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August 17, 2020

How to Get a Work at Home Job Without Experience

It can be daunting to look for a job as you begin your career, transition to a new one, or return to work after life as a stay-at-home mom. Finding a legit, work-from-home job under those circumstances can be even more daunting. But, coupling your ambition to find remote work and a few tips can make the road easier. Here are our best tips for creating a game plan and finding online jobs, especially if you don’t have much (or any) professional experience.

 

Get Started

Even if you don’t have experience with a certain type of job or working in general, you still have skills. Taking the time to identify your skill set helps you to clarify the types of jobs that make the most sense for you to pursue.

For optimal success, take some time to really think about your skills. Consider hard and soft skills. For example, hard skills include things like writing or budgeting. Soft skills are generally less quantifiable, but very important — for example, people skills. 

When assessing your skills, don’t forget important mom skills like coaching, time management, conflict management, planning, and budgeting. These types of skills are very important in a number of jobs. Write out a list of your skills and use it to guide your thinking about the type of work you want to do.

 

Think About What You Want

Now, think about your own passion and desires with respect to work. Consider:

  • How do I want my work day to look? For example: Do I want to be on the phone for a good portion of the day or do I prefer head’s down, solitary work?
  • What do I like to do? 
  • What am I really good at?
  • What do people compliment me on?
  • If money was not an object, what would I do?
  • What’s missing from my current routine that I hope to find in a job?
  • Do I prefer being part of a virtual team or working solo?

 

Need Help?

If you aren’t sure what type of work you are interested in, check out the Top 10 Work From Homes Jobs for Moms for inspiration. This list can open you up to new possibilities you may not have considered in the past but could be a great fit for your skills, interests, and abilities. For example, Virtual Assistants are very popular now. They may not have existed when you last looked for work. 

 

Consider Additional Training

As you narrow down the type of job that interests you, take a look at the training and credentials needed to get a job in this field. Online training is available for a number of at-home jobs. Several free training classes are available in the resources section on HireMyMom. Here you can find training on how to start a virtual assistant business, work as a bookkeeper, a social media manager, a content creator, and more. 

 

Create a Resume

Now that you’ve identified your top skills and know the types of jobs you are interested in pursuing, the next step is to draft a base resume. While this can feel daunting, help is available. Check out our Cultivate course and other individual consultations offered.  Also, check out the Resume Tips for Moms Rejoining the Workforce on HireMyMom.com as a starting point. Here, you’ll find tips to help you build your resume.

Next, find a format you like to create your resume. (Several free templates are available online.) Use a resume format that diverts attention from your lack of experience or employment gap. For example, using a functional resume format highlights your skills. This an effective way to demonstrate to employers that, even though you haven’t recently held a job, you still have relevant expertise. This will direct the hiring manager towards the aspects of your resume that more effectively market your talents — such as your skills section or resume objective. 

For additional impact, ask a trusted source who is familiar with your work for a testimonial about working with you and include it. These testimonials can help you stand out from the field of applicants.

 

Tailor Your Resume for Each Opportunity

Tailoring your resume to each position you apply for is one great way to edge out the competition and make your resume stand out. Most job seekers use one resume for everything, so making yours more relevant to each position will help you get noticed and demonstrate to employers that you’re a perfect fit.

Having a base resume makes it easier to tailor your resume for each specific job opportunity. (Tip: Create a naming system for each resume you make so that you can quickly find prior versions to cut and paste new versions of your resume as opportunities come up.) 

 

Build Your Team

Most employers ask for and check references. To make sure you are ready for this step, identify people familiar with your skills and abilities and ask them to serve as potential references. Also, when you know a potential employer is going to call your references, be sure to reach out and let your references know what to expect. Fill them in on the job, the skills they are looking for, and help your reference prepare to make the case for why you are the best fit. (Be sure to thank them and let them know when you get the job!)

 

Create a Plan to Find Opportunities

Good news–you’ve reached the point in the journey when it’s time to officially start the job search. Having a plan will make you more successful. Consider our Cultivate course to help you fast track your work from home career and success! 

Set aside an hour or so each day to find jobs that interest you, tailor your resume and cover letter and apply. To find jobs that interest you:

  • Sign up as a Mom Professional on HireMyMom so you will have exclusive access to legit, work-from-home opportunities.
  • Research the types of employers that may need your skill set or offer the jobs you hope to land. 
  • Talk to friends, neighbors, and family members who may have leads.

 

Stay positive

As you search for a job, stay positive. Remember, you have a lot to offer. With persistence and flexibility, you’ll find a work-from-home job that helps you thrive.

I’d love to hear about  your successes, struggles and tips along the way. Please share your experiences by dropping me a line. 

 

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August 13, 2020

Success Story : Erica Gilbert

Tell us about you and your experience finding work on HireMyMom.

