Remote work is different. So it's no surprise that your remote employees need different benefits and perks. Read how to build a perfect out-of-office workplace so that your team could make the best of it.

In order to attract top talents and retain current employees longer, you should think of job perks not just as some cool things that your remote workers would want to brag about but as solutions to challenges they have to deal with. You might ask the team what they'd like to improve in their WFH experience and offer them some benefits based on the answers. The individual approach shows your great accountability and usually pays off.

However, we suggest you start by paying attention to the most common issues that remote employees are now facing which include social isolation, lack of needed hardware and software, home and family distractions, maintaining mental and physical wellbeing, lack of interactions with colleagues, etc. As a result of addressing these challenges, your workers' loyalty and productivity will rise as they feel more appreciated.

Here are some recommendations from Placesetters on how to do it.

Technology and workplace

It goes without saying that modern offices are usually equipped with the most recent technology to make all the processes faster and more effective. But if your company goes remote, it doesn't mean that your team has to lose this opportunity. You can reinvest some money saved on office rent, furniture, and other on-site supplies into providing needed equipment to your employees.

It could be a regular allowance, one-off payment covering 100% or part of a purchase, or reimbursing the expenses. The choice of what to offer depends on your team members' specific needs — high-speed Wi-Fi, a powerful laptop, software tools, a bigger monitor, coworking membership, a scanner, etc.

There's nothing more annoying than a poor Internet connection or constant glitches when you are trying to complete an important task. Most likely it will lead to a decrease in productivity and satisfaction. Help your employees with their WFH setups so that they could continue to show good results out of the office.

Wellbeing and mental health

The evidence suggests that healthcare benefits are extremely valuable for workers and it seems to be even more relevant in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Working in the same space where you sleep can cause problems with maintaining work-life balance and lead to burnout.

Insurance packages can be hard to arrange for employees who are based in different countries but there are other ways to support their wellbeing. For instance, covering gym membership fees or organizing corporate virtual workout sessions for your team. Also, you can invite a mindfulness teacher and set up daily get-togethers for meditation.

A lot of companies now are offering special employee wellness platforms which make the processes easily-managed and well-organized. They engage workers by assigning different health tasks, setting fitness challenges and competitions, and using games and gift cards.

Home and family care

It is difficult and time-consuming to combine job responsibilities with household chores when working at home. By eliminating some domestic distractions, you will help your remote employees to stay focused and engaged.

Being at home all day, one needs to spend more hours on cooking and maintaining one's place clear. You can offer to pay for meal delivery, cleaning services, or laundry to tackle these issues. This is a perk that not everyone expects from their employer and it can let you stand out amongst your competitors in the battle for top talents.

Some of your employees might have to look after their children which makes their WFH experience much more complicated. A huge relief for such workers would be free access to professional babysitters or online classes for kids to keep them occupied.

Team building and socialization

Among the most common challenges for remote employees are social isolation and a feeling of separation from coworkers. It can be especially harmful if your whole team is remote because communication is much easier when people know each other in person. That's why team-building events should become a routine in your company.

You can organize monthly Zoom calls to allow workers to connect on a human level and talk about something except for their work. Also, it would be great to set up a grand meet-up once a year with the entire crew so that each of your employees could feel engaged.

If it is out of your budget, such small but lovely things like sending your team members a cake on their birthdays will aid in creating a strong company culture.

Personal and professional development

Remote employees value their career development as much as on-site workers do. When your team members are not in the office, it can require more effort to reach out to them and talk about their progress in the company but constant feedback is needed to maintain a good level of motivation.

You should not forget about educational opportunities for your workers. Fortunately, nowadays a huge variety of online courses is available, and providing access to them would be a great job perk. Investing in employees' professional growth increases the chances of them staying with your company as long as possible.

Another useful benefit for your remote team would be getting them subscriptions to different content platforms — VOD services like Netflix or Amazon Prime, magazines and newspapers, paid online forums, or libraries. Those employees who pursue their passions outside of work are more likely to bring fresh ideas to the workplace itself.


Struggling to build a remote team? We at Placesetters provide a fast, hassle-free, and affordable hiring solution.