Category: Flexi Hiring Solutions

Deep Work Is The New Secret Of Enhanced Productivity Among Remote Workers

Imagine sitting on your office desk, trying to concentrate on your work and suddenly the phone rings. Well, you are not only distracted but also diverted from the thoughts you were initiating. You might have seen a number of managers around the world getting excited the moment they come across a new way to improve the productivity of teams/individuals. They dream of that one ideal day with zero error tasks delivered on time. Deep Work can be a solution to this dream. What is Deep Work?  Deep Work is a concept coined by Cal Newport, a Computer Science professor at Georgetown University. He defines Deep Work as the ability to critically focus on activities which are highly important without any distractions. By doing this, you can avoid “shallow” work. Let us help you understand this better. Rewind your life and imagine a day where you had strict deadlines to meet. Calculate how many times you were forced to go through your email because someone wanted something urgently.  You will debate and see that if things were prioritized it would not have happened, but often a number of things are not in your control. Deep Work is a philosophy, not an initiative  Well, to initiate the process of Deep Work, Newport advices on developing an agile task list which has all tasks listed and is shared with your co-workers so that they are well- informed about their schedule and know when to approach you and for what. With remote colleagues, this philosophy continues as they can follow the same as per their time zones. With remote workers, the biggest advantage is that they can follow their own schedule and every information exchanged is well thought of. Why is Deep Work important for you as well as your team?  Deep Work helps to improve the core abilities for thriving in this competitive environment. It allows developers and designers to work on complex projects in a strict deadline with complete accountability. At Indus Net, we have created an ecosystem which fosters deep work from the onset. Teams based on the client’s needs and not skill sets are set up to ensure minimum distraction and maximum return. Some real-life instances In a survey of 450 remote workers, TalentLMS found that around 90% of survey participants get work done properly and adequately when working remotely. They have highlighted why concentration level is high if people work remotely and where they create a zero distraction zone. At Crossover, managers use Deep Work, productivity and work habits using a number of customized tools to know how effective their culture is. At Toyota, managers often go for short walks through the factory floor to have a look at the work of the team members. They use tools to find out the blocks of time wasted and use these insights to create a rectification plan and provide training sessions correspondingly. So how can you start? Create an agile methodology of work with well-defined tasks and responsibilities for 2 weeks Hire a remote worker and treat all colleagues as remote workers Define your and your team’s work schedule Ensure zero distraction during working hours Measure productivity using smart tools like Worksmart or develop one yourself Understand trends and improve Today, deep work needs discipline, efficient planning along with a change of mindset to understand why remote working can yield maximum results. Just imagine what you can do outside work with all those extra hours!

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Out-Staffing Vs. Outsourcing: Is There A Better Approach?