I knew after my daughter was born I did not want to return to my job and have to put her in daycare. Luckily, I came across Hire My Mom and landed my dream job in about two months. I had several interviews before I ended up with the VA position I have now and  it could not be a more perfect fit.

What are your top tips for landing a job or jobs on HireMyMom.com?

Always be true to yourself and don’t apply to jobs that you know you don’t have the skill set for unless they say they are willing to train you. It’s also important to not be discouraged while searching for a job because it takes time to find the right fit. Have patience and pray for the right job to come your way.

What piece of advice do you wish someone had given you at the start of your work from home journey?

It’s very important to make sure your resume is all that it can be. I highly recommend using Canva to truly customize your resume and making it stand out from all the rest. Also be sure to customize every cover letter that you send.

What do you see as your greatest success in life?

My greatest success in life will always be my daughter. She is such a light and a true joy to be around. I am beyond blessed to be her Mommy.

What is something about you that many people don’t know?

I actually graduated nursing school, accepted my first nursing position, and soon after I found out I was expecting. After my daughter was born I ended up doing a complete career change in order to be able to stay home with her and it was the best decision I’ve ever made.

 

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August 10, 2020

How to Hire the Best Candidates for Your Remote Team

There’s nothing better than landing a great new team member-especially a remote team member. It’s a sign that your business is growing and you are ready to support additional people to help you get to the next phase.

But, finding that person is often easier said than done. And the stakes are high. According to a recent article on business.com, a bad hire can cost your business up to 30 percent of that person’s first year’s pay. More, if you factor in the time and expense that went into finding, onboarding, and training that person. If the bad hire hurt team morale or caused you to lose a customer, the costs can quickly grow.

While those numbers can be scary, take heart–it is possible to find and hire the right person. But, like most things in life, it’s easier to do it when you have a well-thought out plan and understand the common pitfalls that can lead to making a poor choice. 

 

Search Your Own Heart Before You Search for Candidates

A key ingredient in successfully finding the right candidate is understanding exactly what you want this person to do. This is easier to do before you start searching for a candidate and is best accomplished by writing a job description. To get started, consider:

  • The goals for the role. A year after you’ve hired this person, how will you measure his/her success? For example, do you want to see sales increase by ten percent? Improve retention rates? Increase your social media presence? Maybe it’s important that this person fits in well with an existing team or brings new ideas to your business. Whatever the goal is, think of it in terms of an evaluative measure that can be used to assess success.
  • The skills and background needed to successfully do the job. Thinking about the objectives for the new role, consider the skills and background that will help a candidate succeed. 
    • If you have people already in this role, get their thoughts on the right background and compare them to your own ideas.
    • Look at similar roles both within and outside your business and see what skills and backgrounds others are asking for in the role. 
  • The things that matter to your team. Do you have a team of night owls who are looking for a morning person to help balance them out or take customer calls earlier in the day? Maybe you have a team of project managers who would love to have someone with sharper design skills join the group. Thinking about the dynamics of your team and organization can make it easier to know more about who you are looking for when you start your search.
  • What “remote team member” means to you. Do you want someone to work set hours or are you more of a core hours shop? If so, what are the core hours? Are you open to someone located in a different time zone? Do you prefer someone who can personally meet with you for an occasional lunch or team meeting? If you have preferences in this area, be sure to make note of them at this stage.
  • Know what you value in this position. Are you looking for integrity, efficiency, intelligence? Maybe you want  someone who is proactive, a team player, organized, attentive to detail, and  handles correction well. Whatever the traits are that matter to you, identify and document them as part of this process.

 

Write a Job Description

Now that the ideas are churning in your mind, sit down and write a formal job description. You may want to include:

  • A functional and descriptive job title.
  • An overview of the job’s responsibilities.
  • Goals for the role.
  • The skills and background required to succeed.
  • Any specific hardware or software skills.
  • Information about why the job matters to your company.
  • Pertinent details about how you expect the remote work relationship to work. 

 

Share Your Thoughts

Once you have a draft, share it with others who know about the job or will be working with this person. Discuss the job until you get to the heart of what you want. Be specific. 

Continue to revise the job description until it really fits your needs and you have agreement that it captures what you’re looking to achieve by adding this role.

 

Create a Plan to Find the Right Person

When you are looking for a remote team member, you have the important advantage of not being limited by geography. You can find and hire a team member who’s located anywhere with good internet access. 

Using a platform like HireMyMom.com is a great way to source qualified candidates who are specifically looking for remote work. You can save time and money by turning to a site dedicated to connecting driven mom professionals with small businesses. 

If the prospect of a nationwide search daunts you, consider our concierge service to help reduce the amount of leg work you need to do. HireMyMom’s Concierge service was created for busy entrepreneurs and small business owners, like you, who need to hire help but don’t have the time or desire to go through the time-consuming process. With our full service Concierge service, our HR Specialists will do it all for you start to finish and present you with the top candidate(s). 

