only perk of hiring a remote workforce.

It also gives you the opportunity to find even more talented people as the pool to choose from gets larger. You could end up hiring someone who has expertise in your nonprofit’s focus area, which isn’t always possible when searching within your city.

You can hire someone not just from another city but even from a different country and time zone. The key here is to set standard work hours if needed, where team members can overlap for better collaboration. Some nonprofits don’t need this, but it’s good to keep in mind once you start looking.

Once you have that, you’re free to search talent from across the world, ensuring you find the best fit for the role.

3. Better Engagement

Employee engagement is one of the top goals for any business, because it can have such a big impact on how well teams perform.

Enforcing an in-office policy for a set number of hours each day means that employees can struggle with meeting family and other commitments, adding stress to their day.

On the other hand, a remote work setup allows for more flexibility. Employees can work during their most productive hours, ensuring they’re engaged and focused when they need to be. Their work time isn’t spent worrying about outside tasks, so they’ll be empowered to get more done while working.

4. Cut Down on Commutes

Commutes are a necessary evil if you live and work in a big city. But maybe they don’t have to be.

First and foremost, when you don’t have to commute, you save time and money. You also start the day feeling more refreshed instead of stressed or frustrated from sitting in traffic.

It is a win-win situation for both the employer and employee.

But just how beneficial is it to skip the commute? Your team members could save nine days each year just by cutting out a 26-minute commute. That’s not something to overlook.

It’s a powerful comparison when considering whether to hire locally or go remote.

5. Using Tech to Your Advantage

With a large number of great tools available, remote work has become easy, collaborative, and productive.

Even though nonprofits can lag behind in terms of IT expertise and technology due to budget and resources, there are simple tools you can start using today that will make work more streamlined. The best remote tools aren’t complicated and don’t require a major investment.

Tools such as Hubstaff’s time tracking for nonprofits would be an ideal solution to effectively manage your team’s schedules and availability. Your remote staff can use it to track work hours, so you know exactly which projects are being worked on and when. You can even enable GPS for teams that are more mobile and dive into reports that help you decide where you need more support or resources.

Beyond this, you can also find tools that help you find remote talent, pay them, manage projects in a more Agile way and more.

Next Steps for Finding Remote Team Members

Now that you know the benefits, it’s time to consider hiring remotely.

Filling a position quickly is not as important as finding the right talent who will be carrying out your organization’s values. It may require some time and effort at first, but the end result is a reliable team member who is working transparently and tracking their own time. You may even be able to grow your team faster once you’re set up for remote work.