Outsourcing product development as a concept took off sometime during the 1990s when the digital revolution enabled client companies to waive off their software development projects to service providers who would then realize it internally. Primarily, the clients can choose a fixed cost per project which is agreed upon a mutually agreed deadline (Fixed Cost Project model). Otherwise, they can also hire developers from a staffing agency who would be managed by the client’s internal teams. Outsourcing is primarily associated with the Fixed Cost Project model, whereas out-staffing is associated with the Full-Time Equivalent model. Both the models have pros and cons, but the success of its implementation depends upon your project and staffing requirements. Here is a quick comparison between the outsourcing and out-staffing models. What’s outsourcing all about? In an outsourcing scenario, a particular project (e.g. Software development) is dished out to a service provider, who remains responsible for execution and delivery. The service provider is responsible for the successful completion of only the project. The provider manages the end to end execution, and can also hire talent if required. Apart from that, the client doesn’t need to take any added responsibility to complete it. This allows the client to focus on core business activities and delegate specific project(s) to the chosen service provider(s). Advantages Talent Acquisition responsibilities are taken care of by the service provider. Eliminates overhead costs associated with the completion of the project. A client does not have to manage the project or the service provider’s team. Disadvantages Client loses quality control of the project. Communication with the development team is not direct and lucid. Pain points may not be communicated with the offshore team accurately. Costs can soar if additional projects are added along the way. Case study: A manufacturing company based in New York City intended to launch a mobile application to manage its field staff. The company outsourced the project to a client based in India. While the quality of the application was excellent, the company realized that it needed IoT sensor integration as well. The service provider agreed, but this resulted in additional fees to the client. What went wrong? This scenario could have been avoided through transparent and ease of communication between the client and the service provider. Lesson: The outsourcing model is great for simple single one-off projects. With more complex projects on the sleeves, a more flexible model is required. How is out-staffing different from outsourcing? In an out-staffing model, remote workers who are employed by another company are recruited temporarily to perform certain tasks. The external agency acts as the employer of the remote team and is responsible for their salaries, bonuses, and equipment etc. The client provides and manages the assignment directly. This is a great model to choose when the client company has begun a project and requires specific assistance from professionals with certain skills that are not available in-house. Herein, lies the advantage because you can hire a top level talent for a fraction of the full-time hire.  Additionally, the client company’s managers oversee project management and completion. Advantages This model is perfect for ongoing projects. Specific skills that are required only for a short duration could be hired based on specific projects. Direct access and control of remote workers either onsite or offshore. Disadvantages Client bears the management responsibilities. Communication channels need to be of high quality and transparent. Deliverables are the client’s onus. Case study: A San Francisco Bay Area software company required to execute Python-based projects. Unable to acquire in-house talents, they decide to hire two skilled Python developers from an out-staffing company. While the projects were completed in time satisfactorily, the company realized it needed to complete more projects in other newer technologies such as Kotlin. This resulted in the client having to hire more remote workers from a different out-staffing agency. What went wrong? Hiring multiple remote workers could have been avoided if the client company hired from the same agency and paid for the development time, rather than for the number of workers. The client also didn’t receive the necessary guidance. Lesson: Out-staffing model is suited for a large IT company that already has well-defined processes and management but is looking for specific skills temporarily. It is not suitable for companies with dynamic requirements. What a flexible model looks like? A flexible model combines the outsourcing model with out-staffing services and adds IT consultancy to the mix. Most outsourcing and out-staffing models fail because consulting is often ignored and the fact that project requirements change along the way is taken for granted. Software development and digital requirements are always dynamic and cherry picking projects and remote workers can both prove to be expensive. Dedicated hiring is a flexible and dynamic solution that erases constraints placed by traditional models such as outsourcing and out-staffing. It combines the advantages of traditional project outsourcing and remote workers with that of consultancy so that businesses only pay for skills used and services rendered. Most importantly, businesses do not have to squander temporal and financial resources on multiple project outsourcing and parallel remote hiring. Advantages of a flexible model As project requirements and skill demands can widely oscillate, a flexible model is leaner and cost-effective Such a model gives the client company access to developers, designers, digital marketing consultants, security experts, project managers, ScrumMasters, etc. It also stresses on the importance of an agile framework, which helps businesses to scale down or scale up depending on their evolving needs. Dedicated hiring can be understood as an amalgamation of the benefits of outsourcing and out-staffing models with added benefits of IT consultancy. This is a flexible model that allows businesses to manage projects the way they want while having access to a multi-disciplinary team of IT professionals and consultants. Key takeaways The traditional outsourcing model focuses on project completion by an external service provider Out-staffing model focuses on hiring remote workers to fill specific gaps temporarily Dedicated hiring addresses the pain points associated

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Talent as a Service: Accelerating the Trend towards a Flexible Workforce

