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Scaling up your team? How to know when to hire more employees.

When to hire more employees

You may be at a point where you need to hire more employees. You know this because your business is growing and you can’t keep up with the demand yourself. But how do you know when it’s time to make that leap?

Hiring new employees is an important decision that should not be taken lightly. If you wait too long to add more staff, your company may suffer financially and there could be unfinished work building up as a result.

Bring On More Help

Bring On More Help: 9 Signs It’s Time

Here are nine signs that will let you know it’s time to bring on more help:

1) Your team overtime increases.

If you find your team’s working more hours than ever, it may be a sign that you need to hire additional staff. Working too much can lead to burnout, which will negatively affect both your personal and professional life.

Check how much overtime your employees clock and how they have changed in recent months. The fact that employees work overtime more often indicates a higher cost of hiring a larger staff. You can take into account employee morale as long as working overtime increases the stress on staff.

2) Your business experiences strong growth.

You may want to consider hiring new employees as soon as you have an accurate accounting system. Examine the revenue of your business. Having steadily increased revenues over several months indicates you have an efficient and effective workforce for achieving growth. If your business needs to grow faster, you need to hire more employees.

3) You can’t keep up with customer demand.

Mistakes happen, it should be expected, but if you find that your work is constantly full of mistakes, it could be a sign that you’re overworked. When fatigue sets in, it’s difficult to maintain the same level of quality you once had.

If you’re finding it difficult to maintain customer satisfaction, it may be time to start hiring new employees. Your current staff may not be able to handle the increase in work, or they may need more help to complete tasks efficiently.

You are saying no to new clients

4) You’re saying “no” to new clients.

If you’re constantly having to turn away new clients because you can’t take them on, it may be time to start thinking about hiring more staff. By saying “no” to new business, you’re essentially leaving money on the table.

5) New skills are needed

If you want to expand or improve your service offerings, you need to consider the experience and expertise of current employees. If the new product or service you want to offer does not meet your existing staff skillset, you need to think about hiring someone with the necessary skills.

6) Your customer service suffers.

If you’re providing a service, it’s important to maintain a high level of customer service. If you find that your customers are unhappy with the level of service they’re receiving, it may be time to add more staff.

7) You can’t take on any new projects.

If you’re already working on several projects and can’t take on any new ones, it may be necessary to hire more employees. By not being able to take on new projects, you’re missing out on potential revenue.

So, you’ll need to assess the capabilities of your current staff to determine if they’re able to take on additional work. If not, then it may be time to start looking for new employees. The best way to assess your staff’s capacity is to see if your employees are working at full capacity. If they’re not, then it may be necessary to hire more staff.

8) You’re working on tasks that are outside of your skill set.

If you find yourself doing tasks that are outside of your skillset, it may be time to hire someone qualified to do those tasks. This will free up your time so that you can focus on other aspects of the business.

9) You’re not taking any vacations.

If you can’t remember the last time you took a vacation, it’s time to start scaling up your team. Everyone needs a break every once in a while, and if you’re not taking any time off, it will eventually catch up to you.

Audit your process and people

Before you hire: Audit your process and people.

To audit means to “examine closely for accuracy or perfection.” This can be done in two ways: taking a close look at your processes and taking a close look at your people.

You want to start by examining your processes because this will give you an idea of where inefficiencies exist and where improvements can be made. Your process includes everything from the way you onboard new clients to how you deliver your product or service.

After you’ve looked at your processes, it’s time to take a close look at your people. This includes both your current employees, yourself, and even your company culture. You want to make sure that everyone is working as efficiently as possible and that there aren’t any bottlenecks.

You also want to make sure that you’re not the bottleneck. As the owner or manager, you should be delegating as much as possible so that you’re not bogged down with work.

Determine your biggest hiring needs.

Once you’ve audited your process and people, it’s time to determine your biggest hiring needs. This will help you figure out what positions you need to fill and how many employees you need to hire.

To do this, start by making a list of all the tasks that need to be done for your business to run smoothly. Then, categorize these tasks by level of importance. The most important tasks should be given to your current employees or outsourced.

The less important tasks can be delegated to new hires. For example, if you own a marketing agency, your most important task is probably creating campaigns for your clients. This is something that should be given to your current employees or outsourced.

Less important tasks, such as scheduling social media posts, can be delegated to new hires.

Recruiting Efforts

Make recruiting efforts targeted and efficient.

Once you’ve determined your biggest hiring needs, it’s time to start recruiting. The first step is to create a targeted and efficient recruiting strategy.

To do this, start by identifying the role you want to fill and the type of person you’re looking for. Are you looking for an expert in a specific field or someone with a certain set of skills?

Then, create a job posting that accurately reflects the role you’re trying to fill. Be sure to include all the necessary information, such as the job title, duties, and required skills.

Once you’ve created your job posting, it’s time to start promoting it. You can do this by posting it on your website, social media channels, and job boards.

Too many employees

How do you know if you have too many employees?

It’s also important to note that there is such a thing as having too many employees. If you find that you’re constantly training new employees or that your turnover rate is high, it may be time to scale back your team.

Here are five signs that you may have too many employees:

  1. Overtime decreases – If you find that your employees are working less overtime, it may be a sign that you have too many staff. When there is a surplus of labor, employees will work fewer hours because they know there are others who can pick up the slack.
  2. Productivity decreases – If you find that your employees are less productive, it may be a sign that you have too many staff. When there is a surplus of labor, employees will be less motivated to work because they know there are others who can do the job.
  3. Quality decreases – If you find that the quality of your product or service has decreased, it may be a sign that you have too many staff. When there is a surplus of labor, employees will be less motivated to produce a high-quality product or service because they know there are others who can do the job.
  4. Morale decreases – If you find that employee morale has decreased, it may be a sign that you have too many staff. When there is a surplus of labor, employees will be less motivated to work because they know there are others who can do the job.
  5. Profits decrease – If you find that your profits have decreased, it may be a sign that you have too many staff. When there is a surplus of labor, employees will be less motivated to work because they know there are others who can do the job.

Summary

Every business has its own unique hiring needs. It also can be difficult to determine the best time to expand your team. However, by following the tips in this article, you can make sure that you hire the right employees at the right time. And, as a result, you’ll be able to take your business to the next level.

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Adios W-2, Hello 1099: How Contingent Employees Are Changing the Workforce

Contingent Workers

We’ve all watched the media cover natural disasters. Whether it’s a flood, a severe storm, or a hurricane blowing in from the coast, the coverage always includes an image of a pundit standing under an umbrella and holding a microphone to her face as gusts of wind tousle her styled hair. Then the camera cuts to images of cars completely submerged in water, people wading through their front yards and shelters full of families who’ve fled their homes to higher ground.

One image these cameras never capture, however, are the panicked insurance companies, racing just as feverishly to hire hundreds of temporary workers so they can process the flood of insurance claims about to deluge their office.
Temporary or contingent workers have an indispensable role in the workforce. Whether seasonal or long-term, core or non-core, in a very real way they’re keeping the economy afloat.

And even if you’re not sure just what a contingent worker means, you’ve probably looked out your office window, sipping your morning coffee, and sensed that something’s percolating, and that it has been for some time.

Why are we hearing more and more about the “gig economy”? What is a contingent employee? Who are these people who say they “freelance”? What are they doing all day?

There’s all sorts of jobs, professions, roles and titles that weren’t there before. What is this new landscape we’re entering into, as traditional career and job models recede behind us?

Whether it’s described as “gig,” “contingent” or “temporary” work, no one can deny that we’re surrounded by this new craze. Yet for many it’s still a great unknown. Let’s put some framework around this emerging landscape, by defining just what a contingent employee is, looking at some examples and exploring some issues surrounding this emerging phenomenon.

What Is a Contingent Worker

What Is a Contingent Worker?

A variety of roles and titles fall under the label of “contingent worker,” and they cannot be fully defined with the same language. However, it’s accurate to define all contingent work as temporary or contract work. Often it’s part-time.

The litany of titles that fall under the umbrella of “contingent employee” is long indeed. It includes: freelancer, gig worker, contractor, independent contractor, outsource worker, temporary agency staffing worker, agency worker, dispatch worker, day-rate worker, intern, payee, outsourced employee, professional services, co-op and, for Google exclusively, TVCs (temps, vendors, contractors).

Whew! That’s a whole lot of roles and classifications. To make it simpler, contingent work breaks down into four distinct categories, outlined below.

Contractor

Organizations hire contractors when they need to pivot and augment staff on a dime. Also known as temporary workers, contractors are given a badge and equipment and assigned to a specific project.

Contractors are hired for seasonal work, or when an influx of work necessitates more employees. For example, in the scenario mentioned above, an insurance company hires contractors to process claims immediately following a natural disaster. Once the assignment is complete, they’re relinquished from duty.

Independent Contractor

Also known as freelancers, gig workers or payees, independent contractors (ICs) are essentially running their own business while working within another organization.

ICs encompass all sorts of professions, from writers, to coders, to hair stylists to make-up artists. Their business can include up to five employees.

Legislation such as California’s Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) and the United Kingdom’s IR35 specifically address this category of contingent workers.

Consultants

Consultants are subject matter experts who provide professional services to an organization. They’re more like vendors than employees, and so they’re solicited rather than interviewed and hired. Consultants come into organization to help with a specific task with a clear time frame and price tag.

Consultants provide a range of services, including audit, tax and legal advice. Many marketing companies subsist entirely on consulting work. They’re hired to develop a marketing plan and strategy, and once it’s up and running, they’re onto the next one.

Outsourced Employee

Outsourced employees are also subject matter experts, just like consultants. However, they’re evergreen, meaning they remain with the same organization for an indefinite period of time.

Outsourced employees may be core, meaning they provide a service essential to the business, such as quality assurance. Or they may be non-core, meaning their service isn’t essential to the bottom line. This includes services such as security, cafeteria work and lawn care.

And so these are the four main classifications of contingent workers. Each category has various compliance and tax laws specific to it alone, which we’ll discuss later. For now, let’s explore why the segment of contingent workers has grown at the same time that the segment of long-term employees has shrunk.

Why Is the Contingent Workforce Growing

Why Is the Contingent Workforce Growing?

From one angle, “contingent worker” connotes images of bliss. Freelancers can sleep until 10 am and start work in their pajamas, hit the slopes or the fairway on a weekday afternoon and even take several months off in the middle of the year to travel the world.

Another angle conjures up starkly different images, not unlike those from the movie Taxi Driver. They’re images of gig workers with bloodshot eyes, shuttling people around and making deliveries into the wee hours of the morning, earning so little they can’t afford even a few days of maternity leave.

Contingent work is a broad field, and it’s safe to say there’s a lot of truth to each of these extremes. And regardless of the slant, contingent work is definitely here, and here to stay.

Gig Economy Statistics

In recent years, the number of gig workers in the United States has increased by 80%, from 43 million to 78 million! Many other countries have experienced similar growth, and within a variety of services, including meal delivery, household services and remote digital online tasks.

