10 Qualities To Look For When Hiring a Remote Contractor or Team Member

The world has gone digital and as an Entrepreneur, you now have the ability to put your products and services in front of the right people across many digital channels.

This means, that your business could grow substantially overnight. If you’re not prepared for that growth, you’ll find yourself completely overwhelmed with the many day to day tasks required to operate and maintain your company.

Que the rise of remote contractors.

What is a remote contractor?

Just as the name describes, this person works from their own office space (often out of their home) and uses their own equipment and software.

 

Why consider hiring a remote contractor?

  • They can start immediately
  • Require very little training
  • Have little to no onboarding costs
  • Are more productive and
  • Can save you time

When deciding on “how” you want to expand your business, you should focus on filling the voids of your company. 

What does that mean?

Well, if you carefully assess all the tasks you’re doing right now and break them down by priority, the ability to do them yourself, and whether you like doing them – you’ll soon have a vision for your new hire.

Whether you’re hiring a bookkeeper, marketer, content writer, or assistant, here are some common traits you should consider when hiring a remote worker.

 

10 Qualities To Look For When Hiring Remote Team Members

 

1.  Strong Communication Skills

Communication is key to any successful working relationship. It’s especially important for a remote employee-employer relationship because most of your conversations will be taking place through text, phone, email, and/or video chat. You should also keep in mind, the time zone your remote worker lives in, their first language, and their response time when you communicate with them.

Because a remote employee can’t just walk into your office to ask for help whenever a situation arises and vice versa, you have to be able to effectively communicate. Without this core competency, it’s impossible to succeed with a remote employee. 

 

2. Independent and Self Motivated

The last thing you want to be doing is micromanaging your remote worker. He or she should be independent, self-motivated, and be able to complete most tasks assigned with very little direction (unless the task requires it).

Successful remote workers must be able to motivate themselves to stay focused with little distraction seeing each task from start to completion.

Because you can’t be there in person to ensure your remote worker is staying on task, independence and self-motivation are must-have qualities when finding the best fit for your organization.

 

3. Flexibility and Availability

A huge benefit for a remote employee is the flexibility of the job. For remote employees who are parents, this means they can drop off and pick up the kids from school, attend soccer games, school plays and more.

Just as flexibility is a benefit to the remote worker, the remote worker should be flexible with you, the employer.

Your remote worker should be flexible with your schedule and also available when you need them. If they are not a designated remote worker, they should be able to attend necessary meetings and communicate with you in a reasonable time frame with proper notice.

If you run a business that has a lot of tight deadlines, consider a designated, full-time remote worker over a freelance part-time one.

 

4. Ability to Organize and Prioritize

Strong organizational skills are extremely important for a successful working relationship with a remote employee.

They should be able to take a list of tasks given, organize, and prioritize them with minimal direction and be able to carry out this task on a continuous basis.

If your business uses a Project Management software, your remote employee should be able to navigate through it with ease. If they have experience using the software, it’s even better as there’s less of a learning curve if at all.

 

5. Tech Savvy

Because the world has gone digital, your remote employee should be tech-savvy, especially since their work is done on a virtual level.

Your remote worker should be fluent in common software applications such as Microsoft Office and Google Docs.

Because your remote employee will be performing many of the day-to-day tasks on a shared software they should have a good understanding of how to use it. If training is needed, they should be able to learn the software from you personally, YouTube or other online training.

 

6. Excellent Time Management Skills

Effective time management is fundamental to the success of any business. When you hire someone with excellent time management skills, they will be able to complete more tasks for you in less time which translates to saving you money.

Remote workers with great time management skills will create and maintain daily to-do tasks, they have designated workspaces so they can perform their work with minimal distraction and will find ways to optimize their time on the tasks they are given – including learning new software applications.

 

7. Honest and Reliable

Remote work requires a level of trust between yourself and your remote employee. You will likely be giving them access to your software, email inbox, website, and more.

It’s important to properly interview and screen your candidate before you hire him/her and depending on the nature of your business, a background check might be needed as well.

An honest and reliable remote worker will tell you when they don’t understand something, they will be honest if they make a mistake so it can be corrected quickly with minimal negative impact to the company.

They operate themselves with the highest level of integrity which is reflected in the work they do for you.