What happens when a project requires a particular skill or talent which you don’t have? Or want on your current payroll? What are your options as a Project Manager then? TaaS is the answer to such situations. After Software as a Service (SaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS), Talent as a Service is the latest disruption in the human resources sector that will soon replace the workplace as we know it. TaaS has brought a whole new dimension to crowdsourcing, bringing about an uberisation of the workforce. TaaS sources labour from the crowds by opening the workplace for grabs people best suited for a particular project. In other words, this gig economy will help propel talent across projects and organisations based on the former’s interest areas and the latter’s demands. It heralds a new generation of workers with highly specialized and directly relevant skills towards a better allocation of peripheral work. How TaaS can Transform your Business Liran Kotzer writing for The Huffington Post candidly states, “…with the economy in an uncertain state the pressure on these [small and micro] businesses to keep other costs in check is high.” That would explain why companies are now rushing to embrace the TaaS model. It not only enables them to enjoy flexible access to the right talent at the right time for the right price but also lowers the cost of retaining skills by a considerable margin. The scalability offered by TaaS, to roll out projects based solely on demand, is creating ripples in the world of recruitment as we speak. Given the steady invasion of the demand hiring culture into the modern workplace, blending the traditional Full-Time Employee (FTE) business model with a regular rotation of contractual workers don’t need to be as daunting as it sounds. TaaS is here to simplify the workspace, to deliver your timely needs and it inarguably costs less than hiring a new employee. According to The Economic Times, a lot of Indian IT companies including Infosys and Wipro are exploring the idea of an uberised workforce, with their own flexi-staffing models. The article speculates the possible reason that is catalysing this trend today : “What is driving this trend is the changing preference of the young workforce more than the market uncertainty and political situation in their largest market, the US.” Here are the three tenets of TaaS explained with hypothetical use cases : Flexibility and Expertise A fashion logistical company wants to rebuild their business plan and pitch an attractive deck to their prospective investors. None of the existing employees have ever drawn up a business plan before. At the same time, they will have better insights into what needs change and what stays, more than any consultant or new employees. At this point, the firm can recruit a designer with a background in fashion, retail, logistics, and design, to curate the deck for the company. Minimising the cost of FTE A firm has an AI and IT engineer on board but he has very little knowledge of UX design. It makes little sense to recruit a developer at this time for a short-term project. So the firm can hire a UX designer at this point to develop their website design. Increased Efficiency with Time Consumption A company is redesigning its brochures but their in-house team has very little knowledge of graphic design. An intern from the marketing team is willing to give it a try but it will take her a couple of days at least to learn the basics of Photoshop and even then it won’t be the same quality of an expert. There is no justification for hiring a full-time designer at this juncture; instead, it would be best in the company’s interests if they reach out to the designer designed their visiting cards once before. Things to keep in mind while adopting a TaaS model Incorporating Talent as a Service will sound as good in your company’s portfolio as it does on paper. To adopt it in your daily operations and for a seamless merger between the traditional and modern workplace, here are a few key points you must bear in mind. According to Rob Biederman, co-founder, and CEO of HourlyNerd, the model is especially suited for marketing, operations, and finance: these departments would be your best bet if you want to test the waters. While trying TaaS out for the first time, start with a small pilot project to gain experience in hiring and managing talent before investing in a large project with a lot at stake. While working with a flexible talent pool, allot and carve out distinct chunks of work and establish clear deliverables and deadlines with strong communication. Before and during talent acquisition, do your research and only recruit from a reputable source/agency/recommendation and follow it up with a strong vetting process. It trends set to improve Taas According to a report by Intuit, the number of on-demand workers in the US is expected to double in the next four years to almost 9.2 million. It won’t be long before the brick and mortar office is a thing of the past as where and how people work will change due to emerging Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud phenomenon and mobile technologies. Working in the cloud will increasingly shift work lives away from corporate office altogether and toward an in-my-own-place, on-my-own-time work regimen. “Gen Y will continue focusing less on physically spending time at a job site and more on getting the job done. Connecting through the cloud will allow Gen Y to success on the move and approach the work/life balance they desire.” As cloud computing keeps extending to every job sector, businesses are increasingly recognising that Cloud technology can be taken further to tap a virtual, global labour pool. This will in turn increase productivity, maximise the elasticity of their existing workforce and reduce labour costs.  To effectively minimise fixed labour costs and maximise productivity, enterprises of the future must be ready to work with

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