Don’t be the stranger who never comes into the office
My business partner for 45 years, Mel Katz, and I try to carpool into the office whenever we can.
Both our families live in Del Mar, which is convenient, though often it doesn’t work out because of our busy schedules. But we try.
Our carpool commutes give us a chance to casually talk about our company, among many other topics such as politics and other less serious matters.
When we started Manpower years ago, we were smart enough to divide the company’s leadership roles into what we perceived as each of our strengths. That arrangement continues today.
Each of us has complete autonomy, and veto rights which are rarely used. We enjoy lively discussions when issues do happen to overlap.
That’s when we give updates and gently quiz each other — Mel calls it cross-examine — on the latest trends of the staffing industry.
The impact of remote work on productivity and promotions was the topic last week. It continues to be one of the hottest topics, led by the newest buzz phrase in management circles — “productivity paranoia.”
At our company, we offer our team members a variety of remote options for our various operations. Some have chosen to be in the office full time (including Mel and myself ), but most of our employees prefer to work varying degrees of hybrid.
Our official policy is that we suggest two days per week in the office, but we do not measure or manage to that.
Some of our staffers need to be available on the typical 8-to-5 schedule to support our clients, but many, such as payroll and recruiting, are more flexible.
They can literally get their
tween $150 and $250 per article. ProBlogger offers a job board with hundreds of opportunities. Freelancers must register to apply for jobs listed on the site, but registration is free.
Edit
If you’ve got editing chops, there are two sites that can provide well-paid opportunities.
Reedsy is a site for selfpublished authors to find editors, graphic designers and book marketers. Freelancers must have significant experience to sign up. However, once accepted, they set their own rates and terms and pay just 10 percent of their fees for Reedsy’s help with marketing and collection.
ServiceScape enlists freelancers to edit everything from academic papers to resumes. Freelancers set their own rates, but pay 50 percent to the platform. Although those fees are high, so are freelance rates. And high rates don’t seem to discourage potential clients.
Virtually assist
Articulate and organized? You may be able to earn a nice living as a virtual assistant. Virtual assistants manage client schedules and email, update websites and social media accounts and more.
They typically earn between $15 and $25 an hour. But those who handle more skilled services — such as website and social media updates — can earn considerably more.
Sites that can help you find work as a virtual assistant include Robert Half, Boldly, Belay and Fiverr.
Translate
Online translators are in demand more than ever before because of globalization. There are no specific credentials required other than speaking another indemand language fluently.
Depending on your skills, you can translate books, lectures, legal documents, brochures, videos, conversations, websites, blog posts or other written material. Two good sites to find this work are SmartCat and ProZ.
Transcribe
Transcription is a good job for military spouses who have a good ear, fast and accurate typing skills and good command of the English language. Generally speaking, you can work on your own schedule and from your own home. And few companies require prior experience to get started.
That said, most transcription jobs pay by the audio minute. And each audio minute could take up to 10 minutes to transcribe, depending on the clarity of the tape and the number of people speaking. Good sites to find transcription work are Rev, GMR Transcription and Transcription Outsourcing.
Provide tech help
Whether designing or updating websites or helping with user experience and coding, people with tech skills have a nearly limitless number of job options. Few of these jobs require college degrees or in-person attendance. And most of them pay generously.
If you want to build simple websites, Fiverr is a good choice to find clients. It draws millions of customers and you design and price your own service packages.
However, if you want to offer more sophisticated services, you may want to sign up with FreeUp, TopTal or Braintrust. All three sites connect tech experts with highly paid opportunities.