 

8. Remote Experience

It’s important to select a remote worker with experience. They should have a designated workspace, their own reliable technology to work on, the key software programs such as Microsoft Office as well as anti-virus protection to keep their computer (and your sensitive information) safe.

Remote workers with experience are also ideal because there is less transition and training required when it comes to onboarding them.

 

9. Administrative Experience

One of the most in-demand types of remote workers for small businesses are Virtual Assistants (also known as VA’s).

You can incorporate virtual assistant duties into almost any role. Often there is an overlap in VA tasks whether you’re hiring someone to help manage your social media, conduct bookkeeping or maintain your website.

Some common VA tasks include: 

  • answering emails,
  • entering invoices,
  • managing calendars / setting appointments,
  • research,
  • updating blogs,
  • customer service,
  • travel arrangements,
  • answering phone calls.

 

10. Positive Attitude

Sometimes it’s not the talent but the attitude of a worker that helps you determine whether or not they would be a good fit.

A remote employee who has a positive outlook will provide you with higher work quality than one who is negative.

They will take any constructive feedback you provide in a positive light and not become defensive or offended. This, in turn, leads to a continuous improvement of work quality and flow.

 

As the small business community continues to grow, the demand for remote workers does too! At HireMyMom, we have a large selection of remote workers to choose from. The benefits of our workers are that they are often in similar time zones, speak fluent English, and are typically work-ready within 24-48 hours of you hiring them.

We hope you’ve found this article helpful. We have another great article that you might like called “ 7 Reasons Why Moms Make The Best Remote Workers For Small Businesses”. 

If you’re ready to get started with a remote employee, you can post your job here. If you need to hire but are overwhelmed at the task, consider using our VIP Small Business Concierge program and allow one of our HR Specialists do all the work for you! 

 

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5 Questions Every Small Business Entrepreneur Should Ask Before Hiring A Virtual Assistant

As an entrepreneur, you may have reached that point in your small business where you are thinking you need some help. There just aren’t enough hours in the day for you to check and respond to emails, field phone calls, create social media posts, create email blasts, manage your calendar, research topics, manage day to day operations, and on and on.

There are many advantages to having someone who can assist with tasks that feel overwhelming so you can focus on the more important, revenue generating activities of your business. And working with a virtual professional can help you focus on GROWING your business and help you leverage your time better.

Before you jump in feet first and start the scouting process to find a Virtual Assistant (VA), there are some things to carefully consider.

Here are 5 questions you should ask and answer before hiring a Virtual Assistant or a Virtual Professional.

1. Do You Know What You Need?

Take some time to decide what tasks would be most beneficial to have someone else do. Make a list of the job duties you don’t like or don’t have time for as well as any tools or programs needed to complete the tasks.  As you create your job post, this list will help you refine the duties to help you find the right person for the job.

Are the tasks suitable for one type of assistant or should you hire more than one person? It may be that you need a part-time administrative assistant as well as a part-time social media manager, bookkeeper, blogger or customer service specialist depending on the tasks and duties you need to have done. Many businesses start out small and hire someone for 5-10 hours per week until their business grows and they need more help in various areas.

 

2. Are You Looking for a Certain Personality?

You will be working closely with a virtual assistant, so it’s important to find someone who gets you. Are you a Type A driven personality who works better with similar personality types? Are you more laid back and work better with someone who is too? Do you procrastinate too often and could use a no-nonsense person to help keep you on track? Do you run a faith-based business and want someone who shares your Christian values?

Knowing your personality type and what type of person you are looking for in a virtual assistant who will complement that is essential.  If this is important to you, you may consider having the applicants submit their scores to a personality assessment test.

 

3. How Will You Work With Your Virtual Assistant?

You will have the most success working with a VA when roles and communication are laid out clearly. There are a lot of project management resources out there like Slack, Asana and Trello to help with task tracking, communication, and project management. Or you may choose to keep it simple with daily or weekly check-ins by email or Zoom calls, sharing via Google Suite or DropBox folders. Decide up front how you will work best to ensure efficiency for you both in work and communication. But remember that communication is key and that no one will be able to read your mind or do a good job if they are not taught, show and directed early on especially.