It’s estimated that in this upcoming decade, more than half the workforce will be made up of contingent workers!

The Controversy

This increase has entailed a fair share of conflict and growing pains. Executives at the rideshare company Lyft created a ruckus when they celebrated the news that an employee was en route to the hospital to give birth, but still set aside enough time to give someone a ride. Presumably, she couldn’t afford even a few hours away from the minimum-wage job they’d provided her, and this pleased them.

Outcries have reached the ears of politicians the world over, and in limited cases they’ve brought about reform. Legislation such as AB5 in California and IR35 in the United Kingdom force companies to treat most ICs like regular employees, providing them benefits such as health care and paid time off.

A Generational Tendency

In some cases, the workforce itself is pushing for this transition to temporary work. Both Millennials and Generation Z (people born after 1981) value work-life balance and independence in the workplace.

For example, if a company expects a millennial mamma to hire a sitter in order to show up for a meeting she could just as easily participate in from home, they’re probably going to listen to her say “sayonara” as she moves on to work environments that offer more flexibility.

According to Purdue research, even Generation Xers, older than Millennials by a decade or so, won’t stick around with an employer who doesn’t meet their needs.

The Great Resignation

The increase in contingent workers has been accelerated by the Great Resignation of 2021 and 2022, where as much as 3% of the workforce resigned in the months of December, November and the following March alone; over 4.5 million in each month. Many left difficult working situations in search of greater flexibility with contingent positions.

Chicken or Egg?

And so who “started” this trend of a growing contingent workforce? Is the demand coming from the employees or the businesses? As each side benefits, the answer is probably a little of both. For many reasons, contingent work makes sense both for companies and individuals alike.

Let’s look a little more closely at some of these benefits. And a few of the downsides as well.

Who Benefits from Contingent Employees

Who Benefits from Contingent Employees?

For most of us, the notion of working with the same company for decades (and raking in a tidy pension) is a fantasy. Many businesses nowadays simply cannot sustain a team of long-term employees. And at the same time, employees want to determine where they work, who they work for and how long their assignments last.

And so is contingent work a win-win on both sides? Let’s look at how temporary work benefits both companies and the people working for them.

Pros and Cons for Businesses

On the plus side, a contingent work model allows a company access to a broad range of talented individuals, with the leeway to pay them only for a stretch of time. For a small business with tight margins, this makes a whole lot of practical sense.

Plus, contingent workers may well perform at a higher level than W-2 employees. Whereas a W-2 employee is given some slack for sloppy work, a contingent employee isn’t. He must prove himself right out of the gate, or else risk being fired and given a bad review.

On the downside, these contingent workers generally don’t have the company or brand loyalty of a long-term employee. And they can’t be familiarized with every aspect of the company right off the bat, so the scope of what they’re able to do is limited.

Pros and Cons for Employees

Many contingent employees are living the dream. They work for themselves, determine their own hours and never leave the comfort of their home. Plus, they don’t go through the lugubrious hiring process W-2 workers endure, nor do they sit through yearly evaluations and performance reviews.

On the downside, however, they receive none of the benefits of W-2 employees, such as health insurance and 401K matching. They don’t receive any perks or product discounts. And hardest of all, contingent workers have no paid vacation or maternity leave. If they want to see money hitting their checking account at the end of summer, they have to work over Labor Day weekend, when everyone else is out riding jet skis, camping and eating hot dogs.

As it turns out, plenty of contingent workers are able to palate the sour along with the sweet–so much so that it’s shifting the culture within the workforce. Let’s look at how this trend toward a contingent workforce has impacted the traditional work environment.

Meld the Contingent Workforce With a Traditional Workplace

How to Meld the Contingent Workforce With a Traditional Workplace

Contingent work looks a lot different from the traditional model of workers staying with the same company year in and year out. And so an influx of contingent workers poses all sorts of challenges. How does a CEO develop an integrated company culture around a workforce that’s constantly changing? And how does human resources establish policies for a variety of positions, each with its own tax and compliance laws?

A Cohesive Workplace Culture

In a traditional work environment where year round employees show up at 8 and leave at 5, year round, a temporary worker who works part-time and is only around for a couple of weeks stands out like a sore thumb. She isn’t included in office birthday celebrations and, even if her stint occurs at the end of the year, receives no invitation to the holiday party.

However, as the contingent workforce begins to consume larger and even larger slices of the employee pie, this paradigm doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. How can a company have a healthy culture when a good 40% of its workforce is treated like an outsider?

And so more and more, leaders shy away from dividing employees into silos of “permanent” and “contingent,” with the implication being one is favored above the other. Rather, everyone is regarded as an equal part of the total workforce. Anyone who adds value to the company is valued in turn.

This attitude is reflected in onboarding processes, where contingent workers are warmly welcomed and brought up to speed on the company brand and mission, and even offered the same perks as permanent, long-term employees.

A Process for Each and Every Role

A Process for Each and Every Role

At the same time as companies work to meld contingent and regular employees into one large blended family, they are scrambling to establish processes within a workforce that’s looking more and more complicated and disparate.

Human Resources takes a completely different approach to finding, hiring, managing and off boarding permanent employees as it does contingent workers.

And although from a simplicity standpoint, it’s tempting to label all contingent workers as “Non-Employees” and be done with it, unfortunately with respect to taxes and compliance, this just doesn’t fly. Each classification of contingent employees (ICs, contractors, consultants and outsourced employees) has its own set of rules around compliance, pay and taxes.

Many companies have found a middle ground between wanting simple processes and fulfilling all compliance requirements for each classification. Google, for example, has come up with the job role “TVC,” which encompasses temps, vendors, and contractors at the same time.

A Similar Objective

Compliance work has created porous walls within the workforce, with many exits and portals. People come in and through them with greater ease and regularity than they ever have in the past. This has upset traditional workplace models and processes in so many ways.

However, the overall objective, from a leadership point of view, is still the same. It is to maximize the value each individual offers to the company. The North Star they’re all aiming for is to have her working in a “flow” state, where her talent and expertise is aligned with the company mission.

Conclusion

Contingent work has blurred some lines for sure. Although companies are still out to hire top talent and increase their bottom line, their methods for achieving these ends have changed. Rather than hire someone full time, more and more often companies choose to recruit top talent for shorter “gig” assignments.

The cause for this shift, in part, is because employees have demanded it. Rather than working for “the man,” they want to be working for themselves and determining their own lifestyle. Contingent employees work in every industry, under a variety of titles and classifications.

Accommodating for this shift in the workplace requires agility from businesses and employees as well. It’s forced companies to shift away from traditional work paradigms and adapt to new ones.

Streamlining processes is part and parcel to adjusting to these changes. Teamly is a project management software that offers a sophisticated array of tools for remote teams, from time tracking to voice messaging to group meetings. With our simple, intuitive software, onboarding and payment processing is a breeze. With Teamly, it’s easy to hire contingent workers and keep them happy. Sign up for our complimentary services today!

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The 11 Essential Books on Communication Every Project Manager Should Read

Communication Books

Imagine this: you’re in the middle of a project and you’ve just realized that you and your team are not on the same page. Miscommunication has led to lost time, and wasted effort, and now you’re scrambling to get everyone back on track. If only you had brushed up on your communication skills sooner.

Don’t worry, we’ve all been there.

Communication is hard, especially when you’re dealing with different personalities and working styles. But it’s a necessary skill for any effective project manager.

There are a wide variety of circumstances that require different types of communication. For example, you wouldn’t give the same update to your boss as you would to your team. And you definitely wouldn’t use the same style of communication when you’re dealing with a difficult client.

Or let’s say you need to give a presentation. Do you worry about being effective in your style? Many people do. The good news is, with the right preparation and approach, you can give a killer presentation that will impress your audience.

The bottom line is, that effective communication is essential to successful project management. And there are plenty of books out there to help you hone your skills. Here are 11 must-read books on communication that every project manager should read:

1. Never Eat Alone: and other secrets to success, one relationship at a time.

Never Eat Alone - Communication Book

Author: Keith Ferrazzi
Year of Publication: 2005

This book is easily one of the most influential books you will read as a project manager. The book is all about networking and building relationships. And it’s something that project managers need to be good at. Because your success depends on your ability to build relationships and network effectively.

In Never Eat Alone, Ferrazzi lays out his simple but effective approach to networking. He explains how to use your relationships to further your career and build a strong network of contacts. And he provides concrete tips and strategies for doing so.

In project management relationships are key. You need to build strong relationships with your team, your clients, and your stakeholders. And this book will help inspire you to do just that.

2. The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace: Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People

The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace Book

Author: Gary Chapman & Paul White
Year of Publication: 2019

Gary Chapman made a name for himself by creating the 5 Love Languages, a book that has helped millions of people improve their relationships. The basis of that book is that everyone has a different love language and you need to speak your partner’s love language to have a successful relationship. The languages are: acts of service, quality time, gifts, words of affirmation, and physical touch.

In The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, Chapman and White apply the same principle to the workplace. They argue that everyone has a different language of appreciation and you need to speak your employees’ languages to have a successful work relationship.

This book is a must-read for any project manager who wants to build strong relationships with their team. By understanding the different languages of appreciation, you can learn how to speak to each of your team members in a way that will make them

You will find this book helpful if you are looking for ways to:

  • Elevate your employee’s ownership and engagement.
  • Increase employee retention.
  • Foster a positive work environment.

3. Talking to Strangers: What we should know about the people we don’t know

Talking to Strangers Book on Communication Skills

Author: Malcolm Gladwell
Year of Publication: 2015

Misunderstandings between people are at the center of many conflicts. And it all begins with perception. We often make judgments about people based on our preconceptions and assumptions. But as Malcolm Gladwell points out in Talking to Strangers, these judgments can often be wrong.

Gladwell uses several known cases of misunderstanding and miscommunication to explore how and why we so often get it wrong when talking to strangers. He also offers some suggestions for how we can improve our ability to communicate with people we don’t know.

This book is a must-read for project managers because it highlights the importance of understanding people. As a project manager, you need to be able to understand your team, your clients, and your stakeholders. And this book will give you some insight into

As a project manager, you’re often working with people you don’t know very well. And it’s important to be able to build rapport quickly and effectively. This book will teach you how to achieve that by stressing the importance of getting to know people and understanding their backgrounds and experiences while challenging your own preconceptions.

4. Words that Work: It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear

Words That Work Book by Dr Frank Luntz

Author: Dr. Frank Luntz
Year of Publication: 2007

Learning to communicate effectively is one of the most important skills you can have as a project manager. After all, you’re constantly communicating with team members, stakeholders, and clients. And if you can’t communicate effectively, projects will quickly start to unravel.

But communication isn’t primarily about what you say. It’s about what people hear. In this book, Dr. Frank Luntz – one of the world’s leading communication experts – explores how the words you use can impact the way people perceive you and your message. He also provides helpful tips on how to choose the right words to get your point across more effectively. His chapter on the twenty-one words and phrases for the twenty-first century is especially useful.