 

Prepare to Interview Candidates

With candidates identified, it’s time to develop initial interview questions before the first interview. What are some questions that would help you spot those who do and don’t have those skills or qualities?

In the Book, “Who” by Geoff Smart and Randy Street, they outline a thorough process for hiring “A” players. The process may be overkill for some smaller remote roles but the basics of the process provide a solid foundation for selecting the right candidate. 

The interview questions Smart and Street recommend are easy and conversational. They recommend an initial phone interview asking the following questions:

  1. What are your career goals?
  2. What are you really good at professionally?
  3. What are you not good at or interested in doing professionally?
  4. Who were your last five bosses and how would they rate your performance on a 1-10 scale when we talk to them?

Each of those questions should be followed up with “tell me more”, “how” and/or “what” to dig deeper to gain more insight about the candidate and their performance, work ethic and skill level. 

Once you’ve discovered who passed your first interview, Smart and Street recommend the “Who Interview” which “is designed to give you more confidence in your selection because it uncovers the patterns of somebody’s career history and is a chronological walkthrough of a person’s career.” They recommend walking through their past five jobs and asking:

  1. What were you hired to do? How was your success measured in that role?
  2. What accomplishments are you most proud of? Be listening for correlations relating to the expectations of your job. 
  3. What were some low points during that job? Or what part of the job did you not like? In what way were peers stronger than you?
  4. Who were the people you worked with? Ask specifically for the boss’ name. Ask what that person will say were their biggest strengths and areas for improvement. That lets them know you will be calling and they are more likely to give you an accurate response. 
  5. Why did you leave that job? Dig deeper into their response with more questions to more fully understand. 

 

The Reference Checks

The last step of the selection process is to check the candidates references. This will be an opportunity to see what others think of them. You may want to ask them some of the same questions from above to see how similar their responses are. 

Taking the time to get a more full and complete picture of someone’s work history, personality, strengths and weaknesses will help you determine who is the best match for your role. Knowing what you want and what your goals are will help guide you in the interview process. The rest will be determined by the answers you receive!

 

Avoid Common Pitfalls

With all the work you’ve done so far, you are likely sailing toward the right pick for your opening. Still, beware of these common pitfalls:

  • Short changing the thought process to determine exactly what you are looking for or needing from this role. 
  • Limiting the job description so that it includes only skills needed or tasks to be accomplished. It does not include the goals and outcomes for the role.
  • Conducting  interviews that are too are short and do not give you an accurate representation of the candidate. 

 

Enjoy the Process!

Hiring the right candidate with the right skills for the right job can dramatically impact your company’s productivity, outcomes and goals. Your biggest asset is usually those you place on your team. They can help you succeed or they can hold you back. Embrace the opportunity and the process to find the right fit.

 

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August 3, 2020

Back-to School Tips to Help Parents Survive and Thrive this Fall

As summer sizzles toward the end and the calendar turns to August, many parents start to think about the start of the school year. Starting school always brings new blessings and opportunities along with new routines and new challenges. With the ongoing pandemic, the start of this school year is different than years past–very different.

With many schools opening virtually or partially, home learning will be a key fixture of the fall term. And, with many offices still closed, more parents will work from home than in years past. This means parents and children all sharing the same work areas for the foreseeable future. While this autumn holds the potential for challenges, it also holds prospects for new blessings and discoveries about ourselves and our children. 

A plan to get through the day-to-day challenges can go a long way to making the situation more successful for you and your family.  After years of working at home, here are our best tips for thriving this fall–including a back-to-school to-do list that will help you prepare for the new learning environment.

 

Communicate Early & Often

This will be a fall like no other. So, the usual back-to-school chores need to be updated to reflect our current circumstances. Before we tackle the list, the first step is a series of frank discussions about how to best manage school and work as a family. These discussions are more valuable if they happen early and often, as communication is the key to success.

 

Plan it Out

The first conversation is adults only. Sit down with your spouse and discuss your likely workloads for the next few weeks. This can (and will) change each week, but having a sense of how much work each of you faces in the near-term is important. 

For example, if your spouse knows that you have a capstone project due in October, it’s easier to make day-to-day plans that allow for success. Likewise, if one of you is less busy right now, it may make sense for that person to serve as the primary parent as school starts. If you are single, map out how your workload looks in the near term to give you a better sense of what’s on the horizon. While it’s impossible to predict everything that may come up, talking about likely scenarios will help you prepare for the weeks and months ahead.

Once you have a good handle on your work obligations, share them with your children. Depending on their age, some kids may not realize that mom and dad have work obligations that must be met. Spelling these out in an age appropriate way is important for setting expectations.

 

Consider School Expectations

Once you have a handle on your own work and that of your spouse, turn to school expectations. Knowing how the school schedule will work and the obligations of each student are important first steps. Many schools are sharing specific objectives for home-learning days. For example, some require a minimum number of contact hours each day or a certain amount of online assignments turned in each week. 

