Remote work

Are you struggling with managing remote teams? If so, this article will be a great place to learn how to make use of some of the best practices and tools to manage them effectively. Read on!

Managing remote teams efficiently without any major hiccups is the goal of the majority of managers or leaders in various companies and organizations. The common apprehension that persists among them is how to efficiently perform remote team management?

The fear is not unnatural since you are unable to observe the team at your workplace. You need to rely mainly on their words and the progress they state every day. Though you can communicate with the remote team whenever you want through audio and video calls, still you remain skeptical about their dedication.

The article will share managing remote teams’ best practices for effective virtual team management. It will guide you in ensuring your remote teams work as per your expectations, stay motivated, and deliver quality work.

Also read: How to work from home successfully?

What is a remote team?

A remote team basically is a group of people who are brought together for a unified project. While they all work for the fulfillment of the goal of the same organization, they physically work from distant locations. Different remote employees work from different offices, cities, and sometimes even countries.

80% of managers have at least one employee who sits somewhere else other than the rest of the group. In a remote team, the manager has to remotely manage the team and each employee works under a single manager. They are answerable to the person who does their performance review and has some levels of authority over them.

The biggest challenge about managing teams remotely is that much of the tasks are mediated through technology. If you want to know how to manage a remote team, follow the processes and tips mentioned below. We have also compiled a list of tools that could come in handy.

Also Read: Remote meeting | A comprehensive guide

Key trends and importance of managing remote employees

Most managers these days want to know how to manage remote teams. As per a report by a leading organization Gartner, many HR leaders opined that employees will be allowed to work remotely even after the vaccine will be widely available. Most organizations around the world are managing remote employees.

They look for ways to keep employees productive and engaged. As per a study, by 2025, 70% of the workforce will be working remotely at least five days a month. While most people feel that the culture of managing remote teams will be prevalent only till the vaccine is not available. But, the remote work culture will certainly prevail.

For people who want to know about how to manage remote workers, it is advisable to have clear remote work policies. But, sometimes even after all policies are in place, many managers face issues in remote team management. There are many research-based steps that managers can follow to improve the engagement as well as the productivity of the team.

Also Read: Work life balance | Everything you must know

Challenges in managing remote employees

Following are some of the major challenges in managing a remote team,

1. Communication issue

Communication within team members is one of the major issues that managers face while managing remote workers. Since employees can’t see each other and they can’t check the expression, much miscommunication occurs within the team.

Managers find managing a remote team to be difficult because team members can’t come to the managers and there are fewer chances of support, feedback, and suggestions.

2. Scheduling issues

While many companies opine that team remote workers who work from home offer better productivity, many managers feel that there can be a few hiccups in terms of scheduling. If the employees are scattered across different time zones, managing a remote workforce can be quite a challenging task for most managers.

Coordinating chats as per the timing can also be difficult. Updating teams about important changes can also be full of hassles.

3. Language difference

Another major issue that managers may face while managing remote workers is when they have globally diverse workers. Thus, cultural and language divides can be quite challenging and problematic while managing remote teams.

4. Trustability

Managing a remote workforce becomes easy when you have face-to-face interaction on an everyday basis. It is easier to create trust and bond well. But, with the virtual call and meeting setups, many managers feel that there is a lack of trues and cohesion while managing employees remotely.

5. Tracking the performance

While most remote employees feel that if they have submitted a task on time, it’s good measurability. But, for most managers measurement and tracking of the performance of employees become difficult when companies are working with managing remote teams.

Also Read: Organize your life | A complete guide

Problems faced by managers in managing remote employees

Following are some of the major problems faced by managers in managing a team remotely,