5. How to Win Friends and Influence People

How to win friends and influence people book by Dale Carnegie

Author: Dale Carnegie
Year of Publication: 1936

Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People is one of the most famous self-help books of all time. It has sold millions of copies and has been translated into dozens of languages.

The book is primarily about how to build relationships with people. But it also contains a wealth of advice on how to communicate more effectively. Carnegie stresses the importance of understanding other people’s perspectives and being genuine in your interactions with them. He also provides numerous examples of how to put his suggestions into practice.

This classic book on communication was first published over 80 years ago, but its message is still relevant today. Carnegie argues that the key to success is not what you say, but how you say it. He offers practical advice on how to build rapport with others and influence them to see things your way.

You’ll find this book helpful if you want to learn how to:

  • Easel into difficult conversations.
  • Get people to like you.
  • Handle criticism effectively.

6. 4 Essential Keys to Effective Communication.

4 Essential Keys to Effective Communication Book

Author: Bento C Leal III
Year of Publication: 2009

As a project manager, you are responsible for overseeing and managing communication between team members and stakeholders. This includes creating and implementing communication plans, maintaining communication channels, and troubleshooting any issues that may arise.

The 4 Essential Keys to Effective Communication by Bento C Leal III can help you achieve these goals. The book covers topics such as understanding communication styles, overcoming communication barriers, and handling difficult conversations. It is a valuable resource for any project manager looking to improve their communication skills.

Effective communication is more than just sharing information for Leal. You’ll need empathy, tact, and the capacity to listen to succeed. This book is amazing and a must-read for anyone leading teams.

7. How to Persuade People Who Don’t Want to Be Persuaded: Get What You Want-Every Time!

How to persuade people who dont want to be persuaded Book

Author: Joel Bauer and Mark Levy
Year of Publication: 2002

Are you struggling to get buy-in from your team members on a project? If so, then you need to read How to Persuade People Who Don’t Want to Be Persuaded. In this book, Joel Bauer and Mark Levy share their expertise on how to influence others and get them to see things your way.

The book is packed with useful information on topics such as body language, persuasion techniques, and dealing with difficult people. Persuasion is a powerful tool that every project manager should have in their toolkit. And this book is an excellent resource for learning how to use it effectively.

Brilliant book! If you manage projects you’ll find this an invaluable guide to getting people on your side, from the initial stages of starting a project through to its completion. Joel Bauer and Mark Levy show you how to use body language, vocal persuasion techniques, and other methods of influencing people to get them firmly behind you and your project.

8. Story Telling with Data: A Data Visualization Guide for Business Professionals

Storytelling with data Book

Author: Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic
Year of Publication: 2015

Sharing data is an essential part of being a project manager. But simply sharing data is not enough. You need to be able to tell a story with your data to influence and persuade others.

Storytelling with Data by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic is a fantastic resource for learning how to do just that. The book covers topics such as data visualization, finding stories in data, and communicating effectively with graphs and charts. It also includes a wealth of practical examples to illustrate key concepts.

If you want to learn how to effectively communicate with data, then you need to read this book. It will show you how to tell a story that resonates with your audience and drives results.

9. Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World’s Top Minds

Talk like TED Book by Carmine Gallo

Author: Carmine Gallo
Year of Publication: 2014

Public speaking is an important skill for many project managers. After all, you need to be able to present your ideas convincingly to get buy-in from stakeholders.

Talk Like TED by Carmine Gallo can help you hone your public speaking skills. The book is based on the popular TED Talks and provides insight into what makes them so successful. It covers topics such as delivering a powerful message, using body language effectively and using humor to engage your audience.

If you want to learn how to give a TED-worthy talk, then you need to read this book. It is packed with useful tips and advice that you can put into practice the next time you have to present your ideas to a group.

10. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction

On Writing Well Book by William Zinsser

Author: William Zinsser
Year of Publication: 1998

On Writing Well by William Zinsser is a classic guide to writing nonfiction. It covers topics such as developing your style, overcoming writer’s block, and editing your work.

The book is an excellent resource for project managers who need to write reports, proposals, or other types of documents. It’s packed with practical advice that you can apply to your writing. Project managers are constantly putting words on paper, and this book can help you do it in a way that is clear, concise, and effective.

11. Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life

Nonviolent Communication - A Book on improving communication skills

Author: Marshall B. Rosenberg
Year of Publication: 2015

Nonviolent Communication by Marshall B. Rosenberg is a book about communicating effectively without resorting to violence. It covers topics such as speaking honestly, making requests instead of demands and resolving conflicts peacefully.

Conflicts are inevitable on any team, and it’s important to have the skills to resolve them without creating a bigger mess. This book is an excellent resource for learning how to do just that. It will teach you how to communicate in a way that is respectful, compassionate, and effective.

Conclusion

The best way to become a better communicator is to keep practicing. The more you read and learn about communication, the better equipped you’ll be to handle any situation. The books listed above should catapult you ahead in your quest to become a master communicator. So what are you waiting for? Start reading!

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5 Tips for a Top-Notch Agile Release

Agile Release Management

Software releases are seeped with dramatic tension. After slogging away over several development sprints, the agile team passes the beta test or completed software on for presentation. How will it be received? Will the team’s hard work end in tragedy, with glitches and malfunctions galore, or in rousing success, with an evening of hearty pats on the back and bubbly champagne?

It’s tempting to over-manage such a highly-anticipated event and to keep tabs on the agile team, monitoring its every step.

However, agile teams aren’t meant to be kept on a short leash. They’re at their best when working autonomously. And sticking to a rigid schedule isn’t the agile way. Rather, it’s to “adapt to change over following a plan.”

So how does a manager assure the client of a release date and a quality product when the development team itself needs to call most of the shots?

It is possible for management to oversee a successful release without encroaching on the agile methodology. Here are a few tips and tricks to pinning down a solid release date and checking all the boxes for an optimal presentation of completed software.

Agile Release Plan

1. Write a Release Plan

The first principle in the Agile Manifesto states: “Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.”

A release, then, is central to the agile methodology, and ideally something that occurs frequently. A release isn’t the increment produced at the end of each iteration, but rather the culmination of several sprints, and it’s passed from the development team into another environment for review.

Whether it’s a final product, a piece of final product, or a beta of the final product, achieving a release is a real milestone.

Making a plan ensures the release is executed smoothly. A thorough release plan includes the overall goal, which ideally has been discussed amongst all stakeholders using the MoSCoW method to clarify high and low priority requirements.

These priorities allow the team to review the backlog and identify those stories that must be completed during the release, those that might be completed if time permits and those it can put to the side. A date is determined for the release as well.

A release generally lasts at least three sprints. Agile is about adapting to change, and so this date isn’t hard or fixed. But the plan keeps the team on track and focused on a shorter-term business objective.

2. Discuss, Then Commit to a Release Date

Have you ever set aside an hour to mow your lawn, and four hours later you were still at it? Maybe the mower needed gas or a new blade, plants needed pruning and weeds needed whacking.

Estimating a project before taking a hard look at everything it entails is almost always a long shot.

When managing an agile release, then, it’s prudent to pin down a release date only after everyone on the team has sat down to evaluate the work at hand. Grooming the backlog and playing planning poker helps to gauge just how much work the team is taking on.

Another strategy is to simplify the stories as much as possible. Breaking work down into small, singular tasks is like shining a black light over the project, making it easier to spot any problems areas and potential snafus.

Whenever possible, it’s good to have these conversations face-to-face. The Agile Manifesto states: “The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.” So much communication is non-verbal, and in-person conversation allows for voice-inflection and tone to come across.

After it’s all been laid out and discussed, it’s time to find consensus using the fist of five. The plan only gets a “go” when the anticipated release date is met with jazz hands from everyone on the team.

Let the Team Find Solutions

3. Let the Team Find Solutions

Any manager with his or her eye on the bottom line wants to oversee a software project like a hawk. It’s tempting to determine all sorts of things, such as how many sprints it should take until release and how many tasks should fit into each sprint.

It’s hard, and probably feels a little nonsensical, to hand the reins over to the team to figure these things out on its own.

However, this actually makes a lot of business sense. From writing code to testing, the software team knows the ins and outs of the project better than anyone else. And so allowing it to plan and structure the project is the surest path for success.

But how can you trust you’re really putting the project into good hands? Another principle of Agile Manifesto states: “Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.”

If you’ve hired a team of go-getters with plenty of domain knowledge, they’re fully capable of working on their own and getting the job done.

Manage Workflow

4. Manage Workflow, Not Work Hours

Keeping a release on course hinges in part on efficient processes. Ideally, a team works at a consistent velocity, completing a similar number of story points each iteration.

How does a manager or scrum master keep the team on an even keel?

One thing he or she shouldn’t do is hand everyone a lengthy to-do list and put them on treadmills running at a grueling speed. This isn’t a recipe for quality work, but simply a fast track to burnout.

The Agile Manifesto states that “Simplicity—the art of maximizing the amount of work not done—is essential.”

Creating a high-functioning agile team is really about smart practices. One such practice is limiting the number of stories a team works on at once. Having too many irons on the fire creates cognitive burden and scatters everyone’s focus. Work is sloppy and time is wasted.

Instead, working on only one or two stories at a time lightens the load and unleashes the team’s energy. The team swarms to bring each story over the finish line, then moves onto the next item in the product backlog.

A second efficient method is planning sprints and daily tasks at the latest possible moment. The agile method is to work in the present, reflect, then adjust the path going forward. And so rather than looking one or two weeks ahead, it’s most efficient to plan for today based on what you learned yesterday.

Schedule a Release Sprint

5. Schedule a Release Sprint

Even after the release is written and tested, most projects still have a lot of loose ends. For example, all of the documentation is written in technical jargon, which to an ordinary person makes no sense at all.

A release sprint is a bit like a dress rehearsal. It firms things up and makes software presentable and usable for external release. An effective release sprint brings in stakeholders from outside the development team to review the product, evaluate it and provide feedback.

Much of this preparatory release work has nothing to do with development at all. The backlog for a release sprint might include writing a FAQs page for new users to an application, or providing instructions for managers of the application on how to update features.

These documents use everyday language, unlike the technical language from the development sprints. It’s a good idea to create these documents just before the release, so that they include any last minute changes.

Taking the time for a release sprint ensures the final product is sparkling clean, presentable, and ready to be handed off. A release sprint functions a little differently from a development sprint. It may be a different length, and may also use a separate “definition of done” from the one used for writing code and testing.

Conclusion

Managing an agile release is delicate. It means handing many of the decisions over to the agile team.

The manager isn’t entirely hands off, however. A worthy manager also hires a capable and motivated team, reviews the project with the team before its execution, and oversees the team’s workflow.

If you’re planning a release with a remote agile team, be sure to check out Teamly. Our seamless, one-stop project management software includes kanban boards, work rooms, voice messages, time tracking and more. Make it the key ingredient to your next successful release!

