An Irish start-up is aiming to create 1,000 jobs in the South East region by encouraging employers to hire remote workers.
Abodoo, the online portal for remote and flexible careers, announced their target following an event for regional business-leaders in Gorey.
Abodoo is headquartered in Gorey, and has attracted support from Eir and the IDA.
It launched in Ireland last month, with plans to launch in the UK in the coming months and to expand globally next year.
Vanessa Tierney is the co-founder of Abodoo. She explains more:
“We have set the ambitious goal of getting one thousand people employed across the south-east region through the Abodoo platform.
“We anticipate this will be a combination of skilled people who are currently unemployed but want to return to work and people in employment who no longer want an exhausting commute.
“We will achieve this goal by encouraging up to 100 companies to hire an average of 10 skilled remote workers each.
"These will be people living in the south-east region, who can either work from home or from a co-working hub like the Hatch Lab in Gorey, where we are based.
“We are working with our partners, open eir and the IDA, to identify suitable employers and demonstrate to them the benefits of hiring remote workers.”
Ms. Tierney said an increase in remote working would lead to significant cost-savings for government, employers and workers themselves.
“One of the biggest savings is in relation to transport, and this has knock-on benefits for the environment,” she said.
“Remote workers save, on average, between €2,000 and €7,000 and hundreds of hours of travel time per year – just by removing their daily commute.
"One thousand new remote workers in the south-east would equate to a saving of 235 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
“The business case for remote working is also strong: companies will save an average of €11,000 per remote employee, and 91 per cent of companies that facilitate remote working experience increased productivity.
"Companies that promote remote working also report an increase in staff retention of over 50 per cent; and a reduction in absenteeism of 63 per cent.”
Ms. Tierney said Abodoo is seeking expressions of interest now from employers interested in hiring skilled remote workers in the south-east region.
Employers and those seeking flexible careers can register at www.abodoo.com.
