A new playbook designed to equip businesses of all kinds with the tools to successfully implement remote work permanently is being launched today (Wednesday 9th February 2022).

Ireland’s leading remote companies have come together to develop the Remote Playbook for SMEs. It contains everything a small or medium business needs to know about building a great remote company and unlocking the proven benefits of remote working.

“Remote working has been proven to help small and medium-sized businesses to be profitable, attract top talent, retain staff, increase productivity and deepen employee engagement – but it needs to be implemented in an intentional and structured way,” explains Grow Remote Employers Lead, Joanne Mangan.

“The unique feature of the Playbook and its greatest strength as a practical resource is that it contains the experiences, insights and expertise of Ireland’s leading remote employers – Flipdish, Nearform, Axonista, Glofox, Zyte and Boundless – and is supported by Chambers Ireland and Western Development Commission.”

The Playbook takes a whole-business approach, which Joanne Mangan says is critical to the success of any remote working model.

“From the first steps towards developing a remote working policy to guidance on sustaining a great culture with loyal, productive employees, the Remote Playbook for SMEs can help any business of any size to unlock the proven benefits of remote working.”

“We always say: remote working is good for people, for profit and for planet: the research on remote working backs that up. However, implementing a remote working strategy can be challenging. The Playbook is an end-to-end guide, full of real-world advice, examples and tools for any business, whether a start-up or a long established company.”

The conversation about remote working has moved on from the theoretical (“is remote working beneficial?”) to the practical (“how can we successfully implement remote working in our company”):

there is strong Government support for remote working,
90% of 35 to 44 year old employees who can work remotely would like to do so post-pandemic,
63% of employees are considering a change of jobs in 2022: they’re thinking about why they work, how they work, and wanting more flexibility and alternative benefits.
“Just one example: Waterford company NearForm, one of Grow Remote’s Employer Partners, has grown from two employees in 2011 to 222 people at the end of last year: the team is spread across 30 different countries. They credit the decision to be a remote-first company as being the key to their growth and success.”

“Remote work is not just ‘working from home’. It removes location as a barrier to employment: allowing employers to future-proof their businesses, play their part in transforming rural and regional communities and gain access to an incredible pool of talent.”

“In the best remote companies, it is underpinned by a carefully structured remote working policy: this is what the Remote Playbook for SMEs has been designed to support.”

Click to download the e-book here.