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Catching a Cloud, Pinning it Down: How to Capture Non Functional Requirements in Agile

Non Functional Requirements in Agile

You’ve probably heard the expression that “the best things in life aren’t things at all.” Some of our favorite things, such as nights out at the movies, evening walks in the snow and road trips to national parks, wouldn’t mean a whole lot if they didn’t include “things” like laughter, connection, friendship and love.

What do warm fuzzies have to do with non functional requirements in agile? As it turns out these two things are very much alike.

Not a few agile teams have banged away on a big project–planning iterations, completing user stories, producing increment in every sprint–only to discover during testing (or even later) that the product is not in line with the client’s expectations.

The client ordered a pizza, and the team delivered it, exactly to specifications: 16”, pepperoni, piping hot. Yet it lacked something fundamental. Maybe the service was lousy, the restaurant too noisy, the delivery time too long. The team thought it provided just what the customer ordered, yet it wasn’t what they ordered at all.

This leaves the team frustrated and flummoxed. When you play by all the agile rules, such as meet requirements, hold retrospectives and study the burn down chart, how can things go wrong? And how do you change things going forward?

If you’ve learned the hard way that non functional requirements cannot be ignored, even while they cannot be measured, then this post is for you. We’re going to look at how these hazy requirements butt heads with agile, and how to capture and measure their “uncapturable” qualities each iteration.

Agile Functional & Non Functional Requirements

The Definition of Functional & Non Functional Requirements

Let’s start by defining just what functional and non functional requirements are.

Functional Requirements

A functional requirement is a measurable quality or characteristic in a completed project. It’s concrete and often can be seen.

For example, if the project is building a website, a functional requirement may be to build a registration page that includes inputs for both name and email. If the project is to write a song, a functional requirement may be that it includes four stanzas and a chorus.

Since they’re quantifiable and measurable, it’s easy to tell whether or not a functional requirement has been met. It’s as simple as checking something off a list.

Non Functional Requirement

A non functional requirement is a quality or characteristic of a completed project that isn’t directly related to its functionality. It’s neither tangible or measurable, but related to overall qualities the project possesses, or the conditions under which the project must be met.

Non functional requirements (NFRs) include characteristics such as usability, scalability, security, compatibility and performance.

For example, a non functional requirement of “usability” for a website would affect several facets of the project. Copy that’s easy to read, pages that load quickly and a layout that makes navigation between web pages intuitive all contribute to “usability.” However, each of these requirements is quite diverse, and none of them has measurable specifications.

Since they’re nebulous and indefinable and bleed into all parts of a project, then, it’s difficult to determine when a non functional requirement has been met. It’s not so simple as checking a box on a list and pronouncing it “done.”

Further Distinctions between Functional and Non Functional Requirements

Non functional requirements are executive level, big picture goals, whereas functional requirements are easily measurable, definable goals that get into the granular and specifics of the project at hand.

Requirements in the real world aren’t always so cut and dry as to fall into either of these two categories. Many exist in a grey area between the two.

Another distinction between these two requirements is that there are multiple ways to meet an NFR, whereas meeting a functional requirement is clear and straightforward. For example, say a project has a NFR to “increase sales.” This increase may be achieved in one of several ways, including improving the software, increasing the hardware capability or by hiring more employees.

Now that we’ve defined each term, let’s look at how capturing NFRs in agile iterations is a bit like fitting a square peg into a round hole.

The Problem With Mixing NFRs and Agile

The Problem With Mixing NFRs & Agile

Agile teams work efficiently. The agile method is brilliant in part because it ensures a team dedicates its time and energy to increasing the business value of the end project. To this end, each iteration produces increment that meets specific, measurable criteria. Many scrum teams have even developed a “definition of done” that covers all the criteria a task must meet before the user story is complete.

Some agile teams use a system known as “Elephant Carpaccio” which breaks down a long-term project into individual tasks, each of which can be completed in a day. This way, each and every day the team takes another step toward its stated goal.

Everything the team does is a step toward a measurable goal. It doesn’t spend a lot of time going down rabbit holes or building something that has no business value to the client.

A nearly exclusive emphasis on concrete, measurable goals, however, doesn’t jibe with NFRs. Just like two opposite personalities in a workplace, it’s tempting for the agile method to try and sideline NFRs, or even run them out entirely.

Because how can a product manager create user stories and groom a backlog around requirements as vague as “security”? And how does a team assign story points to a requirement as nebulous as “productivity”? How does a team produce increment if the entire sprint it’s working on the foggy notion of “usability”?

The acceptance criteria for a user story entails meeting the “definition of done.” It’s a tactical accomplishment that’s measurable. And non functional requests cannot meet this criteria.

Yet, as we’ve discussed, ignoring NFRs can mean entirely missing the project’s objective. Consider, for example, someone who seeks to improve their health by losing weight. “Overall health,” in this instance, is a non functional requirement, and “losing weight” a functional requirement.

If after a few months this person has lost 50 pounds, it may appear he’s achieving his goal. However, if you look at the larger picture and discover he continues to smoke five packs of cigarettes a day and eats mostly red meat and carbs, he’s not achieving the overall objective at all.

And so as difficult as they are to fit into a backlog or a sprint, ignoring NFRs isn’t an option.

Double-Edged Sword

All this is to say is that the danger of a team focusing only on NFRs is that they’ll go into a “black hole.” They have no increment to present at the end of an iteration. Since they haven’t achieved anything that adds specific business value, they don’t have any need to communicate with the client or with anyone.

On the flip side, the risk of a team focusing only on functional requirements is that they aren’t incorporating larger, big picture thinking into the project. They’re fixated on completing the daily tasks, on the minutia, and may well end up creating something that’s completely missed the mark.

How does a team mitigate both these risks, and marry these two extremes? Let’s go there next!

Steps to Capture NFRs in Sprint Planning

The Three Steps to Capture NFRs in Sprint Planning

Claiming to capture non functional requirements may seem like saying unicorns exist and that Bigfoot lives in the woods behind your house. But it’s not like that. It really can be done.

It starts by approaching NFRs differently from functional requirements. In a broader sense, NFRs are more like constraints than requirements. They’re the boundaries under which a project is executed, the parameters it works within at all times. The functional requirements are executed and completed within these constraints.

NFRs are like company culture in this sense. Although it’s difficult to see and sometimes to define, company culture in fact affects every aspect of the business: from the layout of the workplace, to the attire people wear to work, to the criteria for receiving bonuses and promotions, to the location where the holiday party is held.

Since they’re fundamental to the outcome of a project, NFRs are woven into the entire project, from the planning to the execution to the completion. Without them, something fundamental is missing from the project. And so NFRs are brought into consideration in every sprint planning session.

Yet how do you measure them and determine if they’ve been met? Here’s a simple three-step approach.

1) Prioritize the Non Functional Requirements

The first step is to determine what the NFRs really are. Don’t assume that usability is at the top of the list. Maybe the client values scalability first and foremost.

Completing this first step entails having an open discussion with executives and project stakeholders to get a clear idea of what they are looking to see in the end product.

2) Break the NFR Down

Recall that NFRs are so big and broad that they have many possible solutions. Once you know which NFRs are the most important, at this point it’s necessary to determine how they’ll be executed.

This is demonstrated more clearly with an example. Let’s say an executive wants to increase sales by 10,000 each day. This is a high-level NFR to increase productivity.

The team then determines if this goal is best solved by improving software, increasing the capacity of hardware, or hiring more employees.

Once a path is chosen, the team breaks it down further and determines the individual steps it needs to take. If it decides to hire more employees, this is executed by recruiting, interviewing, training, then hiring new people to do the job.

3) Include NFRs in Sprint Planning

When an NFR has been defined and broken down, it’s much easier to measure and achieve. In this final step, the team creates user stories around these individual steps and includes them in sprints.

For example, if the team decides to hire more people in order to achieve the NFR of increased productivity, then the user stories in the first sprint might be to define the job duties, write a job description and determine the pay. For the upcoming sprints, the team would create user stories around posting and promoting the job, then reviewing applications, and finally interviewing and hiring recruits.

It works the same with other non functional requirements as well. For example, if the NFR is security, and the team is building the registration page, then the user story might be to increase the strength requirement of the password. If the NFR is usability, then the user story might be to create a metric around how long it takes for a page to load. If the NFR is aesthetics, then a user story might be to coordinate fonts and colors within the website.

At this third step, a NFR starts to look very similar to a functional requirement. It can be evaluated per the criteria in the “definition of done” and checked off a list.

Although putting metrics around something like “user-friendly” seems vague, it is possible. As you can see, when broken down, NFRs have metrics and look concrete. This three-step method allows teams to incorporate NFRs into the backlog and assign them user points. They won’t be overlooked. Because they can’t afford to be!

Capturing Non Functional Requirements

Conclusion

Capturing non functional requirements in agile is a real conundrum. Agile and scrum are structured around producing clearly defined, measurable, visible results that you can touch and feel. However, NFRs are just the opposite of that: they’re huge, vague grand objectives that you can’t really “know” if you’ve met or not.

However, it is possible to catch a cloud and pin it down.

Although it may be tempting, the solution isn’t to ignore NFRs. Rather, it’s to get NFRs on the agenda at the beginning, so it’s baked into the entire project. Breaking down an NFR into small, measurable tasks makes it possible to capture them within a sprint.

After a while you’ll find that building a project around NFRs is as easy as “do re mi!”

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How to Choose the Best Tech Stack (Even if You Don’t Know What That Is)

Tech Stack

Do you have a fabulous idea for an app, but find yourself overwhelmed thinking about putting all the pieces together? Or maybe your company’s blog is hopelessly outdated, and not converting leads, yet all the alternatives seem too complicated to take on.

Everyone becomes flummoxed by technology at times. There’s so many options, and constant upgrades, and you definitely don’t want to get stuck with the wrong thing. If a software has all sorts of bugs and no one in the office uses it, then your project is a flop and the business doesn’t grow.

You’ve probably scoured the web, hoping to receive sage advice from someone with more know-how about these things than you. But after digging around in conversations on Reddit and Stack Overflow, deluged with subject matter experts ready to dispense advice about JavaScript, Python, PHT, and HTML, it’s likely you’re more confused than ever.

The surprising thing is, you have the answers to your conundrum right in front of you. When it comes to technology, you’re in the driver’s seat of your own project and idea. Choosing the right solution just takes some digging.

You wanna know how to go about it? We’re going to get into that. But first, let’s break down just what a “tech stack” means.

Technology Stack

Tech Stack Defined

If you’re the head of marketing or sales, and something like writing code is completely foreign to you, then selecting a technology stack may seem out of your depth. However, even if you’re not using this exact phrase, whenever you’ve been wanting to improve the user experience and content on your company website, you’ve been thinking along these lines.

What’s a Tech Stack, Exactly?