 

4. What Skills Do You Need in a Virtual Assistant?

Having a list of tasks to delegate is a solid foundation when you are ready to hire a virtual assistant. Keep in mind, though, that hopefully this will be an individual who can grow with you and your business to form a great long-term working relationship. Think about what kind of skills you want a virtual assistant to have and what would bring you the most value as your business grows over the next two or three years.  If you are unsure, try searching the internet for Virtual Assistant (or whatever role you need) job duties to get an idea of what others are hiring these assistants to do and what skills may be needed.

 

5. Will They be Dealing with any Private or Sensitive Information?

If you need someone to help with parts of your business that include sensitive or private information to you or to your clients, you should consider not only checking references but also doing a background check or requesting a Trust Badge from a service such as SafetyPin Technologies. In today’s remote economy, it is important to do the extra work up front to reduce the chances of someone having access to sensitive information or business assets that turns out to be less than trustworthy. It is wise to get to know the person before allowing them full access to your business. Start small and allow them to prove themselves. The extra work up front may save valuable time and headaches in the future.

  

And when you are ready to hire, HireMyMom can help you find a great Virtual Assistant or Professional.  We believe Moms make great virtual employees or contractors.

FACT: Over 5.4 million mothers put their careers on hold to stay home with children*. That adds up to a lot of talented women with experience, education, skills and the motivation to find flexible work that can be done from their home office. (*Source: U.S. Census Bureau)

What are the benefits of hiring remote employees or contractors from HireMyMom?

  • Save time.
  • Save money.
  • Save on office space and office equipment.
  • Save Your SANITY!
  • We do NOT take any commissions from You or our Job Seekers!
  • You will have more time to focus on your clients and improve your business.
  • Your project or job is posted to our entire pool of talented work from home candidates saving you valuable time.
  • You save money by not paying high salaries and benefits for traditional employees.
  • You interview, evaluate and decide which candidate is best suited for your business (or you may choose our Small Business Concierge program and allow us to do it all for you).
  • We provide the candidates. You provide the work. We get out of the way.
  • We’ve been around since 2007, and as moms and entrepreneurs ourselves, we are committed to helping small businesses, entrepreneurs and moms find mutual success!

FIND A TALENTED VIRTUAL ASSISTANT

 

What Types of Professionals Can You Hire?

Here are some of the more common job types posted with us:

  • virtual assistants / administrative assistants,
  • blogger / writers / editors,
  • social media marketers,
  • marketing / public relations / advertising,
  • legal & real estate assistants,
  • researchers,
  • graphic designers,
  • accounting / bookkeeping,
  • web designers,
  • customer service reps,
  • sales,
  • e-commerce specialists,
  • human resources, and more!

FIND YOUR NEXT VIRTUAL PROFESSIONAL NOW!

If you need help with hiring, try our Small Business VIP Concierge service and we can do all the hard work for you!

 

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#1 Complaint Job Seekers Have…

We hear it over and over again…

“I never hear back from the jobs I’ve applied for.”

I’ll tell you why that’s not good for your business.

1.  It puts your company’s reputation in a negative light as unresponsive and unprofessional.

2.  The next time you post a job, those applicants are less likely to apply because they’ve felt rejected without any feedback or communication at all.

You don’t have to craft a long, drawn out response to every candidate but even a simple, professional response is much appreciated!

Your email can be as quick and simple as:

 

Dear _________,

Thank you for your interest in our position posted with HireMyMom.com.  
 
I wanted to let you know that we have selected another candidate who we feel more closely matches the skills, traits and expertise we are looking for at this time. 
 
We truly appreciate your time and thank you for your interest in our job. We wish you much success in your endeavors. 
 
Warm Regards,
Your Name

If the candidate was a close runner up, let them know. You may need to hire additional help or replace your current hire. Keep the lines of communication open!

We look forward to helping you with your hiring needs.

Please contact us and let us know how we can help.

 

 

 

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5 Tips for A Professional Job Application

We all know the importance of a resume when you apply for a job, but there’s often more to the application than just that. There’s the cover letter, recommendation letters, resume, and anything else requested by that particular position.

We’re sharing our best tips to keeping your whole job application professional and effective, so you’re ready to apply when those ideal positions come along.

Keep it up to date

Even if you’re not actively job searching, sometimes the right position just pops up. Be ready for these opportunities! Every month or so, take a few minutes to update and review your materials.  This will keep things fresh, keep you from scrambling, and help you avoid losing future opportunities due to time.