 

Set Family Goals

Armed with knowledge about what the school expects, add your own expectations for the fall, and ask your children what they’d like to achieve. As a family, discuss goals for the fall semester, including personal, school and family goals. For example:

  • Meet all school-issued objectives.
  • Start school work by 8 each morning.
  • Complete school work without being reminded.
  • Do chores in a timely manner.
  • Learn three new skills outside of class work.
  • Limit time on phones, video games and other devices to X hours per day/week. (See section below for more on this.)
  • Set aside designated family time each week.

 

Back-To-School To Do List

Your normal back-to-school to-do list likely includes buying school supplies, finding the right backpack and picking up a back-to-school wardrobe. While some of those tasks may be on hold, here are a few things that can help make the back to school transition easier and more productive under these extraordinary circumstances.

  • Set ground rules for school days. When school was unexpectedly moved online last spring, it took families by surprise. This made it difficult to set ground rules. This fall, having rules in place will help make remote work easier and more productive for everyone. You don’t want to spend a good portion of your work day negotiating screen time with your kids. Decide on your ground rules early and make sure that all family members understand them.

 

  • Establish a policy for use of electronic devices. One area where many parents struggle is with the use of electronic devices. This is tricky on a number of levels. A lot of school work is completed online. But, as many parents found in the spring, a child who is sitting at his computer and looks engaged may be playing video games instead of completing online assignments. In addition, text messages and social media notifications can easily divert the attention of the most well-intentioned students.  Before the first day of school, agree upon rules as to when/how electronic devices can be used. One option is to follow the same rules that your local school uses with respect to phone and technology use. Make sure you, your spouse, and your children are all on the same page for device use during the school day.

 

  • Share your expectations with your family. Based on your family’s goals, outline the expectations you have for your children to get their school work done in a timely manner. Be clear about the work you expect your child to do on his/her own and how and when to ask for help during the work day. Share the specifics of your schedule with your children (based on their age) so they understand when a parent is available for help. Consider a sign for your office door (or back of your computer) that lets your children know if you are available or not.

 

  • Outline a typical day. Routines help make days go more smoothly by adding automaticity. To get into a daily routine more quickly, consider how you’d like a typical school day to look this fall. Maybe you like to rise early and start working during the quiet morning hours. If so, perhaps  you’d like your kids to serve themselves breakfast and read until a certain time. If your kids are older, they may have their own schedule preferences. There’s no right or wrong day. The important thing is to have a shared sense of how the days look. Talking about how typical days might unfold can get you there sooner.

 

  • Divide the house work. Acknowledge the extra work created by having more people in the house each day. Discuss a plan for kitchen clean up, laundry and cooking with an eye toward ways to share the work across the family. Sharing chores can be a wonderful learning opportunity for kids. Consider assigning tasks to lighten the load on everyone.

 

  • Establish feedback channels. Regular family meetings about school work progress and expectations are an important tool for success. Share feedback with your kids and ask them to share feedback with you about how things are going. Prepare to be flexible as you learn what works and what doesn’t. We are all learning as we go and some things are bound to work better than others. Keeping the lines of communication open makes it easier to focus on the positive and correct things that aren’t working.

 

  • Take a Deep Breath. This experience is a foundational life experience for you and your children. As we embark upon a school year like no other, let’s remember we are all learning new things this year. It’s an opportunity for you to get more involved with your child’s education and to watch them learn new skills–like time management–in real time. But learning can be difficult, so extending  extra grace to our kids, our co-workers, our spouses, our teachers, our communities, and ourselves can help us thrive during these times.

 

Drop us a line to share your experiences, ideas, successes and struggles. And if you are seeking work from home options, be sure to check out some of our recent job posts. 

 

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July 27, 2020

Are You a Leader or a Manager?

If you lead a company or a team, you likely hold the title of leader, manager or even owner. So what is the difference between a leader and a manager? The dictionary defines a leader as, “the person who leads or commands a group or organization.” And it defines a manager as, “a person responsible for controlling or administering all or part of a company.”

Perhaps the best way to convey the difference between a leader and a manager is metaphorical. Managers handle the processes whereas leaders handle the positioning take for example climbing a mountain. A manager will make sure you have all of the right equipment, a timeline to follow, and ensure that proper safety and procedures are followed. A leader on the other hand will make sure that you’re climbing the right mountain.

Leaders set direction and have traits that inspire others while managers take care of all of the processes, operations and resources.