A tech stack is everything that comprises a digital system. In the same way a car or machine is composed of many smaller parts, an online system is composed of a technology stack.

Everything you use online is composed of a tech stack. Facebook, Twitter, Ebay and Instagram each can be broken down into small parts. Twitter’s tech stack, for example, includes Scala and Java as its programming language, and Django for web framework and Puppet for Software configuration. Ebay uses Java as its programming language (with a java virtual machine) and Node.js as its open-source server.

A marketing tech stack includes everything that’s used to execute a marketing plan. Considering to hire Node.js developers can be a strategic move to enhance your tech stack, ensuring robust and scalable solutions for your digital projects. This includes an email newsletter, social media platforms, content management software, customer relationship management software and analytics.

Working together, these various softwares and services allow a company to reach its audience, convert potential customers and identify which marketing strategies work best.

An application tech stack includes everything needed to get an app up and running. These are things like the programming language, the database, the user interface, the structure and the hosting platform.

From websites to ecommerce stores to video games, every digital program and project has its own distinct tech stack.

Sometimes, after a stack is compiled and the program or project is up and running, one part of the stack becomes obsolete. In this instance, it’s possible to shift the stack and introduce new technologies and remove others, to improve the overall system.

Does this make sense? Now, let’s look into ten guidelines for choosing the tech stack that’s right for your project and your company.

Constraints

1. Identify Constraints

If you’re interested in posting a short story to the web, you know right off that you won’t go to Twitter. The 280 character limit is way too short. A platform like Medium, or else a personal blog, makes more sense in this instance.

In the same way, identifying the objective of the technology you’re building, be it an app or a website or a marketing plan, makes it simple to create parameters around what you will and won’t include in the stack.

For example, if you’re building an app that’s going to be distributed to a wide, diverse audience, you’d choose a web application rather than a desktop application. If the application needs machine learning, you’d select a language that’s capable of this (not all of them are).

When you set boundaries and limitations on what you do and don’t need, it’s much easier to pare down the tech stack that’s right for you.

2. Do What’s Right for You (Not What’s Right for Someone Else)

If a friend raves to you about the fantastic, all-inclusive vacation she’d just taken to Hawaii, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll immediately reach out to your travel agent and book the same trip. Maybe sipping a Mai Tai on the beach all afternoon just isn’t your thing.

Advice on how to build a tech stack runs plenteous, like a rain-fed Hawaiian stream. Yet just like recommending a vacation spot, people often dispense tech advice based on their own needs and preferences.

Your situation and objectives are unique. If someone boasts of the brilliance of Puppet, look closer at the infrastructure to see if it really provides what you’re looking for.

Regardless of what anyone claims, there isn’t one “right” or “wrong” tech stack. Finding the “right” one for you means filtering everything you read online through the lens of your own situation.

Keep It All Simple

3. Keep It All Simple

One of the worst outcomes with a new technology (and one we’re all familiar with as well) is people not using it because it takes too long or it isn’t user friendly. Another snafu is when one department in an office uses a system completely different from another department. This creates all sorts of confusion, disconnect and time wasted.

Simplicity is a central objective to selecting technology. Ideally, you want a software that’s user friendly and integrated within all departments in the company. This alignment results in hassle-free processes and allows everyone to work together harmoniously.

4. Put Strategy Before Technology

Say you have a grocery bag full of the finest ingredients–cheeses, pasta, tomatoes, herbs and olive oil. Does that mean you’re going to cook a great meal? Not necessarily.

Technology is just like this bag of groceries. It’s simply a tool. Even state-of-the-art technology is worthless without a thorough and sensible plan.

Say you have a product that doesn’t really solve the problems of your target customer. The best technology isn’t going to sell it. Or you haven’t identified the audience you want to reach with your content. A bug-free and user-friendly CMS isn’t going to generate enthusiasm and leads.

Before even thinking about selecting a tech stack, then, it’s necessary to develop a “recipe,” a strategy, a plan. Understand what you’re setting out to create, the problems it solves and who it solves them for. Then you’re in a position to cook up a delicious, aromatic concoction of technology that will serve up an entree of success!

Be Forward Thinking

5. Be Forward Thinking

When you purchase something like a pricey new coat, you’re almost always thinking toward the future. Will you wear this regularly from season to season? How durable is the material, and how long can you expect it to last?

Similarly, when considering what to include in your tech stack, look into your hopes and dreams for the future of the project. For example, maybe you want the desktop app you’re building to become mobile at some point. This change would affect the foundation of the app, and so planning in advance would keep you from having to rip things apart later.

Although the path ahead may look obscure, spend some time looking down it, and peering around corners. What do you see coming down the pike? And how would these changes impact the technology you choose right now?

At the same time, bear in mind that these are only projected changes. Make future planning a second-tier priority, and primarily address the projects’ needs in the present moment.

6. Take Inventory

Resourceful thinking is a big part of building a tech stack. It’s a bit like taking your winter jeans and turning them into cutoffs for the summer.

When selecting what technology to use for your project, take a look at the team around you. Where are they proficient? Which languages are they most familiar with? Build a stack that plays to their strengths. All other criteria being equal, don’t use Sequel if they’re more proficient in C++.

Moreover, consider the previous technologies the company has built, and break down their infrastructure. If certain applications, tools, servers or systems are already in place, then using them over again would really give you a head start.

Re-using whatever you can, and playing to the strengths of the team makes bringing the project over the finish line much easier—and faster as well.

7. Ask the Right Questions

Seeking advice often means getting buried in another person’s agenda. They may be selling something to you, or they’re pushing a certain programming language because it worked for their app.

This advice isn’t going to get you very far with your project. However, when you hone the questions, and form them around your specific needs, it allows you to discover paths towards your own personal tech stack solution.

Rather than going to an online forum and asking an outright question such as “What’s the best email marketing service?”, consider what features you’re really looking for in the software. Maybe you’re looking to send a newsletter with lots of images and videos, or utilize a wide selection of fonts.

When you ask questions with precision, the answers you need come your way.

Think Expansively

8. Think Expansively

Have you wanted a job, but didn’t bother to apply because you didn’t think you had the right experience?

We’re always placing limits on what’s possible for us, and building a technology stack is no exception. Maybe your team mostly has experience in Java and so you’re hesitant to venture into another language.

However, this kind of boxed-in thinking prevents you from looking at all the possibilities and making the best selections for your project.

Approaching technology with an open mind is central to creating a solid tech stack. Let go of biases or fixed thinking you have around your capabilities with certain technologies, and be open to learning and exploring. Brainstorming is one exercise that’s helpful for getting you thinking big. Then clustering afterwards helps to organize your thoughts.

9. Use the Right Criteria

If you were purchasing equipment for a mountain climbing expedition, you’d probably evaluate it for things like quality, price and functionality. Something like its color; whether it’s blue or green; may well be a secondary consideration.

Similarly, some criteria for evaluating new technology rank ahead of the rest. Here are some to consider.

  • Productivity
    How does a proposed software affect productivity? What sort of ease and efficiency does it provide?
  • Profitability
    What is the ROI this technology poses to offer?
  • Customer Experience
    Will this software allure customers? How will it impact their online experience? Might it increase sales?
  • Community Knowledge
    How active is the online community around this technology? Is it easy to tap into online resources and conversations to find support and increase knowledge?
  • Evolution of the Product
    How has this technology evolved over time? Does it have frequent updates, for example, and how would this impact its functionality in the stack?

When using this criteria to evaluate technologies, it’s helpful to create a chart. List the various softwares you’re considering, and then see how each ranks for the above criteria. This methodical approach ensures you pick the best technology for your project.

Get Everyone on Board

10. Get Everyone on Board

If you’re remodeling your house, it’s important to consider the experience of everyone living within it, from the tallest to the shortest, the youngest to the oldest, and everyone in between.

In a similar vein, when selecting a tech stack, seek input from all departments. Ask probing questions around their experience with the software to learn the changes they’d like to see and the things that are working great.

Understanding the current user experience provides guidance in the decision-making process. Gathering this input also ensures the technology is integrated throughout the entire company.

Stack the Odds in Your Favor

Stack the Odds in Your Favor

Whether you’re just starting out on a project and flummoxed over where to start, or feeling a pressing need to update your outdated technology, venturing into the unknown is difficult.

It’s overwhelming to weigh all the options out there, and wade through tons of information, worrying about choosing technology that turns out to be a dud.

However, it’s possible to find the stack that’s right for your needs and your project. You won’t need any sage advice or oracles. Finding the right tech stack is about first identifying your needs, objectives, goals and pain points. The next step is researching what’s out there and weighing your options.

When you’re considering what project management software to include in your stack, look no further than Teamly, the “one tool that does it all.” From time tracking to kanban boards to audio messages and more, our software creates simplicity within your work processes and an integrated approach to remote working.

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Better Safe Than Sorry? The Double-Edged Sword of Compliance Management

Compliance Management System

Nobody likes working with Captain No-No. It’s so disheartening to present a brilliant product or service idea at an all-hands meeting, only to have a cautious manager tear it down with a speech about compliance and regulations.

Yet any compliance specialist or CEO who appreciates the risks of non-compliance is willing to put up with a little name-calling. Because at the same time, nobody likes facing a malpractice lawsuit, or having a regulatory board come into the office for an investigation, or paying a hefty fine to a government agency for breaking the law.

Compliance management is tricky. A business can’t make money if it’s completely buried in rules and regulations. And too many cumbersome regulations ware on a team’s morale and jeopardize the vitality of a business.

Yet the stakes of falling out of line are just as high. A business that’s lackadaisical about rules and regulations pays a hefty cost, as it invites agencies and boards and customers to come in and crack down.

A smart compliance management system see-saws between these tensions. Let’s look at some guidelines to planning a compliance management system, then at strategies to establishing a compliance management system within an organization.

Compliance Management

Defining a Compliance Management System

You’ve probably noticed that we live in a litigious and heavily regulated society. Regardless of its industry or location, every business faces an enormity of regulations. A healthcare business must comply to Health InsurancePortability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) regulations, a food service establishment to its state’s Department of Health regulations, and as of 2018, nearly every online business to General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). Moreover, every business has to follow municipal, city, state and federal law.

A compliance management system (CMS) is like having insurance against all of these laws and regulations. Building a CMS entails establishing systems so that all processes within a business, including marketing, sales, production and delivery, adhere to these regulations.

A Two-Part System

A CMS has two components. The first is the board oversight. This is a central group who oversees and keeps abreast of all the various laws and regulations, and monitors how they change over time.

And the second is the implementation program. As regulations affect all the systems within an organization, implementation includes things like staff training, internal and external communication and responses to customer complaints.

When these two components lock arms and work together, an organization stays under the radar and doesn’t have to deal with any hot messes. However, if the board ignores one area, say overlooking contracts or not keeping abreast of regulatory changes, the company may encounter a sticky situation.

The Area a CMS Covers

Compliance management is a broad topic, and so it’s impossible to create an exhaustive list of everything a CMS might include. Plus it varies from industry to industry, and by geographic location.

