Yes, you read the title right. Applications to remote HR job listings are 189.4% more than applications to onsite HR job listings in the United States.
How do we know this? We have a People Ops job board. During Q1 2022, we posted 262 HR job listings based in the United States, out of which 106 were remote and 156 were onsite jobs.
The set of onsite HR jobs got a total of 647,762 impressions, with an average of 4152 per listing. By impressions, we mean the total number of views these listings got. It also got 13,217 apply starts at an average of 84.7 per listing. An apply start is measured every time a potential candidate clicks the “apply” button on any job listing.
At the same time, we also posted 106 remote HR jobs. They got a combined 1,239,860 impressions at an average of 11,697 per listing, which is 181.7% more than the average impressions for an onsite HR job. The apply starts stood at 24,041, with an average of 226.8 per listing, 167.8% more than the average apply starts for an onsite HR job.
Which Job Titles Were Included in These Sets?
The SSR job board features People Ops titles from entry-level to CXO-level like Chief People Officer, VP of People, People Analyst, Head of Talent, DEI Manager, People Operations Specialist, People Partner, Talent Operations Coordinator, etc.
When we look at the job titles of these listings, we get more insight into why remote HR jobs get more applications than onsite HR jobs. The two most-listed onsite HR jobs were Director of People Operations (64 jobs) and Head of People (33 jobs), 41% and 21% of the total onsite listings, respectively.
On the other hand, the two most listed remote HR job titles were People Operations Coordinator (23 jobs) and People Operations Associate (17 jobs), 21.7% and 16% of their total data set.
From this data, we can infer that employers prefer to hire onsite for senior HR roles while entry-level HR roles are more open to being remote-based.
However, that doesn’t mean that more seasoned professionals looking for a People Ops role can’t find a remote job. Within our data set, we can also see senior roles like Head of People (11 jobs), Chief People Officer (6), and VP of People and Culture (6) posted as remote jobs.
Similarly, other entry-level roles like People Operations Coordinator (18 jobs) and People Operations Specialist (7) were also listed as onsite jobs; albeit at a lower rate.
Are Onsite People Ops Jobs Posted More Frequently?
Another interesting fact to note is that there were fewer remote jobs posted when compared to onsite ones. However, we can see that this trend is becoming less prevalent lately because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Great Resignation, as more employers are willing to offer fully-remote and hybrid roles to attract talent.
For instance, LinkedIn recently reported that more than 50% of all applications in February 2022 went to remote jobs, even though remote listings made up less than 20% of total sponsored jobs.
But is Remote Work as Productive as Onsite?
In an interview with The Verge, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook (Meta), said, “People are more productive working at home than people would have expected. Some people thought that everything was just going to fall apart, and it hasn’t. And a lot of people are actually saying that they’re more productive now.”
Despite increasing support for remote work, many senior business leaders are voicing against the trend. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, commented about working from home, “doesn’t work for people who want to hustle, doesn’t work for culture, doesn’t work for idea generation,” at a Wall Street Journal CEO Council event last year.
As with every new innovative trend, there are both pros and cons. Mark W. Johnson and Josh Suskewicz from the Harvard Business Review (HBR) said, “Even if remote work turns out to be less productive on some metrics than others, reducing carbon-based emissions or the improving work-life balance could make up for it.”
At an age where we are experiencing more severe climate events and a mental health outbreak because of the Covid19 pandemic, reducing emissions and improving work-life balance will always be more impactful and rewarding than most other factors.
What do you think? Are HR and People Ops jobs better suited for remote or onsite work? What are the factors that determine this – seniority, industry, etc.?
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