2021 State of Remote Work Employer Survey
2020/2021 is almost in the rear view mirror for US small business enterprises. Those owners who have survived now face additional challenges with labor and supply shortages, lagging demand, rising taxes, and rising costs from inflation and rising wage demands.
Smart business owners are looking to technology to answer some of these threats while others are looking to talented remote workers to give them an edge.
Having worked for agencies and small businesses who have outsourced to virtual teams, I know it is an excellent route to attract the most highly talented producers. Two reports below, The 2021 State of
Remote Work Employer Survey Report by Payscale and the Incfile Small Business Workforce Management Survey indicate that SMBs are embracing remote work frameworks for their companies.
Corporations are getting into the remote worker recruitment channel too as more workers refuse to move back into cities such as Manhattan, San Francisco, Washington, Seattle and Los Angeles. The fact is, they can’t move back to the headquarters office. They can’t afford it, and new stats show they don’t want the lifestyle in the cities (commuting, pollution, crime) and instead have left for locations that give them a better work/life balance, lower cost of living and lifestyle benefits.
Accessing remote workers is actually moving companies into hiring higher performance freelancers, agencies and contract employees. The end benefit is actually much higher than they’ve been visualizing. And while it seems remote workers might take a pay cut to work from home, stats show remote workers are outperforming their office chained counterparts and earning more.
It may be that the remote work decision could be the best way for workers to find a job that’s more relevant and personally satisfying, and to earn a higher pay.
Remote Work Salaries
Ziprecruiter identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Remote Work From Home job is above the national average. The top cities included San Francisco, CA, Fremont, CA, San Jose, CA. Understandably, California cities such as San Jose, CA were above the national average by $9,999 (15.1%) and San Francisco, up $15,062 (22.8%) above the $66,180 average.
| City | Annual Salary | Monthly Pay | Weekly Pay | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | $81,243 | $6,770 | $1,562 | $39.06 |
| Fremont, CA | $77,989 | $6,499 | $1,500 | $37.49 |
| San Jose, CA | $76,180 | $6,348 | $1,465 | $36.62 |
| Oakland, CA | $75,347 | $6,279 | $1,449 | $36.22 |
| Tanaina, AK | $75,136 | $6,261 | $1,445 | $36.12 |
| Wasilla, AK | $75,136 | $6,261 | $1,445 | $36.12 |
| Sunnyvale, CA | $74,203 | $6,184 | $1,427 | $35.67 |
| Hayward, CA | $73,769 | $6,147 | $1,419 | $35.47 |
| Jackson, WY | $73,374 | $6,115 | $1,411 | $35.28 |
| Norwalk, CT | $73,275 | $6,106 | $1,409 | $35.23 |
Small Business Ready for Remote Work
Surprisingly, according to a report from incfile.com, small businesses were ready to go remote even before the pandemic. 53% said they had the technology already in place. Only 7% of SMBs reported to have failed to adapt to remote work strategies.
Incfile found that almost half of all survey respondents said they’re planning to make remote work a permanent solution within their business. And 35% more are working toward a hybrid structure (home and remote structure) is where they want to be.
The survey found that 26% are open to global employees and 11% are already using globally sourced staff, while 54% still prefer to hire locally. 24% are only hiring freelancers or contract employees, and 9% say they are hiring aggressively.
It seems SMB owners and managers are more open to hiring top notch workers where they’re available. They will be open to remote workers and they’ll learn how to motivate, support, empower and manage them best.
To attract and sign remote workers however, a suitable salary package has to be offered.
Payscale’s 2021 State of Remote Work Survey
Payscale’s new report for 2021 on remote work shows employers believe remote work will change the competitive landscape in their market. They found that over 25% of employees will work remotely and 81% of companies say they do not have a remote employee compensation strategy.
71% of marketing and IT staff are planning to work from home. Marketing has almost completely gravitated to remote work arrangements.
From the report, you can discover the organizations are accepting the need for remote workers and they’re making accommodations where possible. They found that salary for remote workers is typically higher than pay for non-remote employees and that 69% of employers do not intend to pay remote workers less (except Facebook).
The surveys didn’t conclude how much remote workers will be paid, but further insight is available on the payscale website.
Let’s take a look at marketing, content and SEO salaries via Payscale.
What is a talented remote digital marketing professional worth? Besides the impact they can have on the organization, the combined skills of SEO, PPC Specialist, Content Strategy, and Sales Conversion Optimizer can easily surpass $100k per year in value for companies that can benefit from their contribution.
Those companies with weak commitments to online lead generation and sales, hiring a talent remote marketer might be a significant investment. Additional talents in helping companies begin to adopt artificial intelligence solutions and to take the lead in learning and optimizing adds further value.
If you’re investigating hiring staff for your firm or startup venture, consider a multi-talented pro and then add specialists as you go. This will give you time to gauge what you’ll need. Your understanding, financing, and business goals may evolve. You may find you could be more competitive and successful with a bigger international sales potential.
Learn more about the value of SEO Specialists and Content Strategists. Need a serious remote marketing solution to help your business get launched well in 2022? Contact Gord.
More insight on the AI Marketers blog: Gord Collins | Advanced SEO Strategy | SEO Salary | Content Strategist Salary AI Marketing Software | Marketing Services | Marketing San Diego | AI Marketing Companies | Contact