However, a CMS almost always includes precautions and processes around internet security, such as reviewing user accounts, surveying internal office communication and protecting the company from viruses and hackers. It also includes contract and human resource regulations.

A CMS establishes systems in the daily operations so the business operates within the bounds of local, state and federal law. It utilizes plenty of internal controls, such as processes for dual login, and delineates clear exceptions to these processes. It also affects the consumer experience.

The consequences of not complying with various regulations range from benign slaps on the wrist to expensive, time-consuming litigation, to loss of licenses and professional reputations.

Compliance management is exacting, and setting up a system takes some work. Changes in a work environment may elevate risk, requiring increased vigilance. For example, a trend toward remote work heightens risks around employees accessing secure company information from personal devices.

The field of compliance is so broad and the number of regulations so huge that pretty much every organization breaks some rules without even realizing it. Having a system keeps an organization in a safe zone. Let’s look at some guidelines to setting up a smart compliance management system.

List Making and Checking

Making a List, Checking It Twice

No one intends to feed their client a poisoned apple. But when there’s too many (dang!) rules and regulations, unfortunate things happen. We’ve all heard horror stories of doctors operating on the wrong knee, or of financial institutions leaking the personal data of its clients to the public.

So how does an organization approach compliance in such a way that it both mitigates risk and retains enough simplicity to allow the business to run as usual? The answer is creating a priority list and receiving an external audit.

The “Must” List

It takes just a few simple steps to determine which regulations an organization must comply with, and those it can push to the margins or ignore completely.
The first step is to look at all the regulations within the particular business and industry. For an ecommerce business, this probably includes the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard and GDPR. For a business that makes calls to cell phones, it includes Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) regulations. For any business, the expectations of the clients, say around issues related to privacy, are also included in the mix.

Next, combine the regulations of all these organizations into one massive list. This will look pretty overwhelming, but don’t stress—it’ll be thinned out soon enough.

The third step entails looking closely at everything on the list and determining all the “musts” and the “maybes.” Anything that doesn’t fall into either of these categories can be scratched off and forgotten!

Finally, create a final list that includes everything in the “must” category, and in the second tier include all of the “maybe” items. This final list is the blueprint for the compliance management system. Everything on the “must” side will be included, and only some parts of the “maybe” list, at the judicious discretion of the compliance board.

The Audit

Even when an office is scrupulous around compliance and regulations, chances are it hasn’t addressed everything. The number of regulations is too vast for one or two pesky things not to be overlooked.

The auditor is someone from outside the organization who’s rooting for its success. They know an office is dedicated to providing honest service to its clients, and appreciate what it’s up against with a deluge of regulations from various organizations. A thorough audit spots what a business does well and those things it might change, to make the situation safer for itself and the customers.

Experienced auditors spot red flags right away. They’ve seen the very worst in compliance violations, and are intent to help the next person avoid the pitfalls.

In conclusion, although it takes some time and dedicated effort, it really is possible to create a solid compliance management system. And with a sound CMS established, everyone can breathe easy and go about their workday knowing the processes are free of any serious error or violation.

Convincing the CEO

Convincing the CEO

If a CEO is already paying for a compliance specialist, he may not be keen on making additional investments in technology to streamline a compliance management system. Here are a few pointers to help the CEO understand that a CMS is a savvy business investment.

Explain How a CMS Improves the Bottom Line

A CMS saves money across the board, plain and simple. A company earns more profit when compliance management is streamlined. Team members spend fewer hours at meetings discussing and overseeing compliance. This time instead is dedicated to productivity.

Highlight the Benefits

When working to persuade the CEO to adopt a CMS, frame the proposal in terms of her priorities. Naturally, she’s averse to spending money needlessly, but when she understands a CMS is ultimately about mitigating risk and saving money, she’s more likely to get on board. Communicate the cost of not being compliant, as well as the cost of manual compliance (an increase in labor hours).

Measure the ROI

A good CMS has a significant ROI, even in the short-term. For example, imagine that a streamlined CMS allows employees to dedicate 5 more hours each month to doing their job, which they’d formally put into compliance. This adds up to 60 hours per employer each year. In a team of thirty employees earning an average of $50 an hour, this means an annual savings of $9,000!

Gaining buy-in from the CEO may be tricky at first, but it certainly isn’t a long shot. Understanding the business sense behind the investment makes him or her more willing to go for it.

Compliance See-Saw

Riding the Compliance See-Saw

It’s quite a challenge for a business to remain both competitive and compliant in this culture where technology changes rapidly.

Consider, for example, businesses and departments heavily dependent on communication and outreach, such as collections agencies or marketing departments. They’ve seen a seismic shift in their preferred methods of communication over these past twenty years, when the telephone and snail mail have largely been replaced by email, cell phone and text.

From a business standpoint it makes more sense to utilize these new forms of communication, as it increases the likelihood the business will reach the consumer. However, from a compliance standpoint this is a real headache, as email, cell phone and text introduce regulations that didn’t exist with mail and telephone.

The bottom line is that a business cannot turn a profit and be 100% compliant, nor can it ignore compliance entirely without exposing itself to immense financial risk. This means every business must find a balance by answering questions such as: Which regulations must we adhere to? Where are the grey areas? What are the business costs to compliance?

It’s a complicated arena, and each business arrives at its own answers.

Conclusion

Everyone within an organization looks at compliance a little differently. To employees trying to do their job, compliance looks like working under Captain No-Fun. To a compliance specialist, compliance is about avoiding huge risks. And to the CEO, compliance means balancing the tension between business and regulation risk.

A smart CMS is about protecting the business. The risks of non-compliance are very real, and in extreme cases result in expensive litigation and the loss of people’s career. Even the most conscientious organizations miss some details of compliance, and so all would benefit from an external audit.

Yet at same time, organizations don’t need to take on the huge burden of complying to every single regulation. Finding the right balance is about distinguishing the “musts” from the “need nots.”

Although compliance is a real pain in some respect, it is possible to simplify. A good compliance management system gives everyone in the organization the freedom to do their job, without facing a whole lot of risk.

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The Ultimate Guide to Hiring a Freelancer

Hiring a freelancer

Now that it’s clear that freelancing is here to stay, it’s time for companies to start adapting. If you’re looking to hire talented freelancers, but you’re not sure where to start, we’ve got you covered.

This guide will teach you everything you need to know about hiring a freelancer.

Freelancing

Freelancing defined

A freelancer is a professional who offers their services to businesses or individuals temporarily. They are usually self-employed and work independently.

The benefits of hiring quality freelancers:

There are many benefits of working with the best freelancers. Here are some key advantages:

  1. You can get started quickly: When you hire a freelancer, you don’t have to go through the hassle of onboarding or training someone new because they already have the skills and experience you need.
  2. You can hire them for as long or short as you need: With freelancers, you’re not locked into a long-term contract. If you only need someone for a short-term project, you can hire them just for that. You are not obligated to turn them into a full-time employee.
  3. You can treat them as independent contractors for technical skills: This can be a cost-effective way to get access to the technical skills you need without having to hire a full-time employee.
  4. They can be a valuable addition to your team: the right freelancer can bring a new perspective and skill set to your team.
  5. You can work with them remotely: With advances in technology, it’s now easier than ever to work with someone remotely.
  6. You can scale up or down as needed: If you need to increase or decrease the amount of work you’re doing, freelancers can be a flexible option.
  7. They can help with overflow work: When your team is overwhelmed with work, freelancers can help by taking on some of the workloads.
  8. The hiring process is usually quicker: When you’re hiring a freelancer, the process is usually quicker than finding and onboarding a new full-time employee.
  9. You’re not responsible for their benefits: If you hire freelancers, you don’t have to worry about providing them with health insurance or other benefits.
  10. You can try before you buy: Hiring freelancers is a great way to test out someone’s skills before you make a long-term commitment.

As you can see, there are a lot of compelling reasons to work with a freelancer. Just be careful to tailor your recruiting around your specific needs.

What to Consider When Hiring a Freelancer

What to Consider When Hiring a Freelancer?

Once you’ve decided to use freelancers, it’s critical to know how to do so correctly. Here are a few things you need to take into account.

First, you need to consider the scope of the project. What exactly do you need done? Make sure you’re clear about the deliverables, deadlines, and budget before you start looking for a freelancer.

You also need to think about the skills you need. What kind of skills does the freelancer need to have to complete the project? You should also take into account the cultural fit. Are you looking for someone who is a good fit for your company culture?

Finally, you need to consider the price. How much are you willing to pay for the project?

Where to look for freelance talent?

After you’ve decided what you’re looking for in a freelancer, it’s time to start looking for talent. Here are a few places to look:

  • Freelance job boards: When you’re looking for a freelancer, the best place to start is by looking on freelance job boards. Several different job boards cater specifically to freelancers, such as UpWork, Freelancer, and Fiverr.
  • Social media: Social media is a great place to find freelancers. Start by searching for relevant hashtags, such as #freelancewriter or #graphicdesigner. You can also post about your project on social media and see if any freelancers reach out to you. There are also communities like Reddit, where you can find freelancers.
  • Niche websites: If you’re looking for more specific skills, you can also look on niche websites. For example, if you need a logo designed, you can go to 99designs. If you need someone to write code, you can go to Toptal.
  • Offline resources: There are also several offline resources you can use, such as job fairs, meetups, and co-working spaces. You could start by asking people in your network if they know anyone who could do the job.

Post a Job for Freelancers

How to Post a Job for Freelancers

After you’ve considered what you need and where you can find talent, it’s time to write a job listing. This can be a tricky task, as you need to make sure you’re clear about the scope of the project, the skills you’re looking for, and the price you’re willing to pay.

If you’re not sure how to write a job listing, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to write a job listing that will attract the best talent:

1. Start with a direct headline

The headline is the first thing freelancers will see, so you need to make sure it’s attention-grabbing. A good headline should be clear and concise, and it should give an overview of the project.

A great template for this would be: “Looking for a _____ to do _____ for _____.” For example: “Looking for a copywriter to write blog posts for a tech company.” Direct and clarity are key here. You want to make sure the freelancer knows exactly what they’re getting into before they even apply.

It could be a nightmare if you have to explain the project in more detail after you’ve already hired someone, so make sure you’re as clear as possible from the beginning.

2. Give a fairly detailed overview of the project

The next thing you need to do is give an overview of the project. This is where you’ll need to be clear about the job. Make sure you’re as specific as possible to avoid any misunderstandings later on. If you’re not sure about something, it’s better to be too specific than too vague.

In the description, you should include all the details about the project. This includes :

  • what the project is
  • the deadline
  • an overview of the deliverables

So for example you could write something like:

“We’re looking for a seasoned freelance writer to write 10 blog posts for our website. The ideal candidate will have experience writing about the tech industry, and they should be able to write engaging and informative content.