Character Traits of a Leader

According to the Center for Creative Leadership, the characteristics of a great leader include:

  • Integrity
  • Delegation abilities
  • Strong Communication
  • Self-Awareness
  • Gratitude
  • Learning Agility
  • Influence
  • Empathy
  • Courage
  • Respect

 

Character Traits of a Manager

In Project Smart’s article “Top 10 Qualities of an Excellent Manager” they list the following traits:

  • Creativity
  • Structure
  • Intuition
  • Knowledge
  • Commitment
  • Being Human
  • Versatility
  • Lightness
  • Discipline
  • Big Picture/Small Actions


Top 3 Differences Between Leaders and Managers on the Job

It’s easy to see how the two roles can be confusing and sometimes have overlapping traits. The following is a breakdown of typical tasks and the role each plays on that task completion.

  1. When completing tasks – managers take stock of what needs to be done, they assign these tasks to the appropriate team members and then oversee the tasks until the project is complete. A leader will motivate and encourage his or her team to reach the finish line and complete the task but the delegation is something they often lead to the manager.
  2. When supervising others – managers supervise their staff. They are also responsible for job review and performance and making sure that everyone does their part. A leader is often more flexible and less likely to hold others accountable. They cheer the team on, motivate them to do the work, and urge them to follow their lead when it comes to getting things done.
  3. When budgeting and reaching monetary goals for the company – a manager often has specific sales targets that need to be met for their department. Leaders often leave this task to the other team members. 

 

Other Differences


The Best of Both Worlds

It’s important to have both the motivation and drive to encourage task completion but also that focused resilience to ensure the job gets done right, on time and cost-efficiently. This is why you need to have both roles in your company. 

If you’re a small business owner, you could be playing the dual role of leader and manager. Part of being a good leader is listening to feedback and being a continual learner knowing that there’s always more to learn and ways to grow.

If you’re ready to take the next step and grow your company, HireMyMom offers access to high-quality, experienced and qualified candidates for every need of your business. To find out more, visit our Employer / Small Business page here.


“Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things.” Peter Drucker

 

 

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July 20, 2020

Planning for the Unexpected When Working Remotely

Recently, we shared a blog with our best tips for solving the toughest work-from-home challenges. It’s full of advice for managing the change to remote work and making the set up work for you on a day-to-day basis. But, as anyone who has worked from home knows, the best plans can go awry with a moment’s notice. While unexpected circumstances will pop up,  you can often handle them with out-of-the-box thinking, a healthy dose of creativity, and some grit. In many cases, it helps to pick up your work and move your office temporarily. Here’s our best advice for (and favorite stories about) taking the office on the road. 

 

Do Some Pre-Planning

When you start working from home, consider the types of circumstances that might require you to work from an alternate location (i.e. power loss, crazy loud construction across the street, etc.). Make a mental list of other places you might go to work. Maybe a nearby coffee shop or library. Perhaps the house of a friend who also works from home. (Obviously, this gets trickier in the middle of a pandemic. So if you already have plans in place, it’s a good time to give this topic fresh thought.) 

Likewise, if you have a vacation or other travel on the horizon, consider how you might manage work conflicts that pop up before you go. I learned this skill when I was traveling and found out that I’d need to conduct an important phone interview. I suspected the interview might overlap with my travels, so I started thinking about how to make it work before I left for the trip.

I needed to find a quiet place to take the call. After some thought, I realized that I could use the  closet of my hotel room as a personal conference space. While it was unconventional, that closet was the only quiet place I could find. Having done some pre-work to solve the problem made it easier to deal with in the moment.

 

Pack a “Go Bag”

Sometimes situations pop up with no warning and you need to leave your home office to deal with it effectively but you still need to work. In these cases, having a briefcase with the essentials packed and ready to go let’s you take your office on the road in seconds. 

For example, an unexpectedly sick cat and a tight deadline meant that freelance textbook editor, Shannon Ford, had to use the waiting room of the emergency veterinarian as a makeshift office. Luckily, she had a briefcase with essentials, such as an extra power cord, a cell phone charger, pens and a notebook pre-packed, just in case. 

She loaded the cat in the carrier, stuffed her laptop into her bag, and whisked them both out to the car without missing a beat. After getting the cat checked in, she went to work editing as she waited. She even found that working in the waiting room helped her feel less anxious about her beloved cat. Having a pre-packed bag made it easy for her to get out the house quickly and pick up her work without issue. Knowing that she could pivot on a dime to meet an important deadline filled her with confidence about her decision to launch a business.

 

When the Show Must Go On, Trust Yourself

You never know when you might get a call to answer a quick (but important) question. When it happens outside your work day or normal location, remember that most of what you need is in your head. Don’t be afraid to answer a question or help out even when you are without your tools of the trade.

Structural engineer, Tabitha Stine, was on vacation at a large theme park when she was called to check a calculation for the placement of an antenna that was being installed on top of a high rise building in Chicago. The helicopter was hovering over the building and she knew she needed to act quickly despite being away from her computer and notes on the project. 

She ducked into a near-by restaurant while her husband waited in a ride line with their kids. After taking a minute to switch into work mode, she did the math on the back of a napkin 1,000 miles away from the job site and called in the results. Trusting herself to do the work in new ways and a new place, was the key to making a huge contribution when it counted.

