In only three months, 2020 saw a surge in remote work like no other year. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced small to large enterprises to pull down their office shutters and allow their employees to work from home. This is the best time for companies to learn and compose themselves to support remote work and freelancers in the future.

 

By 2028, the U.S. is expected to have almost 90.1 million freelancers and remote employees. Even 99% of full-time employees, according to a Buffer survey, admitted to wanting to work remotely on some occasions for the rest of their careers. But these huge numbers would only add to the productivity of businesses globally if we eventually solve the major challenges of virtual staff management.

What are these challenges?

  1. Absence of trust

While working remotely or managing remote workers, trust lays the foundation of the work ecosystem. And right now, it is trust that people can’t find in this industry. Employees are worried about complete and timely payments, while employers often are stressed about not getting work of the desired quality.

  1. Lack of motivation

In a full-time, office-based job, healthy competition often serves as a motivation for employees to do their best at work. Remote workers, however, barely interact with other employees or get to know about the work done by their colleagues. This results in a lack of motivation to perform better without anyone having to specify the need for it.

  1. Inefficient collaboration mechanism

Time management is another crucial aspect of working with a remote team. The failure to keep the whole team on the same page in real-time could result in unnecessary back and forth to finalise a project. It is thus important that all team members get instant updates about the work.

How can Blockchain solve these challenges?

Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology that is widely recognised for its ability to streamline processes in an unbiased and transparent manner. Organisations working with remote employees can rely on a blockchain platform to regulate the workflow, right from the very initial discussions to project submissions and timely payments. By ensuring transparency throughout the management and work process, blockchain can add the much-needed trust to the remote work ecosystem. 

 

Smart contracts deployed on blockchains are digital contracts that can contain structured rules and terms that establish a proper work and payment process. Besides, these contracts are automated. They self-execute every time a set criterion is met either by the employer or the employee. Hence, employers can be sure that their remote workers will complete a given task before the deadline for timely payment. On the other hand, employees can be sure that the smart contract will make a timely payment every time they finish the work.

 

Another benefit that blockchain offers to organisations working with remote teams is low transaction fees for international payments. Using the traditional banking system, companies have to pay a hefty fee for sending payments to their employees in a foreign country. So, companies can reap the benefits of instant payment settlements and low transaction fees by putting a blockchain system in place.

 

Blockchains also share real-time updates with all the parties involved in a network. Remote workers and their employees can thus stay updated with the work progress and carry out their tasks accordingly. Additionally, these ledgers can effectively record work-data pertaining to every employee, which employers can use to create a reward system such that remote workers are motivated to produce better results to win the rewards.

Is Blockchain worth it?

According to a PwC report, 84% of companies are either implementing or planning to implement blockchain to improvise their work processes. And companies willing to work with remote workers must also consider leveraging the potential of blockchain to curb the issues of virtual staff management.

 

Are you ready to leverage this potential of blockchain?