A guide to remote work, flexibility, and compensation

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As part of our new partnership - Figures X Flexa, we’re bringing you a new series discussing remote work, flexibility and compensation.

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Across the series, we’ll cover off topics including:

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• The benefits of remote work for employees (from a flexibility perspective)
• Building your location compensation package 
• Tackling the gender pay gap 

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Who are Flexa Careers?

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Flexa Careers is the global directory for Flexified employers - companies utilise the platform to boost their employer brand, attract top talent, improve DEI and reduce hiring costs. All whilst enabling hundreds of thousands of candidates to access truly flexible companies/jobs offering an improved work-life blend - all in one place. Candidates can filter by their specific requirements, whether it be dog-friendly, remote-first or fully-remote workplaces or even companies that offer work-from-anywhere schemes. There is a multitude of options to help candidates find the most suitable role to match their flexibility requirements and skill set. 

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The best people and companies know that flexibility is non-negotiable, and Flexa helps them find one another. 

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Want to become a verified, flexible employer? Start by taking Flexa’s free benchmarking quiz to receive tailored insights and find out how you stack up with your industry. Take The Quiz

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The Demand and supply of remote work 

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Why has remote work become the ‘norm’?

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The pandemic shifted the job market and how we work on its head, creating a world where workplace flexibility is now the ‘standard’. 

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Remote work would have been extremely difficult to find pre-covid - the pandemic has helped companies to recognise that the standard 9-5 office job is not the only way to build and manage a business successfully. With the right policies and tools in place, this is very much possible. Companies have also seen the benefit of flexibility when it comes to their employees,  increasing productivity, happiness levels and overall morale. 

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Not only is remote work a benefit to companies, it also enables employees to regain control over their personal lives obtaining an improved work-life balance. 

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We don’t all function at our best within an office environment; working styles suit individuals differently depending on preferences and lifestyles. A remote job brings freedom - our careers make up a big part of our life, and it’s important we know that it shouldn’t overtake our lives completely. 

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Remote work isn’t the only flexible working option 

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When we think about remote work, we must remember that there are different options/styles of working. One preference may work for one but be less suitable for others. Some of these options we also know aren’t appropriate for all companies. Let’s take a look at some of the flexible working options below:

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• Fully remote work
• Remote-first
• Hybrid working 
• Flexible working hours 
• Part-time/compressed hours 
• Work-from-anywhere schemes
• Job sharing 
• Nine days fortnight (like at Figures)

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What are the most popular flexible working arrangements?

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Remote-first roles have grown in popularity over the course of 2022, and fully remote roles have become less popular. In 2022, job searches for fully-remote roles fell by 33% (down from 76% in January to 51% in December).

‘Work from anywhere’ schemes also rose in popularity. The number of job seekers interested in ‘work from anywhere’ policies peaked in March 2022 - with 81% of job seekers including it in their search preferences. Overall demand has remained high and is very much a keen option for those who want to travel and explore the world or have family living abroad. The rise in digital nomads has also likely contributed to its popularity. 

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We’ve also seen a gradual rise in flexible working hours, seeing an increase of 22% across 2022. Whilst preferences for part-time roles have almost doubled since the start of the year. 

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What does this show?

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The number of job seekers looking for flexible roles has grown exponentially; combining this with demand is a no-brainer as to why the ways of working have evolved so rapidly. Undoubtedly, we expect growth to continue, and for companies to attract and retain top talent, companies must adapt to this new way of working or be left behind. 

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With the increasing supply and demand for flexible working arrangements, companies should also review and adjust their procedures, policies and frameworks to align. This includes important elements such as compensation packages which are ultimately a key decision-making factor for candidates when applying for or accepting a job. 

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Compensation packages for flexible working

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When you are looking to hire someone in a remote position, there are a few key compensation actions to think about:

• Aligning your compensation philosophy for fairness.
• Defining your remote compensation strategy.
• Communicating clearly to your employees.

Strategies to setting your remote compensation

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Going international/remote is all fun and games until it's time to evaluate your compensation strategy. Unless you want game over in employee retention, you better ensure that your policy is fair!

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"When it comes time to remote compensation, there is no right or wrong decision - it varies company to company based on your compensation philosophy. You have to make the right decision for you!" - Virgile Raingeard, CEO at Figures

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There are 3 main remote compensation options:

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Option 1: Equal pay approach

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TL;DR everyone paid the same salary regardless of location. Works well with US base/US revenue.

• For your employees, is it fair to pay the same thing everywhere? Especially in regards to spending power?

• What happens if you scale up or expand to different countries? Will you pay the same salary in Berlin as San Franciso?

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Option 2: Localised pay

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Pay adjusted per location (city/country/continent). There are two options:

• Define a salary grid in main location, then define a location factor. Location factor can be based on: cost of living and/or cost of labour.
• Define local salary ranges using local data. Source local role by local benchmark data. Lucky for you, Figures has something to make your life easier, meet the Global Salary Converter Tool.

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Option 3: Cost-based approach

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Spend same amount of money on each employee regardless of where they are based.

• Heavily focused on the recruitment costs & not so much on the employee or their cost of living
• Not very popular

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An example of how to structure your compensation package? 

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Meet Whereby, a video communications platform based in Norway and teams spread out across the globe. Figures spoke with them to learn about how Whereby’s compensation philosophy works – and how their framework is engineered for fairness and transparency. Read the full article here.

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“As a fully distributed company you have a responsibility to look at compensation much earlier than a traditional single-geography company,” explains Jessica. “Because there are massive differences between markets, you can quickly get into a position where there are significant pay gaps. These things are painful to correct later on as you have to outlay cash, you may have to reduce salaries or suppress them. The compensation you don’t look at is just a fire burning slowly out of sight.” - Jessica Zwaan, COO at Whereby

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Stay tuned for our next content coming up in the series in partnership with Flexa Careers!

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Looking for more resources, tools and content?

That's why we created Figures, you don't need to be a compensation expert, we are. With our an all-in-one compensation platform updated in real-time, expert HR and People insights, we want to make your job more efficient and power more fair decisions.

• Follow us on LinkedIn to never miss an update
• Learn more about compensation and best practices on our blog
• Check out our product tutorials on YouTube

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