Businesses and organizations based in cities around America are finding themselves increasingly short on excellent talent as professionals across the board are seeking to live elsewhere. This is thanks to a combination of skyrocketing housing prices, changes in technology that allow anyone to do their best work from anywhere, and the global talent crunch phenomenon.
Thanks to technological advancements, America is on the cusp of a new age for work. Whereas before professionals were tied to exact locations dictated by proximity to corporate headquarters, in today’s world, both employees and contractors can get their best work done wherever it is most convenient for them.
Other factors contributing to the dispersion of talent to suburban or even rural areas is in part thanks to the very real talent crunch gripping the nation. Employers simply can’t find the talent they need close to home. By widening their talent pool and enabling employees to work remotely, organizations benefit from a broader talent pool.
Employees, meanwhile, benefit from more flexible work conditions and higher levels of work satisfaction that inevitably cause them to stay at their jobs longer. This, in turn, reduces turnover, saving employers money on recruiting, training and hiring new employees.
The Talent Crunch is Here to Stay
No longer just a short term problem, the talent crunch is in fact expected to only get worse if anything as we head into the next decade. In fact, McKinsey & Company estimates that both America and Europe will be at a deficit of 16 to 18 million college educated workers. Also astoundingly, the majority of corporate executives view hiring among their biggest obstacles!
With the talent crunch worsening, and organizations around the world now competing in the harshest of environments for attaining skilled talent, it’s no wonder that organizations are thinking outside the box on how they can better enable remote work as a way to widen and maintain their talent pool.
What About the City?
Unfortunately for employers, the big city, once the mecca of skilled professionals, is quickly losing its appeal to workers. Skyrocketing housing prices are pushing young and seasoned professionals alike out of the city in search of housing havens where they can actually afford to live and keep up a certain lifestyle. The willingness to commute is also something of the past, as more and more workers search for jobs with flexible hours that allow them to ditch the morning commute. This is particularly prevalent among younger workers.
What is perhaps even worse news for the “city hub” minded companies is that as many as 71% of working professionals find city life to be “crippling” in comparison to the kind of lifestyle they could find for themselves elsewhere.
To combat this, employers are turning to remote work as a the most immediate solution. A recent study conducted by Citrix found that as much as 31% of organizations polled are already looking for talent nationwide – not just those in the immediate area.
Flexible Work Becomes Mainstream
Once perceived as a fringe perk reserved for tech startups and the self employed, flexible work has quickly become the mainstream and expected way to get work done. Some even argue that flexible work is already the norm, with some studies showing that upwards of 40% of workers already work remotely at least one day a week.
And why not? With technology that makes easy communication accessible to all, it’s no wonder that so many feel more productive doing their work from home or even from their local co-working space or coffee shop.
What Can Enterprises and Organizations Do To Stand Out?
With the rising tide of remote work and talent shortage, the most obvious way for employers to stand out is to simply ride the wave. They can enable secure remote work, thanks to advanced and fully secure solutions.
Take, for example, the combination of Stratodesk software and any of the major VDI or Cloud Desktop providers. Thanks to Stratodesk’s secure endpoint OS and management solution, employees can get secure access to their virtual apps and data without adding burden on IT resources. IT, meanwhile, can rest assured that their digital perimeter is secure. In fact, Stratodesk software enables them to monitor and manage their entire network at a glance, including peripheral devices. Endpoints can be managed as near or as far away as needed.
Stratodesk Software – Solving the Talent Crunch
In addition to powering and managing new and/or repurposed devices, Stratodesk software solves a plethora of advanced use cases by delivering unparalleled technology options to enterprises and organizations. Things like bring your own device are solved easily by booting Stratodesk software in live boot mode without harming the underlying OS. NoTouch Cloud enables a flexible solution for remote work, and high performing devices like the Raspberry Pi based Citrix Ready workspace hub allow system administrators to get remote workers set up and connected to their desktops with virtually zero IT involvement.
The Talent Gap Can Be Crossed
More than a simple problem that needs to be solved, we are witnessing a fundamental shift in the work culture of America. And it is a shift that should be celebrated, not mourned over. As the industrial revolution once brought workers streaming into cities, the digital age will allow workers to choose where they want to work while enabling employers access to a much wider pool of fantastic talent.
By enabling remote work, Stratodesk continues to innovate, helping forge the future of work.