 

Share your story

I love these tips because we will all face our own situations while working from a home office. The stories inspire me because they show how creative we get when unexpected circumstances arise. Learning that we aren’t alone and laughing about the craziness of the locations where work got completed helps me feel connected to others who work from home.

I’d love to hear about your best story about a temporary office location and how you found yourself there. Drop us a line and share your story. Also, check out the great answers to a similar thread posted in the HireMyMom FaceBook Community. And if you are looking for a remote job or a remote hire, we’d LOVE to help! 

 

 

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July 13, 2020

How to Effectively & Successfully Manage a Remote Team

Digital transformation has really changed the workplace environment. In fact, if you are deemed a “non-essential” business, chances are, you’ve now had to adapt to a work from home environment in order to stay operational.

The trouble with remote office management is that employees who might have been readily available in-house can become difficult to manage remotely.

In this article, we will cover the basics of effective remote team management plus provide our top 3 software choices to help you maximize your team’s performance, productivity, and cost-efficiency.


Are you a great remote boss?

As a remote team manager, it’s important to hold yourself accountable for the outcome of your team. Here are some questions you can ask yourself each day to help you stay on track:

Are you providing the proper reports, tools, and training to your team?
Are you making yourself available to your remote workers in case they need assistance and clarity?
Are you taking the time to review the processes?
Did you share clear expectations with your team and assign tasks accordingly?

5 Tips To Help You Manage Remote Teams Effectively

1. Check-In With Your Team At The Start of Each Day
Team check-ins are extremely important to ensure productivity. Whenever possible, it’s best to conduct team meetings at the start of the day to go over any pressing matters, any priority changes, and cover new deadlines.

2. Set Clear Objectives
Remote office environments have many benefits but at the same time, there are certain setbacks that can arise from miscommunication. A huge part of the miscommunication can stem from not setting clear objectives. Because you can’t have in-person contact, it is important to ensure your objectives are clear, concise, and achievable within the members of your remote team. You can start by making a list of tasks that need to be complete and the timelines in which to complete them and then break down these tasks into smaller steps. Once the steps have been determined you can assign them to one worker or a team.

3. Monitor and Track Progress
Once you have your objectives in place, you will need to track your progress and monitor your team (without micromanaging them) in order to ensure deadlines are met and the quality of work isn’t compromised. The use of a Project Management Software can be highly effective when assigning tasks to your remote team and we will cover our top 3 picks later on in this article.

4. Communicate Effectively
They say strong communication methods are the driving force behind highly effective teams but in a remote environment, this can sometimes be hard to achieve especially if you are dealing with a large number of people. 

Fortunately, there are a variety of communication platforms that allow you to see and hear each other, share screens, and provide comments and feedback on projects as they progress. Some of the most common platforms include Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Hangouts.

5. Provide the Right Tools
Because you’re working with a remote team, it will be extremely important to make sure they have all of the right tools in order to perform their roles optimally. Some of the basic equipment includes; a quality laptop, cell phone, printer/scanner/fax, and software such as Microsoft Office.

 

Our Top Picks For Project Management Software

When it comes to Project Management, having the right software can really impact your ability to effectively communicate, collaborate, and meet tight deadlines. Here are our Top 3 Choices and why:


Monday.com 
– Monday.com offers customization and full control.
– It offers several channels of communication, allows for collaboration and selective visibility.
– It allows you to allocate tasks, keep track of time, and visually lay things out within its dashboard feature.
– Monday.com can integrate with a variety of software from your email platform to your e-commerce store and accounting software.

AirTable 
– Database dynamics that easily integrate with platforms like Excel
– Drag and Drop tools for simple and easy form build and use
– Customizable views and dashboards

Basecamp 
– It allows for both business and personal projects to be managed
– It offers both desktop and mobile access 
– It offers one of the most comprehensive to-do list features
– It provides easy file transfers

 

Staff Reward Programs

Staff rewards can keep your team motivated and celebrated which can boost productivity and in the long run, your revenue.

Here are just a few of the ways you can reward your remote workers:

Verbal Recognition
Often just a simple acknowledgment towards your employees, when they go above and beyond, is all it takes to make your worker feel appreciated. You can give them shoutouts in an email, group chat, monthly newsletter, or have a customer of the month recognition through social media.

Digital Rewards
Digital Rewards are an easy way to appreciate your staff. You can set up a point system and assign points for certain milestones and goals that your team reaches both together and individually. They can then turn in their points for a digital gift card of their choice. 

Treat them to Lunch
Even though you can’t physically take them out to lunch, you can still treat them to it through the use of a service company such as Skip the Dishes and Uber-Eats which offer a variety of lunch options and provide delivery to almost any location.

Provide Extra Vacay Days
Any remote worker would appreciate having an extra day off to be with his or her family, friends, or just take a day for themselves to relax and unwind. 

