The skills shortages across the economy are well documented, with vacancies at record levels. Given such shortages, there is an understandable desire to rethink employment propositions and factor in remote or hybrid work arrangements to better attract talent.

Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond suggests that those firms that were offering remote and hybrid working were willing, and able, to tap into a much broader geographic area during their recruitment.

Remote work

The survey found that the availability of remote work understandably differed considerably by industry. For instance, in sectors such as leisure and transportation, nearly all full-time employees were on-site, this fell to just 54% for those in professional services.

Remote or hybrid working was also far more common among larger firms than among smaller firms, with bigger organizations twice as likely to allow employees to work at least one day per week from home. Perhaps unsurprisingly, therefore, these firms were also most likely to include remote and hybrid working options in their recruitment packages.

The researchers believe that this is probably due to their capability to better exploit new technologies and adapt HR and governance policies to suit a hybrid work arrangement.

Geographic reach

Perhaps most importantly, however, is that by including remote working in their recruitment campaigns, large firms were better able to trawl a much wider geographic area in their search for talent. Indeed, the researchers believe that offering remote work can fundamentally change the locational choices of both workers and their families.

It is perhaps worth noting, however, that even among firms that were offering remote-work options, nearly half of the workforce rarely or never took up the option. The authors believe that this could change if the workforce becomes more geographically dispersed, however.

What will be interesting is whether small and medium-sized firms begin to catch up as they themselves adapt to the extremely tight labor market and spread their own nets further in the search for talent. The initial evidence from the research wasn’t especially positive, with few firms planning to increase the availability of remote work at all in the year ahead.

If there is any consensus in the data it is that there is no real consensus. Even in sectors where remote working was popular, some firms were cutting back on its availability while others were ramping it up. With remote working strongly linked with a wider geographic reach in recruitment efforts, however, it might be something to consider in the current war for talent.