This is also a good time to prepare all potential documents.  If you only have a resume so far, draft a cover letter and seek out at least 2-4 professional recommendations to have on file.

Short and sweet

A professional application is short and sweet! You may think you need to elaborate or sound wordy to be impressive, but employers receive a ton of applications.  They will greatly appreciate that you kept to the most essential information.

Use bullets

Along with keeping things short and sweet, don’t be afraid to use bullet points liberally! It allows employers to easily scan your information for items that jump out, and keeps information in bite-sized pieces.

You can utilize bullet points in all areas of your application – the cover letter and resume, as well as any other documents required by the posting.

Free from errors

If you want to submit a professional application, it should be free from spelling and grammatical errors. Take the time to really proofread well, and ask a friend or family member to take a look as well.  We can miss small errors by seeing the same piece of writing so many times, so don’t be afraid to have several sets of eyes on it.

Errors and mistakes can make you come across as careless, even if that couldn’t be further from the truth.  It’s worth the extra time to ensure that all of your materials are perfect!

All materials

These days, not all job postings are standard.  Some of them require additional writing samples, tests, and so on.  You need to read very carefully! They’re often looking for someone who follows directions.

Be sure that you include everything that is asked for, and don’t include other things that are not.  Each employer usually has a very specific skill set and documents that they’re requiring, so it’s best to stick to that.

To start, ensure that you have a cover letter, solid, updated resume, and recommendations, which can either be attached or ready upon request. This will give you a foundation, and any other requested materials can be created quickly!

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5 Tips for Hiring for the First Time

Hiring can often come with a lot of pressure – managing the job posting, interviewing, and hiring the right person can be a daunting experience.

Although many managers and employers are pros at this, what if you’re hiring for the first time?  Read along for some best practices in hiring as a novice.  With the right preparation and mindset, you can be sure that you’re on your way to hiring successful candidates. If you prefer to have someone do this for you, check out HireMyMom’s Concierge Service.

Create the right post

Creating the right job posting is key in attracting the right candidates and fully understanding what you’re seeking.  It’s important to be thorough when creating the position, including necessary skill set, education, experience level, pay, and more.  If you forget key components or realize too late that you are seeking a certain type of person, you may have to go through several rounds of the hiring process.

Save yourself some time, effort, and expense by nailing the job description from the beginning.  This also includes using the right posting sites that avoid spam.  More reputable sites help to weed out spam hirees, as well as have your post seen by serious applicants.

Be prepared

When it comes time for the interviews, be sure that you’re prepared.  This will also reduce time spent on interviews that weren’t properly organized and stalled the hiring process.  Begin by asking the right questions, which would feature a good mix of past experience, knowledge of the job position and company, and personality fit questions.

Be prepared for conversations and negotiations around pay as well, and know which response is appropriate for your company.

Make sure you’re thorough

By being prepared and organized, you’ll be well on your way to being thorough in the hiring process.  It might be helpful to start by coming up with your own screening process, and create a checklist around this.

To begin, ensure that each applicant has contributed every material that was asked for.  If they have, look at every aspect of their cover letter and resume for keywords and matching qualities and experience that fit the job position.  You might have a kind of criteria that must be met, which allows you to adhere to your posting and make smart hiring decisions.

Be a great listener

It takes more than a checklist to make smart hiring decisions – you also have to be sure that you’re hearing everything accurately.  Listen to what each applicant says – or doesn’t say.

Do they know about your company and enough about the position?  Are they a great person but not a fit?  Listen closely to ensure that you’re truly hearing what the prospect is saying correctly.  It can be easy to jive with a personality, when the skills or lacking.  On the other side, someone might be great on paper but not a personality fit to your brand.  Listen closely to what is being said!

Set expectations

Unmet expectations can be the cause of many problems, especially in hiring.  It’s best to let your potential hire what’s going on from the very beginning.  Is there a trial period for this position?  How are tasks evaluated?  Does this position require tracking time? Do you report daily?

Make sure job and communication expectations are set up early to avoid any issues. Also, be sure to let your new hire in on time frames and deadlines for starting up, since that’s typically the most frantic part of any new job.

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5 Things You Need to Know About Hiring Virtual Help

According to Recuriterbox, over 53 million people are currently freelancing and by 2020, over 40% of the workforce is expected to be independent contractors. It is a growing trend that many businesses are seeing the rewards of. Before you jump in, here are 5 things to know about hiring virtual help.