1. Keeping everybody on the same page – One of the biggest problems that managers face while managing distributed teams is that it gets difficult to keep everyone on the same page. Communication and collaboration are the two biggest hurdles that managers face while managing remotely.
2. Tracking progress and productivity – In a typical workspace, it becomes easy to keep an eye on employees and their work. But, in the case of remote worker management, most managers opine that they struggle in ensuring that the team members can remain efficient and productive throughout the day. It is difficult to know if an employee is working with dedication, or he/she is just killing time.
3. Lack of employee development – When employees work remotely, most managers feel that the concept of employee development and their growth may be pushed back. In terms of the development of skills and abilities in an employee, remote worker management doesn’t show a great result as per many managers.
4. No sense of belonging – Another problem that managers feel while supervising remote employees is that employees don’t get a sense of belonging to the organization when they are working remotely. Thus, at the end of the day project as well as the organization’s long-term goal may be impacted. Going fully remote can also disconnect employees from the broader vision of the organization.
5. Managers have to micromanage – If you ask any manager about how to manage a team remotely, most of them would complain about the micromanagement of tasks. Since trust factor gets impacted because of managing from a distance, managers have to check every little detail and they find most of their time getting wasted in micromanagement.

Also Read: Working from home with kids | Critical items that you must know!

Tips For Effective Remote Team Management

Here is a list of 15 important teams on managing remote teams,

1. Track work progress and productivity

For teams working in an office, it is easy to track their attendance through various attendance tracking software. But in a virtual environment, managing remote teams and tracking their attendance is tough.

It is very essential to understand how long a person operates daily, how much time is spent, and the work progress. It is advisable to leverage robust team management tools and software while managing virtual teams.

Teamwork, Time Doctor, and Hub Staff are some of the popular time management tools available in the market for managing remote workers, their work progress, and the time spent by them on the activities and tasks assigned to them.

The tools are super intelligent in tracking even if the remote professionals are chatting on social media, the time they spent on breaks, and the time spent on working.

2. Maintain overlaps between time zones

One of the key advantages of working remotely is hiring resources with niche skills operating in different regions of the world. While it’s an advantage, it brings in the complexity of managing remote teams in different time zones. One of the remote team management tips is to maintain proper time overlaps for work continuation.

Ensure that there is a proper handover of work between the teams. Meetings and conference calls need to be scheduled at common hours to ensure full participation while managing virtual teams in various time zones. A key recommendation is to draw the working hours plan by maintaining at least 2 to 3 hours overlap between the time zones.

3. Clear Expectations

Setting clear expectations is an important aspect of virtual team management. First and foremost you need to educate the remote team on the company’s mission and vision as part of the induction process. Next is to set the goals and objectives to be achieved by each remote professional. The key focus areas should be:

1. The hours of availability
2. The scheduled work hours
3. The communication method and mode
4. The regular meeting schedules and the priority of attendance
5. The details of key projects and the deadlines of each project
6. Compulsory response to emails and messages

This will ensure remote professionals stay focused on their deadlines and adhere to the expectations. You can measure the performance of the remote team based on the expectations set forward before them.

Dedicated team members would easily be recognized based on their capability to reach the expected goals and objectives. You would be able to enhance your remote management capacities effectively through this practice.

4. Selecting the perfect communication mechanism

Managing remote teams best practices lists the style of communication as one of the important aspects of remote management. Companies are advised to educate their leaders and managers to select the best remote tools and modes while managing remote teams. Some of the key suggestions for communicating effectively are:

1. Chats and Instant messaging through applications such as UnRemot or Google Hangouts
2. Video conference calls 
3. Email communications
4. Telephonic calls
5. Sharing screen captures
6. Sharing audio recordings
7. Sharing video recordings

You need to analyze the communication medium which best suits you while managing remote employees of varying skills and located in various regions. For people in different time zones, emails are found to be more suitable along with audio and video recordings.

Expecting them to be available at odd hours for chats and instant messaging may hamper their scheduled work hours. Whereas for communicating with teams in the same time zones, chats or phone calls are most suitable and easy.

5. Review teamwork

Reviewing the progress of your team is essential and important to ensure the work is progressing as per the mentioned deadlines. One of the key aspects of managing remote teams is conducting daily status progress meetings for discussing,

1. The status of the assignments
2. Any risks and issues encountered for completing the work
3. Clarifications that need answers
4. Assistance and support required on technical, functional, and infrastructural issues
5. Share grievances that may hamper the work progress 
6. Training needs for building competency 
7. The requirement of arranging any webinars or conferences for knowledge enhancements

It is important to conduct daily meetings at the project level and monthly or quarterly reviews at the senior leadership level. Emergencies or critical issues must be discussed via urgent meetings to de-risk the project and meet the scheduled deadlines.

