Ep. 276 - Have you considered the benefits of remote workers as small business owners? Jessica Miller-Merrell discusses the best practices for a remote work environment and how you can build a beneficial relationship with your remote workers as a small business owner.
Jessica Miller-Merrell is an author, speaker, human resources professional, and workplace expert with a passion for human capital, talent management, workplace leadership, and technology. She’s also the founder of Workology, a destination for the disruptive workplace leader discussing trends, tools, and case studies for HR, recruiting professionals, and business leaders. In this episode, Jessica talks about HR, remote workers, and best practices for business owners to support their employees.
Listen in to learn the importance of having the flexibility to embrace remote workers and provide them with safety and stability. You will also learn the importance of taking breaks and offering them to your employees for self-care and mental health.
Key Takeaways:
· The importance of actively supporting women and minority-owned businesses
· How to be intentional with project management and making things work as a business owner
· The importance of taking time off for self-care and mental well-being to avoid burnout
· How to shift as the leader and business owner to connect and serve your remote employees
· Why now is the time to change and pivot your life or career as the world changes
"In order for us to recruit the best people, we’re going to have to give some people flexibility, especially if you’re a small business.”
In this episode you will learn:
Jessica explains how she started serving HR leaders with educational resources [1:19]
Why companies need to keep an open mind with remote working even after the pandemic is over [4:53]
She describes her best practices for a smooth remote work environment [6:49]
The impact of the pandemic on women plus how to support black and women-owned businesses [7:58]
Jessica’s tips on how to hire and retain virtual assistants and the benefits of it [11:01]
She explains her best practices in ensuring remote and in-person employee safety and stability [14:17]
The importance of holding remote workers accountable so they can work efficiently [18:50]
How to invest in yourself and the training of your remote employees for a relationship [22:44]
The importance of including breaks for your team to rejuvenate and care for their mental health [25:31]
How to be flexible with hiring as a small business to recruit the best talent [28:24]
How people are reevaluating their lives and careers to start making an impact [31:17]
Tips for women over 50 thinking about starting businesses and finding success [35:04]
The challenges that HR has been facing due to the pandemic plus where to find HR resources [40:05]
Why it’s time to shift as a leader, support minority women, and pivot to what makes you happy [45:28]
CAREER
Jessica is a former executive HR leader turned thought leader and entrepreneur focused on sharing resources and stories to help elevate the workplace, employees, and business leaders. Jessica has spoken at global events including SHRM's Annual Conference, SXSW, Working Mother Magazine's Conference, and HR Tech Fest. She's recognized by Forbes Magazine as a top 50 social media influencer and featured by The Economist in their C-Suite series for HR. Jessica's newest book is Digitizing Talent: Creative Strategies for the Digital Recruiting Age published by SHRM in 2023.
Jessica is also Master certified trainer in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), a psychological approach that involves analyzing strategies used by successful individuals and applying them to reach a personal goal.
Jessica Miller-Merrell is the founder of Workology, a digital resource that reaches more than a half million HR and workplace leaders each month. Jessica lives in Austin, TX, with her husband, daughter, and an assortment of furry family members. She is the co-owner of Duo Works, an Austin-based co-working and shared office space. You can
RESOURCES
JOIN PURSE POWER!
Donna Miller is the founder and CEO of Purse Power, Let's Share the Journey. Purse Power promotes women-led, women-owned businesses by providing a Google extension that allows everyone who visits your website to locate nearby businesses.
Let's Share the Journey holds calls at 10 AM Central every Friday to learn from national leaders to share expertise, ideas, and support. One week a month features Zoom Room networking. We support Donna's endeavor and have provided the speaker calls in a podcast format. Please join her on Friday mornings! You can register for the calls here.