Communication

One of the biggest mistakes I see business owners and freelancers make is a lack of good communication from the beginning.  It is important to create a very detailed and accurate job posting so that you attract the right candidate who is qualified for your project or job. It is also imperative to lay out clear expectations on the work to be performed, expected results as well as deadlines. I recommend doing a Skype or FaceTime call with your candidates and not only talking about the job and expectations but also spending time to get to know the person so you can develop a mutually beneficial working relationship.

Flexibility

Many times, those who are seeking virtual jobs are seeking those jobs at least partly for the flexibility that comes with it. Be clear about the expectations you have for your virtual team member. And if you need someone during specific hours, also be clear about that. Flexibility can work great for both parties. It just needs to be clear to both sides when the work is needed and expected and if the contractor needs to be available at set times.

Pay

Even at a higher hourly rate, expect to save 20 to 30 percent annually with a freelancer given that you will not have to pay for benefits, health insurance, retirement, Medicare or Social Security. You also save on office space, computers and other office supplies. On the other hand, your freelancer does have to pay all of those costs so instead of looking to hire at rock bottom prices, factor in at least $4-5 more an hour for the expenses they will have to incur.

Quality

Independent contractors and freelancers run their own business, which is dependant on happy and returning clients. You know as a business owner, its much more cost efficient to keep a client than to try to find a new one. Because of that, most freelancers will strive to deliver their best work to keep their clients. While traditional employees performance may vary, freelancers know their job is only as good as their last project.

Sourcing

Not all freelance websites are created equally.  Some have millions of users all over the world. While others are more specific to the industry or type of freelancer. For instance, HireMyMom.com is a niche website geared toward Mom Professionals who have left the workforce for the flexibility to work from home. Business owners find dedicated and dependable contractors or virtual employees without sorting through hundreds of resumes. They also benefit from hiring someone in or near their time zone for ease of working relationship as well as not having to deal with issues faced in countries with undependable Internet and electricity. Whatever your needs, be sure to find the right website to help you succeed.

So when it comes time to expand your virtual team, knowing what to expect and more about the process will help you be more prepared and ready for success!

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Challenging Times Call for Creative Hiring Solutions

In today’s economy, many businesses are having to downsize and cut back expenses every place possible in order to survive. This includes letting valued employees go – often times with much regret. And unfortunately some believe our economy will not improve for a couple of years. So what are businesses to do? How do you support and grow a business if your employee pool is or will be dwindling? Are there creative hiring solutions?

Outsourcing is a Creative Hiring Solution

The good news is that many businesses are finding a perfect solution in outsourcing to independent professionals. These professionals offer the same skills and experience as an on-site employee yet they work as an independent, not requiring employee benefits or office space. One of the largest pools of independent professionals is mom professionals who have left the workforce voluntarily or involuntarily.

Many of them are looking for ways especially now to help supplement their families’ income. And in some cases support their family altogether if their spouse has been laid off. These professionals are experienced and educated but are seeking the freedom and flexibility to work hours that are more conducive to having a family. Some of them work part time and some work full time. Some of them work on an hourly basis and others work on a salary or by the project. What’s great for them and for the company is that studies have proven that a person’s productivity actually goes up when working from a home office. This is at least partly due to the fact that independent workers want to prove themselves and go above and beyond expectations to ensure the work keeps flowing to them.

A Win-Win Solutions

The beauty of it is that these creative hiring solutions is a win-win for the company and the professional. In the majority of cases the company saves on payroll and employee benefits and the professional is pleased to have flexible work and puts forth his or her best effort to make sure the work keeps coming in. For more information on hiring at home professionals, visit www.HireMyMom.com.

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Lesley Pyle is the founder and president of HBWM.com Inc. which includes the national association of Home-Based Working Moms helping moms network, learn and grow in their role as a Home-Based Working Mom and HireMyMom.com connecting at-home Mom Professionals with home-based jobs and projects in virtually every career field.  Pyle has been featured in numerous publications including Forbes, Entrepreneur, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Home Office Computing, and many others.  Twitter @lesleypyle and @hiremymom

Check out these other great articles about tips for mom as a work from home professional.Also check out our current job postings for mom professionals.

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