Silicon Valley is looking to Canada

Remote and virtual teams are a fast-growing trend in the modern workplace. And it’s not hard to see why. Digital workers can give almost any company a much-needed competitive edge in the marketplace—no matter the industry.

Just take a look at the most forward-thinking companies in the world—the Silicon Valley tech juggernauts. For years they have capitalized on Canada’s top talent and minds, bringing them into their company fold.

And even more recently, these tech forerunners have started building virtual teams primarily made up of remote Canadian employees, cutting down on costs and boosting productivity as a result.

So whether you’re a business looking for software developers, customer service reps, graphic designers, IT professionals, PR managers, or computer engineers, here’s why hiring them to work remotely from Canada is a great idea.

Save Money on Office Space and Utilities

The first obvious reason that hiring remote workers from Canada is a smart move for

your American business is the money you’ll inevitably save from not having to rent out office space or pay for utilities, cleaning staff, security, or insurance.

And not having a physical office doesn’t pose a problem like it did in the past. In fact, virtual workspaces have come a long way in recent years. Just take look at apps like Trello, Slack, Mattermost, and Google Docs that make remote communication and collaboration a simple and straightforward process, resulting in increased productivity at a fraction of the cost of maintaining a physical office space.

Decreased Costs for Hiring Remote Employees

Recruiting employees from other countries can be unavoidable for some companies. Realizing the benefits of a bigger and more diverse talent pool often comes at a cost through incurring additional expenses like moving fees, visas, legal fees, temporary housing, and other travel expenses. And the pain is felt on both sides, with foreign employees leaving families and friends behind and starting from scratch often with no credit history, familiarity with the culture, or security of citizenship. They may start wondering if moving was a good idea when they can’t even get a gas card without any US credit history..

By hiring remote workers, you can decrease hiring and turnover costs drastically. Sure, your business will still have to spend some money recruiting top talent and paying your new employees, but you’ll no longer have to pay a lot of money relocating your new employees to your physical office. On top of that, you’ll be recruiting from a larger pool of potential employees, considering distance will no longer be a factor.

Your new digital workers will love it too since they will be able to do meaningful work without having to leave everything they know to pursue opportunities in a bigger labor market.

Favorable Exchange Rates and Lower Cost of Living Makes Hiring Canadians More Cost-effective

For US companies, hiring virtual employees from Canada is a great way to drive profits while simultaneously decreasing costs.

A favorable exchange rate makes paying Canadian employees cheaper—$1 in the US currently exchanges to $1.32 in Canadian dollars.

Secondly, cost of living is much cheaper in Canada relative to big cities in US. For example, a Silicon Valley company has to pay a higher salary to local employees so they can survive some of the highest real estate and living costs in the world. A remote employee living in Canada, on the other hand, could live comfortably on a proportionate salary—which cuts costs for you due to the strength of the USD.

And what’s best, Canadians are highly educated and have proven their chops in complex fields such as tech.

Greater Flexibility and Happiness for Your Workers

Allowing workers to get their job done from the comfort of their house or a cafe gives them a lot of flexibility when you compare it to forcing them to relocate and uproot their current lives.

Remote work lets people stay near their family, friends, and the town they call home, which means happier workers. Also, 82% of remote workers report reduced stress, while 80% report increased morale as a result of working remotely. And those are undeniably good things for any business, considering that the happier workers are, the more productive they will be.

So if you’re trying to find ways your company can gain a competitive edge, hiring Canadians to work remotely is the way to go—boosted revenue, lower costs, and more productive workers.