Monthly Archives: June 2020

freelancers

Tips to Hire Good Freelancers

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Freelancers can be a great asset to help you free time for important work and projects. They can also provide expertise that you or your staff do not have, and you may not require on a permanent basis. They can also fill in for employees who take a leave of absence or fall ill.


There are many platforms that specialize in helping you hire the right freelancer and make it easy to manage the projects.


I use Upwork most of the time but have used fiverr on occasion as well. Freelancer is another popular platform. I like Upwork as I can post the job and quickly start getting proposals in my inbox. I can also search for freelancers with the skills I need and invite them to submit a proposal or express interest in the job.


Hiring using these platforms is easy but you need to be prudent on who you hire as you can be disappointed if you do not follow certain precautions.


Here are the steps I follow to hire the right freelancer.

  1. Use a reliable platform that offers as communication and file management system and handles the payments. I like the fact I can keep all communications including video chats within the platform
  2. Post a clear job or project description. Upwork provides examples of good job postings
  3. Ask questions for people to answer when they submit a preliminary proposal. This will help you create a shortlist of candidates
  4. Ask for a cover letter. This will help you to see how they communicate in your language and how well they communicate in writing
  5. Conduct an online video or audio interview. This will help you get a feel for the freelancer and see how punctual they are
  6. Check the reviews on their past jobs
  7. Ask for a detailed proposal once you have had a discussion so you can check their understanding of what you want

I have learned from experience that applying the above steps results in much better hires. It does not matter where people live if they can do the work remotely. What is important is their skill set, their attitude, responsiveness, and the ability to take responsibility and keep commitments. This can be gauged using the steps listed above.


Here is a sample of a recent job posting I made:


Video Editor – Business videos

I am looking for a video editor to edit select videos for my YouTube channel.  The videos are expected to be published on a bi-weekly basis. They range between 4 and 7 minutes.  
Hiring a video editor would allow me to generate more business and thus produce more videos.  My goal is to increase the number and frequency of videos produced.

I require a good editor who can understand my message and cut the videos down to the essence. I would also like the editor to bring fresh ideas and approaches to the videos to make them more engaging. The qualities I am looking for are creative, reliable, understanding of business approaches and responsive.

If this job interests you, please send a letter explaining why you think you are the right person for the job. I will then schedule interviews with selected freelancers. I will also request a test project to help me assess your work if you are one of the final prospective freelancers.


employee training

Top Three Reasons to Incorporate Video as part of Employee Training

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There are many reasons to incorporate video into your employee training programs. Here are three reasons I think are most important to consider.

  1. Consistent message. Video delivers a consistent message to all learners so everyone sees and hears the same thing, rather than having to learn through various instructors who may have different delivery styles and training techniques. Trainers today need to be facilitators and help the participants learn the content in a fun and engaging way. Video can deliver the subject matter from an expert and the facilitator then conducts exercises to help the trainees understand and use the content to develop the proper skill set for the job.
  2. Rich media experience. Video provides a rich media experience for the participants. The more mix of media and activities you can bring to the learning experience the more engaged the learners will be in the training process. You want trainees to be actively involved in the learning and engagement and enjoyment go hand in hand. When you combine video with audio, powerful slides, games, interactive exercises, role playing and the like, people will be attentive and dialed into the learning experience.
  3. Enables self-paced learning and spaced repetition. People’s learning style and pace varies, and recorded video content can be used in a workshop but can also be made available to the participants to review after the session. Most everyone has used YouTube videos to learn a task or solve a problem. Someone recently told me that her and her husband hunt and I asked if they skin the animal themselves. She said her husband does it and I asked where he learned, and she said YouTube videos. Spaced repetition is a known method to increase retention of the subject matter and when combined with self-paced learning empowers the learner even more.

These three reasons should be enough to convince you to incorporate video in your next training program. Video today has become easier to produce than ever before and you can even use your phone to create high quality training videos. The key thing is to make sure the content is to the point and is well presented. You also do not need to hire actors and technical people to make the videos. Tapping into the creativity of your employee could provide them a fun and artistic outlet for their hidden talents.


strategic planning

Solicitation from Salespeople can Help with Strategic Planning

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I have been getting more direct solicitation online from salespeople lately and I find that this can be helpful for strategic planning.


Salespeople can be useful to educate you about new technologies and services that can strengthen your business, especially for online sales and marketing.


Since the COVID 19 pandemic has caused major business disruption, online marketing, communication and selling has become crucial for businesses to survive and thrive. Those that have been well-equipped have seized the opportunity to grow their sales online. Amazon has seen a huge surge in sales and their stock price as well.


Zoom is becoming a trade name for online meetings and presentations. Yet the company is fairly young compared to competitors like Webex, GoToMeetings and Skype. This shows that an incumbent can enter a crowed market dominated by giants and still make a name for itself and take over the market.


Strategic planning has always been an essential activity for business owners and directors and more so now than ever due to the opportunities and threats created by the rapid changes occurring in technologies, business, environment and health. Salespeople can help you evaluate what can help you seize opportunities and avoid disasters.


Often business owners would shield themselves from salespeople for fear of wasting time and being sold something they really do not need. But now more than ever is a good time to selectively listen to those that your gut says you can learn from and perhaps profit from their solutions.


online training

How to Make Online Training as Effective as In-Person Training

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I am discovering that online training can be even more effective that in-person training and for something I would never have thought possible.


Last year I took up mountain biking as I have ridden a road bike for a long time and wanted to experience something different that some friends were doing.


At first, I tried riding on my own on easy trails and found that I was afraid to do what seemed as simple climbs and descents. That is when I realized I needed some training.


So, I contacted a local mountain bike range where they offered training and signed up for a private class. The instructor had me ride while she observed. She then demonstrated what I should be doing to correct some things and then had me try them.


During an ascent I fell hard on my elbow and that hurt badly for three weeks. I realized I would need more lessons, but we were leaving for a long trip, so the lessons had to be put on hold.


When I bought the bike the shop owner told of an online mountain bike membership training by Ryan Leech. I signed up for a free trial but did not really apply very much.


This year I decided that I needed training if I was to continue the sport and so I purchased an annual training membership.  After just two weeks of following a basic course I have seen great improvement in both my skill level and confidence handling the bike.

This made me realize how powerful online training can be when combined with the right elements. And these elements are the same as classroom training. Technology today affords the opportunity to make online training as or even more effective than one-on-one training as I am experiencing now.

These are the elements that make training effective:

  1. Explain the importance of the skill or step
  2. Demonstrate the skill or step
  3. Observe the person performing the skill or step
  4. Give feedback and correction
  5. Repeat the above until the skill is mastered to a basic level
  6. Continue monitoring and tracking progress
  7. Give positive feedback and encourage continued development

As I am discovering now with the mountain bike training all these elements can be applied online. Of course, I need to take responsibility to film myself and upload the files so the coaches can give feedback. In this case it requires motivated trainees and I am motivated to have fun and not get hurt.


What’s more is that I can follow the course at my own pace and keep practicing each step until I am ready to move to the next skill set. This seems more doable and certainly affordable with the online training than the one-on-one coaching at the mountain. Check out my article and video on the Seven Steps to Effective Employee Training and you can also download my free worksheet for planning the training.