By adding an extra vacation day into your reward system you’ll find workers putting in more time and energy so they can achieve that extra day off.

 

Are you looking to expand your company? At HireMyMom we have a selection of rock star candidates who can really help grow your business. Visit our Employer section here for more details.

 

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July 6, 2020

HireMyMom Success Story: Jill Rhea

Tell us about you and your experience finding work on HireMyMom.

I initially signed up for the Silver Trial package to see what HireMyMom was all about. After a week passed, I realized I liked what I saw, so I decided to sign up for the Gold Package option. During that time, there were always jobs being added every day. While some were not a fit for me, I liked knowing that there was work being done on their end to to continually add employers. I also liked knowing that the employers KNEW we were moms in the workforce previously and may be looking for different types of opportunities to get back into the corporate world.

What are your top tips for landing a job or jobs on HireMyMom.com?

READ the job posting. Many job postings give very detailed instructions on how to apply – whether it’s including a certain word in the cover letter or email subject line or applying a different way. It’s very important to make yourself stand out to the employers when there may be many applying. I would take the time up front to peek at the company to see if it’s even a good fit. I would read the posting, see if it’s something I’m even able to do, and then find their website before I proceeded to apply. Also do not apply to jobs that don’t match your skill set.

What piece of advice do you wish someone had given you at the start of your work from home journey?

Be okay with not having it all. There are sacrifices you must make but it’s worth it even if you don’t have the newest and greatest thing that everyone else has. You are in control of your life.

What do you see as your greatest success in life?

Taking a leap of faith and leaving the corporate world even if it meant a drastic pay cut. I got to be home and experience the work from home lifestyle. Crazy at times but wouldn’t change it for the world to get to be there to pick up my daughter from school and take her to/from activities.

What is something about you that many people don’t know?

Since I’m mostly behind the screen these days and do thrive on making videos and going live, people don’t realize I’m very much an introvert and very shy.

_+_+_+_

Want to be featured here as one of HireMyMom’s Success Stories?

Mom Professionals, please complete this form our Mom Professionals Success Stories.

 

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June 29, 2020

The Toughest Work From Home Challenges – and How to Solve Them

Working from home has many benefits, from more freedom and flexibility to a quick 10-step commute to your home office.  Although it’s mainly a positive experience for most, there can be challenges involved, especially to those new to working remotely . . .  or maybe when we’re in the middle of a pandemic!

Here are our tips on working through those challenges successfully.

 

Expectations

Working from home with kids or family around is not the same as the bliss of a quiet home or corporate office. Not surprisingly, your day is going to look different, and you’ll have to be proactive about planning your schedule and tasks. It may be helpful to start with a list of what needs to get done (the night before preferably so you can plan accordingly) and hit the ground running in the morning. Circle or star the tasks that require focus and uninterrupted thinking. For me, that’s writing, creating content and talking with clients so I like to do those first thing in the morning while everyone is either sleeping or busy with their own tasks. Other work tasks like email, social media or research do not require as much deep focus so I can plan those for the parts of my day when I know I’m more likely to be interrupted.

I’ve also found batching my work helps my productivity and allows me to get more accomplished. When you get zoned in on a certain tasks and aren’t stopping and starting by checking email, taking phone calls and things like that, you can knock out a week or month’s worth of blog posts, social media or other similar tasks.

Distractions

Whether working from home or a traditional office, distractions are part of every job.  When working from home those distractions include family members, postal deliveries, social media alerts, and things like podcasts that can be a little too tempting. If you struggle at all with independent work, it can be even more challenging.

Instead of eliminating these things entirely, give yourself breaks to do what you’re tempted to do during work time, such as listen to your favorite podcast, play a quick game with your kids, put in a load of laundry or start dinner.

Your distractions can become a healthy part of your life, as long as you work to manage them while still getting things done.  Create a schedule that allows time for the extras or “distracting” parts of your day while still completing your work.

Kids and Family

While kids and family can be a huge bonus to the remote work life, they can also cause distraction and maybe even a bit of frustration when you’ve been together 24/7 for months during a pandemic.  Sometimes you’ll need to have focused work time, meetings or conference calls that demand your attention and that’s where having a plan is imperative.

When possible, set clear boundaries such as if the door is shut, it means no coming in. You may want to put a post-it note there if you are on an important call or recording a video interview as I’ve had to do. In my home, my family knows if my office door is shut and they need something, they can text me and I’ll respond as soon as my call or interview is finished. It also helps that I do most of my calls on speaker phone so they can hear me talking and know not to come in. If you have small children, it may mean swapping focused time with your spouse or hiring a neighbor to help out so you can have some uninterrupted work time.

