The US alone says a 47% rise in 2019 in the number of individuals who chose a freelance career since 2018. Sure, the flexibility and convenience perks are contributing factors, as are the low HR, office, turnover, training, and salary costs for a company, but let’s look at this booming phenomenon in a little more depth.

Years back, firms only collaborated with remote service providers for the purposes of telemarketing, warehouse facilities, or some other operation that did not affect the immediate operations of the business every day. Now tech like interactive websites, cloud-based systems, video conferencing, etc. have allowed businesses to hire entire teams of people that never even set foot in their employer’s or client’s office.

A small business owner needing their bookkeeping done but doesn’t have enough revenue or capital to pay for office space and a full-time salary? Highly reputable remote teams from Madera.ai, Bench, or Pilot come ready with their services targeted specifically at new businesses and startups. The business owner can get their accounting done in time (and receive extra, valuable services) with only a phone call and a few emails. No time or financial expenditure spent on renting an office space, interviewing and hiring accountants, or worrying about doing your books yourself.

Remote teams are usually organized by other companies and are highly trained to deliver to any client within their field while ensuring quality and time management are adhered to. This has become an even bigger trend lately with remote teams becoming available for almost any field of work one can think of. Gaper.io, for example, provides software services through its trained and vetted team of software engineers. This completely rids a company of the task of not only hiring a software engineer (or a team) but also reduce operating costs, given the upward trend of tech salaries in America recently.

It is understandable though to see resistance to shifting to such modes of work, not only from companies but employees too. Companies will naturally be disconcerted at the idea of letting another party handle part of their affairs without ever meeting them in person. A few employees might also dislike the lower salaries. These factors are, however, easily trumped by the company’s cost savings and the employee’s freedom to take on extra clients and convenient work timings. It actually ends up making room for both parties to take on more clients and expand their market outreach in a time that would otherwise have been spent on managing an office-based team.

The future will certainly see a gradual advance in remote communication technologies and virtual management tools where artificial intelligence could be aiding businesses. Collaborative technologies, digital dashboards, and developments in new legal policies will also follow. Businesses should in turn aim to build amiable and long-lasting collaborations with remotely based teams by communicating fair deliverables and deadlines and treating them as a business unto themselves.