Leaders reveal why they’ve decided to forgo a hybrid workplace in favor of staying remote, and how it’s helped them diversify talent and boost productivity

• Many companies are considering a hybrid workforce model, but the benefits may not beat the cost.
• Staying remote will help you broaden your talent pool, retain top employees, and enhance diversity.
• Employees are also able to repurpose commute time and energy to be as productive as possible.

The headquarters of peer-to-peer boat rental company Boatsetter was a 6,000-square-foot open-floor plan space on the New River in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

When the pandemic hit, Boatsetter gave up its lease and moved to a completely virtual workforce, a move that’s provided unexpected benefits for the company, Founder and CEO Jaclyn Baumgarten told Insider.

“A remote work environment has allowed us to expand our talent pool, contributing to our team’s diversity,” she said. Pre-pandemic, most employees were based in South Florida, but now the 78-person company has team members throughout the US, Europe, and Australia and represents over 12 nationalities and 15 fluent languages.