A Roadmap to Sourcing Talent in the Remote World | Gartner

According to a new McKinsey paper, “Americans Are Embracing Flexible Work—and They Want More of It,” 35 percent of sampled job holders report they can work from home full-time, and 23 percent can do so part-time. Job seekers also report that “autonomy over where and when they work” is among the top three reasons they are looking for a new job. As remote work continues to become more common, organizations are presented with opportunities for sourcing talent with fewer limitations and restrictions around a geographic location. This Gartner paper helps recruiting leaders to identify opportunities for sourcing talent for different roles from an expanded radius of proximity to the office or one of several offices. Figure 1 shows a spectrum of expanded location options with varying forms of flexibility, such as 1) One Business Location, 2) Expanded Radius From Location, 3) Choice of Business Location, and 4) Location Unbounded. Since unconscious and conscious bias can stand in the way of managers determining which roles align with the four options of remote work flexibility, page 3 includes four questions recruiters can ask hiring managers to make these decisions more objectively. 1) What activities does this role focus on? 2)  What are the different activities our team does? 3) Which of these activities can be performed flexibly? 4) What activities require employees to be in person, work specific hours or complete work in a defined manner?  While different roles and types of work lend themselves to varying degrees of remote work potential, objectively evaluating remote work feasibility can help unlock access to a deeper talent pool.