The deliverables for this project will be 10 well-written blog posts, with a word count of at least 800 words each. We will provide you with a list of topics to write about, but we’re also open to hearing your ideas.

We’re looking for someone who can start working on this immediately and who can complete the project within 2 weeks.”

By including all the relevant details, you’ll save yourself a lot of hassle later on.

Required Skills List

3. List the required skills

In this section, you should list all the skills you’re looking for in a freelancer. This could be anything from specific software skills to industry experience. If you’re not sure about what you need, take a look at similar projects and see what kind of skills they require.

To use our example above, some skills a freelance writer might need would be:

  • Excellent writing skills
  • Self Editing
  • SEO Writing
  • Research Skills
  • The ability to meet deadlines

The more skills you list, the more likely you are to find a freelancer who’s a perfect match for your project. However, don’t list too many skills as this could discourage potential candidates.

4. Indicate the price

Depending on your scenario, you may want to list the price in the job listing or you may want to negotiate it with the freelancer after they’ve been hired. The truth is, when it comes to pay, you have options. You can either offer a lump sum for the entire project or you can pay by the hour.

If you’re not sure about what to pay, there are a few ways to think about it. You can either research what others are paying for similar projects, or you can figure out how much you’re willing to spend on the project.

Just be sure to indicate the price to the degree of specificity that you’re comfortable with. If you’re not sure about the price, it’s better to be vague. Something you could say is, “pay is open for negotiation based on skills and experience.”

5. Give a deadline for receiving proposals

In this section, you should give a deadline for when you want to receive proposals from freelancers. This will help you keep track of the applications and it will also let the freelancers know how much time they have to apply.

You should pay attention to the prompt applicants and the late ones. This could be an indication of how they’ll handle deadlines in the future. Another thing to note is the people that need a lot of help before they can submit a proposal. These are the people that you may want to avoid, as they might need too much hand-holding for the project.

6. Indicate how you will be assessing proposals

After you’ve received proposals from freelancers, you’ll need to assess them and decide who to hire. There are a few things you should keep in mind when you’re doing this.

First, you should assess whether or not the freelancer has the required skills. This is something you should have listed in the job posting, so it should be easy to check off. Next, you’ll want to take a look at their portfolio. This is a great way to get an idea of their work and see if they’re a good fit for the project.

Finally, you should assess their proposal itself. This is where you’ll be able to see how well they understand the project and if they’re capable of doing the work.

7. Choose the freelancer

After you’ve assessed all the proposals, it’s time to choose the freelancer you want to hire. This is usually a combination of all the factors we’ve discussed so far. The freelancer should have the required skills, a good portfolio, and a strong proposal.

Once you’ve chosen the freelancer, you can reach out to them and start working on the project.

Hiring a freelancer doesn’t have to be complicated. If you take the time to write a good job posting and assess the proposals carefully, you’ll be able to find the right freelancer for the job. Just remember to communicate clearly, set expectations, and establish trust with your freelancer. If you do this, you’ll be able to have a successful working relationship.

Note: If you’re not sure who to hire, you can always ask for more information from freelancers. This could be anything from a clarification on their proposal to a sample of their work.

Assessing Freelance Proposals

Assessing Freelance Proposals

Okay so now you have the posting up and you’re starting to receive proposals in your inbox. How do you sift through them and decide who to work with? Here are some key factors:

1. Are they available when you need them?

This is important because you don’t want to be waiting around for a freelancer that isn’t available when you need them. Check their availability before you move forward with anyone.

2. Do they have the required skills?

You should have listed the required skills in the job posting, so now it’s time to check and see if the freelancer has them. If they don’t, then you can move on to the next freelancer.

3. Take a look at their portfolio.

A great way to get an idea of someone’s work is to take a look at their portfolio. This will give you a better understanding of their style and skills.

4. Assess their proposal.

This is where you’ll be able to see how well they understand the project and if they’re capable of doing the work. If their proposal is vague or doesn’t seem like they really understand the project, then you can move on to someone else.

5. Ask for more information.

If you’re still not sure who to choose, you can always ask for more information from freelancers. This could be anything from a clarification on their proposal to a sample of their work.

6. You could always hire multiple people for testing.

If you want to be extra sure, you could always hire multiple people for the project and then choose the one that does the best job. This is a great way to make sure that you’re getting quality work.

The downside of this is that it can be more expensive and time-consuming. But who knows, maybe you’ll find multiple freelancers that you love and want to work with again in the future.

Negotiate with Freelancers

Learning to Negotiate with Freelancers

You’ve just received a few proposals for your project and you’re trying to decide who to work with. One of the freelancers has a great portfolio but they’re asking for more money than you’re willing to pay. What do you do?

Inevitably, you will come across a freelancer that wants more money than you’re willing to pay or they want different terms than you’re comfortable with. This is where negotiation comes in.

Here are some tips for negotiating with freelancers:

Be candid…

First, you’ll need to be very candid about what you’re willing to pay and what your budget is. This will give the freelancer a good idea of what you’re working with and it will help them to adjust their proposal accordingly.

Stay open…

Often freelancers won’t agree to your first offer, so be prepared to negotiate back and forth until you reach an agreement. The key to a successful negotiation is to be fair. To ensure that you stay within the bounds of reason, ask several questions about the project and the freelancer’s offer.

Get it in writing…

Once you’ve reached an agreement, be sure to get it in writing. This will help to avoid any misunderstandings later on down the road.

Ultimately your leverage in a negotiation will come down to how badly the freelancer wants or needs the work. If they’re desperate for the work then you’ll have more leverage, but if they don’t need the work then you won’t have as much negotiating power.

Remember, the goal of negotiation is to come to an agreement that is fair for both parties. So be reasonable in your expectations and be willing to compromise. Reason can be measured by paying attention to the market rates, the scope of work, and the freelancer’s experience.

Paying a Freelancer

Paying a Freelancer

Once you’ve found a freelancer that you want to work with and you’ve negotiated the terms of the project, it’s time to pay them. Here are some tips for paying a freelancer:

The first thing you need to do is agree on a payment method. The most common methods are PayPal, and bank transfer, or if you are on a site like Upwork then you can use their built-in payment system.

Once you’ve agreed on a method, you can set up the payment.

Next, you need to decide how and when you will pay the freelancer. Will you pay them hourly, per project, or in installments? And will you pay them weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly? It’s important to agree on these terms before starting the project.

Finally, you need to make the payment. Once the work is completed and you’re happy with it, simply send the freelancer their payment.

Manage a Freelance Project Tips

Project Management Tips: How to Manage a Freelance Project

Working with a freelancer is different than working with an employee. Here are some tips for managing a freelancer:

Onboarding

Before you start working with a freelancer, you need to onboard them. This means that you need to give them all the information they need to do the job. This includes the project brief, any relevant files or assets, and anything else they might need.

You should also set expectations for the project. This means that you need to be very clear about what you want and what you expect from the freelancer. The best way to do this is to create a detailed project brief.

A project brief should include:

  • An overview of the project
  • Your goals for the project
  • A timeline for the project
  • A list of deliverables
  • Any specific requirements or expectations

By setting clear expectations from the start, you’ll minimize the chances of miscommunication and misunderstanding.

Create a Detailed Project Plan

Once you have a project brief, you need to create a project plan. This should include a detailed breakdown of the tasks that need to be completed, who is responsible for each task, and when the task is due.

Let’s say you hire a freelancer for a website redesign. Your project plan might look like this:

  • Create wireframes for the home page and all other pages: 3 days
  • Design the home page and all other pages: 5 days
  • Develop the home page and all other pages: 10 days
  • Test the website: 2 days
  • Launch the website

A project plan will help you stay organized and on track. It will also help you hold freelancers accountable for their work.

Set Up Regular Check-Ins

Another important tip for working with a freelancer is to set up regular check-ins. This can be done via email, phone, or video call. During these check-ins, you should ask the freelancer how they are progressing on the project and if they have any questions or concerns.

These check-ins are also a good time to give feedback. If you have any changes or suggestions, now is the time to share them. Regular check-ins will help ensure that the project is on track and that everyone is on the same page.

Pay Promptly

When you hire a freelancer, you’re hiring someone to do a job. And like any other job, they should be paid promptly. This means that you should make sure to pay them on time, every time.

If you don’t pay a freelancer on time, you risk damaging your relationship with them. They might not be willing to work with you again in the future. And if you do need to hire them again, they might charge you a premium for their services.

Paying a freelancer on time is a sign of respect. It shows that you value their time and their work.

Summary of the article

There you have it! A complete guide to hiring freelancers. Now that you know where to look for talent and how to assess proposals, you’re ready to start building your dream team.

The bottom line is this: when you hire a freelancer, you need to be organized, professional, and respectful. If you do all of these things, you’ll have a successful experience working with a freelancer. And you might even find that working with a freelancer is more enjoyable than you thought.

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How Employers Can Save Money by Allowing Employees to Work from Home

Benefits of working from home for employers

Do you find it kind of shocking that so many businesses are trending towards working from home?

The Pandemic accelerated the shift, but even before then, more and more businesses were allowing their staff to trade in their stuffy old offices for a home office.

But we were headed this way already, the benefits of working from home for employers are just too good to pass up. And now with a broken economy on the cusp of a recession, those benefits are more important than ever.

This article is all about those benefits and how they can help you as an employer. We will explore the different industries that benefit the most from working from home and the types of roles that are well suited for a work-from-home lifestyle.

Working from home can save your company money

How working from home can save your company money

If your company moves to a work-from-home model, there are a lot of potential cost savings.

Your biggest savings by far will be in real estate. You can downsize your office space or get rid of it altogether. And with the rise of coworking spaces, you don’t even need a traditional office anymore.

You’ll also save on things like office furniture and supplies, energy costs, and even food and coffee. With fewer people in the office, you won’t need to stock the break room and kitchen with as much food and drink. And if people are working from home, they’re probably not going out to buy lunch every day.

Of course, there are some costs associated with working from home, like setting people up with the right equipment and internet connection. But overall, you’ll probably see a significant reduction in your operating costs.

Working from home benefits for employers

Five more benefits of working from home for employers

Increased productivity

This is counterintuitive for some employers who fear that their employees will slack off if they are not being watched. However, studies have shown that employees who work from home are more productive than their office-bound counterparts.

There are a few reasons for this. First, employees who work from home have more control over their environment. This means they can create an environment that is conducive to focus and concentration. Second, working from home eliminates distractions like office politics and water cooler chatter. And third, employees who work from home tend to have more flexible hours, which allows them to structure their day in a way that maximizes productivity.

Healthier workforce

According to a study done by Owl Labs, 3 in 4 (74%) said after the pandemic working from home is better for their mental health. That’s a huge number, and it’s not surprising when you think about the benefits of working from home for mental health.

First, there is no commute, which can be a major source of stress for many people. Second, employees have more control over their environment, which means they can create a space that is calm and relaxing. And third, working from home eliminates distractions like office politics and water cooler chatter.