Suggested read: Best Home Office Set Up For Remote Work – Shoot Up Your Productivity

6. Manage Diversity professionally

Managing remote teams comprise individuals from different cultures and different countries. Managing remote teams diverse in nature is critical to maintaining harmony and unity within the team. Their ways of working and communication may vary a lot which sometimes creates obstacles in the proper functioning of the remote teams.

It is therefore essential to mitigate the differences professionally for better managing remote employees. A common methodology is to spread awareness about the different work cultures and communication etiquettes.

Each country has its own set of customs and traditions which need to be respected too especially the national holidays and festivals. Your workdays must consider the sentiments too to prevent any disgruntle within the team.

7. Regular engagement 

Constant interaction and communication are some of the key success factors while managing remote teams. The engagement must not only comprise status updates. The managers must encourage the remote professionals to share any feedback they have on the functioning of the team, any grievances against the team or the company, their interests and hobbies, training needs, etc.

Daily interactions build a sense of belonging among the remote team and they feel a part of the organization. The productivity of the team enhances and they stay loyal to the company. Managing remote workers turn out to be easier and effective once the team is motivated and satisfied.

8. Hiring for short term than full time

To minimize risks in managing remote teams, it is often recommended to test the skills and dedication of the remote professionals by assigning them short-term projects. Once you are convinced of their capability and sincerity then you can start with full-term projects. 

One important point you need to remember is, not to delay in confirming full-time deployment once you are convinced with the performance of the remote professionals.

Unusual delays while managing remote workers may unnerve them since they would be worried about their future. You need to balance your needs and the needs of remote professionals to achieve a win-win situation.

9. Nurture a “True Team” culture

Remote management flourishes if you can nurture a “True Team” culture within the individuals working in a remote team. The managers and leaders must strive to imbibe a strong feeling of togetherness among the team members.

The remote professionals must be made aware of the fact that they are not only responsible for achieving the goals and objectives of the company, but they are critical and precious members of the company.

Motivating and inculcating a sense of value are some of the key driving factors while measuring the success of managing remote teams. Let us discuss a few of the critical methods that can be adopted by companies to generate a feeling of “True Team” culture,

1. Engage in communications related to hobbies, personal interests, any special abilities other than the regularly assigned work
2. Keep all the remote team members involved in special events, conferences, seminars, and critical discussions
3. Celebrate birthdays by sending e-cards
4. Send small gifts as tokens of appreciation for good performance
5. The remote professionals must be aware of the company’s mission, vision, and policies whenever they are amended.
6. The performances of the company are it quarterly or monthly, must be shared with the remote team members
7. Offer gift vouchers for participation in quizzes or debates

10. Well-defined Onboarding Process

One of the key criteria for managing remote teams from Day 1 is to design a well-defined onboarding process. The roles of remote professionals must be clearly defined and communicated to avoid any ambiguities. They must also be encouraged to provide feedback on the overall induction process and communicate additional requirements for better understanding.

Web-based training programs to educate the remote professionals on the company’s rules and regulations, tools, and software used by the team, and advanced technologies are some of the key aspects of an effective onboarding process.

The programs must be substantiated with videos and animations for the added effects. Ensure the remote team feels the essence behind the company’s objectives and goals. They need to understand the company’s values to perform as per the desired expectations.

Further read: What is remote working?

11. Leverage Project Management software or tools

Managing remote teams via email communication only should be seriously avoided by companies. Deploying project management software and tools available in the market is an essential aspect of managing remote employees.

The systems provide access to the entire team located in different regions. The access restrictions can be imposed depending on the roles of the remote team. The applications can also be hosted in the cloud for better management and control.

Emails lead to mismanagement and miscommunication and hence not recommended as part of remote team management tips. Applications such as unremot, Slack, Jira allow tracking of work status, storage, and exchange of documents, spreadsheets, and presentations with ease. You can even store and record conversations between the team members.

12. Grievance Redressal System and Feedback Mechanism

Working remotely reduces the chances of the employees engaging in regular face-to-face conversations to share feedbacks or grievances. Companies must pay attention to this very important fact and create a grievance redressal system and a feedback mechanism system while managing virtual teams.