To help manage your home, create a list of what needs to be done. Consider age-appropriate chores and tasks for each family member. Have a family team meeting and discuss the tasks, chores and expectations. Knowing your family, you can decide if assigning tasks to each person is better or if allowing them to choose what works better for particular needs. Take advantage of meal prepping services if you need a break from meal planning and shopping.

For the never-ending snack needs for younger kids, consider “meal-prepping” some ready to go snacks each night — or weekly if they are non-perishable. Create a shelf in your pantry or in your fridge where they can grab a snack if you are busy.

For your kids play time needs, ask the moms of your kid’s friends if they’d like to swap play times so the kids can play at their houses one afternoon and at yours another day.  Or you may find a high school or college kid that is home that can take the kids to the park or pool or even play games with them. When they are with you, you may need some fresh ideas and extra activities to keep them busy.

When the weather is beautiful, consider taking your work outside! Take the kids and go to a park while you work on those tasks that don’t require intense focus.

Isolation

Whether you have family around you or are at home alone, we all need social interaction from others. Be proactive in engaging and interacting with others you work with and those you don’t. Instead of simply waiting for schedule meetings, sometimes it is helpful to have that “virtual” face-to-face coffee break or an informal face-time chat with a friend or colleague.  They may also be feeling isolated and will appreciate you making the effort to visually connect with them.

Another way to fight the isolation blues is to work on your goals. Setting goals and actively working on yourself, your marriage, your parenting and your business will bring positivity to you as well as those who will appreciate your determination and accomplishments.

And don’t forget about the importance of getting outside for some Vitamin D. There are real benefits to taking breaks, getting some sunshine and going for walks. Fresh air and sunshine can be helpful to clear the mind and help reset your mood. If you can’t get outside, then any kind of physical activity can help you feel healthier and invigorated during your day.

 

So there you have it, knowing what to expect and being proactive to overcome these challenges makes all the difference. Each day is likely to be different and when you have a bad one, simply learn what you could have done differently and vow to do better tomorrow.

Are you looking for your dream work from home job or a rock star candidate to help grow your business? Whether you are seeking freelance work or to hire a great remote team member, HireMyMom aims to be your #1 choice! Let us know how we can be of help!

 

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June 22, 2020

3 Powerful Ways Remote Teams Can Help Your Small Business Grow

If you are a small business owner, chances are you’ve faced the challenge of how and when to hire someone to join your team. Many small business owners start out by themselves or with only one or two others, but as the business grows so do the roles and needs. And with the recent mandatory shift to working remotely, more businesses are seeing the benefits of a remote team. But what many may not know is there are many other positives to this virtual work approach.

 

More for Your Money

You get a bigger bang for your buck when hiring remote workers. Job seekers looking for remote work value their freedom and flexibility over an office job and may be willing to work for less than a traditional employee. And many small businesses have found they can fill many roles with independent contractors which is more cost effective than hiring an employee with benefits. 

The average cost of health insurance for U.S. employees is close to $15,000 according to SHRM. When you consider those cost savings, hiring independent contractors for remote work sounds even more advantageous.

The IRS has set guidelines for determining if someone is an employee or an independent contractor. In general, if the business owner is paying for the result of the work, rather than the ability to control how the work is performed, then the position is likely suitable for a contractor rather than an employee.

 

More Specialized

Instead of hiring one person to do a variety of jobs, having a remote team allows you to hire multiple team members each with a unique set of skills. Many virtual professionals today work for more than one person and therefore get very good in a set of skills. No longer do you have to hire an “all-in-one” candidate to do customer service, administrative tasks and social media.

Instead, you could look for specialized talent like:

  • A Facebook ads specialists to create and manage ad campaigns to bring more sales and customers to your business.
  • A customer service person to respond to your customers needs and questions.
  • A content manager to create and manage content for social media, blogs and email campaigns.
  • A marketing person to create lead magnets and other marketing ideas to grow your business.
  • An email marketing specialist to create email campaigns for your customers or to improve the client onboarding processes.
  • A YouTube, Instagram or Pinterest specialist to increase brand visibility, drive traffic, grow your email list and increase your customer base.
  • A virtual assistant to manage your day to day tasks such as email, phone calls, and other routine tasks so you can focus on your business.
  • A project manager to oversee your projects and keep them running.

 

Better Retention 

With remote positions, you can attract and retain quality professionals. In a recent study, 95% of employers reported that working remotely has had a high impact on their employee retention rate.

For moms, working remotely provides the ability to have a better work / life balance. For instance, if a child is sick, mom can continue to work while monitoring their child. In the same way, she can take a break to go watch her child’s school performance and make up the time if needed. Having the ability to work remotely is hugely valuable to moms which makes remote positions very attractive. 

 

Having the ability to hire the right person for the right job and pay a fair rate enables small businesses to grow faster than having to hire full time employees. When combined with all the additional benefits, establishing a virtual team becomes a real advantage for many small businesses.  If you’re looking to grow your remote team, we’d be grateful to help! 

 

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