It’s not just mental health benefits either. Employees who work from home also enjoy better physical health because they are more likely to take breaks to move around and they are less likely to catch illnesses from their colleagues.

Improved retention

So what happens when your employee feels productive and happy? They are less likely to leave. That’s right, the benefits of working from home for employers also include improved retention.

When employees feel like they have a good work-life balance, they are more likely to stick around. And when they don’t have to deal with a long commute or office politics, they are even more likely to stay.

Not only that, but employees who work from home are also more likely to be productive and engaged. So not only will you retain your best employees, but you’ll also get the benefits of their increased productivity.

Culture improvement

Even though the in-person connection is important for some businesses, it’s not necessary for all businesses. In fact, in many cases, working from home can improve workplace culture.

How? First, it can help to break down barriers between management and employees. When everyone is working from home, there is no need for hierarchy. Second, it can promote transparency and open communication. When everyone is working together remotely, there is no need for secrets or backstabbing.

And last, but not least, it can help to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace. When employees are not tied to one location, businesses have a much wider pool of talent to choose from.

Top talent from anywhere in the world

The benefits of working from home for employers are not just limited to the benefits we’ve already mentioned. One of the biggest benefits is that it allows businesses to hire top talent from anywhere in the world.

With a work-from-home setup, businesses are no longer limited to hiring employees who live near their offices. This means they can hire the best person for the job, regardless of location.

Not only that but working from home also allows businesses to tap into a global pool of freelancers and contractors. This can be a great way to get work done without having to pay the high salaries of full-time employees.

Cons of working from home

Cons of working from home

Now with all that being said, there are also some potential downsides to working from home.

Isolation and loneliness

One of the biggest downsides is that it can be difficult for your employees to stay focused and motivated when they’re not in an office environment. If you’re not careful, your employees could end up feeling isolated and lonely. And if you don’t have the right systems in place, it can be hard to stay on top of what your employees are doing.

Lack of face-to-face interaction

Another downside is that it can be difficult to build relationships and trust when you’re not interacting with your employees in person. This can make it hard to create a cohesive team culture.

Distractions At Home

Another potential downside is that there can be distractions at home, like family, pets, and the TV. This can make it hard for your employees to focus on their work. But if their responsibilities are clearly defined and they have a quiet place to work, this shouldn’t be a big problem.

Team Cohesion

Last but not least, one of the potential downsides of working from home is that it can be difficult to build team cohesion. When your employees are not in the same location, it can be hard to create a sense of camaraderie and trust. This is especially challenging if your leadership style is more collaborative than directive.

But if you’re careful about how you manage your team, this shouldn’t be a big problem. Just make sure you’re clear about your expectations and that you’re providing opportunities for your employees to interact with each other, either in person or online.

If you’re thinking about implementing a work-from-home policy, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons carefully. Working from home can be a great way to improve employee productivity and retention, but it’s not right for every business. It’s important to consider your company culture and the nature of your business before you make a decision.

Is your industry benefiting from work at home

Is your industry benefiting from work at home?

Not all businesses can take advantage of the benefits of working from home. It depends on the industry you’re in.

For example, businesses that rely heavily on face-to-face interaction, like retail stores and restaurants, would not be well suited for a work-from-home policy. And businesses that require employees to be in specific locations, like construction companies, would also not be able to take advantage of the benefits of working from home.

The best industries for working from home are those that are conducive to remote work, like the following:

  • IT and software development: Software developers, web designers, and IT professionals only need a computer and an internet connection to do their jobs.
  • Writing and editing: Writers, editors, and content creators can also work from anywhere as long as they can access the key resources they need, like their research materials.
  • Call Centers: Many businesses are moving their call centers to remote locations. This allows them to save on overhead costs and tap into a global pool of talented workers.
  • Marketing and advertising: With the rise of social media, many marketing, and advertising jobs can be done remotely.
  • Consulting: Many consultants can do their jobs from anywhere, as long as they have a phone or webcam and a website.
  • Accounting and finance: With the advent of online accounting software, many accounting and finance jobs can be done remotely.
  • Graphic design: Graphic designers only need a computer and an internet connection to do their jobs.

Shifting from office to home

Shifting from office to home: Key questions to consider

After you get buy-in from your boss to work from home, you need to sit down and make a plan. This list is to help you consider all the factors in making your shift to at-home easy.

Do you have a dedicated workspace?

If you don’t have a dedicated workspace, now is the time to create one. It’s important to have a space in your home that is designated solely for work. This will help you focus and be more productive.

Do you have the right equipment?

To work from home, you need to have the right equipment. This includes a computer, internet connection, printer, and any other tools you need to do your job.

Do you have a good ergonomic setup?

It’s important to have a good ergonomic setup when working from home. This means having a comfortable chair, a desk at the right height, and proper lighting.

Do you have a routine?

When working from home, it’s important to establish a routine. This means setting regular hours, taking breaks, and staying focused. Just be sure to make a schedule and stick to it.

Do you know how to stay connected?

When working from home, it’s important to stay connected with your colleagues. This can be done through video conferencing, chat applications, and phone calls.

If you have a family, do they know your work schedule?

If you have a family, it’s important to let them know about your work schedule. This will help minimize distractions and disruptions.

By following these tips, you can make the shift from working in an office to working from home. Just be sure to take the time to consider all the factors involved. With a little planning, you can make the transition for you and your employees seamless.

Conclusion

Working from home has several advantages for businesses, but there are drawbacks. Saving money on office space and increased productivity might be offset by the hidden cost of less interaction with coworkers outside your immediate work team—or worse yet, no interaction at all.

The important thing is to factor in your unique circumstances, as well as those of your employees when deciding whether or not to allow work from home. Your business is unique, and so is every employee. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but with a little discernment, you can make the decision that’s best for your business.

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Double Your Income With a Workflow Audit

Audit workflow management

We’ve all read a three-star Google review that goes something like: “Great product, once it finally arrived. And the website is a mess. Took me forever to place the order.”

For any type of business, building a great product is a significant milestone. It can take years. Yet even when the product or service has achieved perfection (or something like it), most businesses continue to struggle with something. Maybe payments chronically arrive late, creating cash flow issues, clients rarely return for repeat business, or bottlenecks always form in the production line.

At some point in the evolution of a business, leveling up means playing an entirely different game. It means looking away from the product for a time, and honing in on the process.

If you’re discouraged by patterns of mediocre customer reviews, or you’re tuckered out at the end of every week, yet still not able to make ends meet, the solution may entail slowing down, pressing pause and taking a step back.

Managing a workflow audit gives you the perspective to fine-tune a business and get it purring like a newly rebuilt engine. Let’s clarify just what one is, then outline how you do a workflow audit.

Breaking Down a Workflow Audit

Breaking Down a Workflow Audit

Sometimes an owner purchases a business and the systems and processes are already well-established. At other times, he or she builds the process organically. In either instance, the owner is in the unique position not only to run the business, but adjust and fine-tune it as well.

An audit, broadly defined, is a methodical examination. A workflow audit simply entails scrutinizing each and every work stage within a business, in order to identify places where the foundation is shaky or to find floorboards that need to be replaced. Repairing these weak areas allows a business to level up and grow.

All businesses are complex and each is a little different. However, most can be broken down into similar distinct stages. Using the example of a coffee shop, let’s look at some significant areas to cover in a workflow audit.

1. Current Data & Metrics

Performing a successful workflow audit entails gathering metrics on the current state of the business. In a coffee shop, for example, it’s necessary to know things like the average time it currently takes for a customer to place an order, and the percentage of customers who provide feedback on their experience.

Having these benchmarks allows you to evaluate the effectiveness of the audit. For example, if the order time decreases by 20% after a workflow audit, then it’s clear the tweaks were really an improvement.

2. Intake

Intake is the preliminary interaction with a customer. In a coffee shop, it’s when a customer stands at the counter and places his or her order.

If you’ve ever been in a coffee shop line that’s moving at glacial speed, you have an idea of how to spot a red flag at this stage. Improving intake entails examining the current order method, then tweaking it with something like creating a simpler menu.

3. Production

This is the stage in a business process where the employee fulfills the customer’s order. In a coffee shop, it entails making a latte or heating up a scone and serving it to the customer.

Significant delays in fulfilling orders may indicate inefficiencies in the production process. Looking closely at the current process, then making tweaks (such as purchasing additional equipment or rearranging the space) may well improve metrics at this stage.

4. Payment

Payment is central to any business, no doubt about it. In a coffee shop, the payment comes at the very beginning of the order. However, in many businesses, payments are received at various stages throughout the relationship with the client, or else the client is billed entirely upon the completion of the service.

In a scenario such as a coffee shop, a common problem is the payment process taking too long and creating a bottleneck. This can be improved by upgrading payment technology. In other businesses, a common problem is that payments consistently arrive well after their due date. Remedying this problem may entail properly onboarding and training clients with the company’s payment method.

Customer Satisfaction

5. Customer Satisfaction

Evaluating customer satisfaction is critical. If the customer isn’t happy, then the business isn’t happening! It entails looking closely at the number of clients who return for repeat service and what clients say in feedback, both formally and informally.

A low rate of repeat clients means it’s time to employ some client retention strategies. In a coffee shop, for example, this might mean offering perks or discounts to customers who make a certain number of purchases.

These five bullet points cover some key areas to include in a workflow audit, but it’s by no means an exhaustive list. Identifying the various work stages for your business entails looking closely at every step in the process, from marketing and drumming up new clients, all the way to following up with clients and soliciting repeat service.

The key to performing a workflow audit is digging down to identify root causes to problems, and not providing band-aid solutions. For example, if washing dishes in a cafe takes too long, the solution isn’t necessarily to hire a second employee. Rather, it may be to rearrange the equipment or purchase better equipment to make the process faster.

A workflow audit isn’t a one-time event. It’s necessary to fine tune and tweak processes, then examine the new metrics on a quarterly or biannual basis to understand how the changes are working. It’s a healthy practice for any business to perform a workflow audit twice a year, such as one time after tax season, then a second time in the fourth quarter.

Conclusion

We’ve all heard the expression that a stitch in time saves nine. Sometimes the idioms really are true to life. As much as we might want to stay on the business treadmill, a workflow audit means ignoring a compulsion to go, go, go.

Every business gets to a stage where the only way to move forward is to take a step back, to look at processes, to evaluate systems, to identify bottlenecks and to creatively seek solutions.

It may feel indulgent or counterintuitive, but to quote Abraham Lincoln, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

Thoughtful preparation is central to maximizing the potential of your business. The time spent performing a workflow audit (evaluating systems and tweaking processes) ensures fluidity within each work stage.

If you feel like you’re always reacting to things in your business and never have the time to plan, or if your marketing methods don’t reel in the quantity of new customers you need, then a workflow audit is just the solution.

When choosing platforms to assist with streamlining your processes and systems, look no further than Teamly! Our one-stop platform for remote companies allows you to pair your superb product or service with systems that facilitate an efficient business.