While remote professionals enjoy being applauded for their success they also want their managers to listen to their problems and issues. They seek resolution from their supervisors for the smooth and undisturbed functioning of their work.

It is recommended to attend to the concerns of the remote professionals immediately to maintain the motivation level and dedication. One-on-one communication plays a major part in dealing with such grievances efficiently.

Equally important is to gather feedback on the company’s policies, goals, and team activities. Both feedback and grievance redressal systems must be available online to remote employees.

13. Hire the right people as virtual teams

The remote professionals must have the capability to operate in a virtual environment undistracted by usual home chores. Another important factor is the capability to work in an isolated atmosphere. Working out of an office along with peers, supervisors, and a team and working alone in a remote environment is different.

Companies must perform a small analysis before hiring and onboarding the remote team members. At home, there are several distractions to divert the concentration of remote workers. As a manager or leader, you need to check on this aspect carefully by asking tactful queries during the interview process.

You must not risk hiring and onboarding team members who are unable to cope up with the loneliness of working in a remote environment and are constantly disturbed by family, friends, and household chores.

14. Bond and support

One of the best ways to managing remote teams best practices is to establish bonds between employees even if they are remotely located. It is important to get time at the end of the for a casual chit chat through video conferencing.

Empathizing and appreciating the life of employees can help managers in getting more support from the team as well as employees. On the management end, it is important to check frequently on the collaboration tools, shared documents, and spreadsheets.

This way, employees may feel that their work is reviewed. Regular mechanisms of rewards can also boost the confidence as well as the workability of employees. When working with managing remote teams, managers should also try to know about the goals of employees rather than checking on progress and numbers every day.

15. Trust the team

Companies don’t embrace remote working because they are unable to trust the employees. One of the best ways to get rid of the trust issues can be to set up work from home guidelines like emails should be responded to within 5-hours, use of text for urgent matters, and no calls between certain hours. This way, it will also become easier for the manager to manage remote employees.

Suggested read: How To Build And Sustain Trust In Remote Teams

Top 5 tools to use in managing remote employees

If you want to know how to manage a team remotely, one of the best ways is to use the right tools. Some of the best go/remote-toolkit that can be helpful in managing remote employees include,

1. Slack: Communication app – This is one of the best communication tools that is used to remotely manage employees. The app allows employees and team members to get instant feedback and connect with their team members.
2. unremot virtual water cooler – This is an easy-to-use virtual tool for effective social employee engagement for remote teams. The tool is made with the goal of helping managing remote teams to collaborate and communicate effectively. Some of the best features of the tool include sharing of the screen, task management, calendar, and file sharing.
3. Zoom – Zoom is another video conferencing tool that people all over the world are using. You don’t have to worry about frequent technical glitches and frozen video and sound when you are using zoom.
4. GitHub – This tool can be especially beneficial for designers and developers. From hosting and reviewing code to managing products to build software, GitHub is one of the best tools that digital agencies need.
5. Trello – Trello is the best project management tool that can help managers in managing remote employees’ best practices while working on a project. Trello stands out among other platforms for its simplicity as well as performance.

Suggested read: Synchronous & Asynchronous Communication in Remote Work

How to improve the social engagement of remote employees?

After working for long hours remotely, employees don’t get enough time and opportunity for social engagement. In the long run, lack of social engagement can impact employees as well as the organization. Following are some of the best ways that can be helpful in improving social engagement for remote employees,

1. Communication network – Setting up a good communication network that can be done through video calls, chats, and emails can be one of the best ways to improve the social engagement of remote employees.
2. Community belongingness – It is important for an organization to have a platform where an employee can discuss all types of work as well as non-work-related stress. This will reduce the chances of an employee feeling isolated.
3. Flexible approach – Managers need to make sure that workers are genuinely flexible in their approach. Thus, instead of overburdening the employee with lots of deadlines, managers should try to give enough space for flexible working. Workers should also get an opportunity for a vacation.
4. Respect time zones – Since different employees belong to different geographical locations and cultures, it is important for organizations to pay attention to cultural significance. Managers should have regard for festivals and holidays.
5. Coffee chats – This is a great way in which each employee should go on break at the same time and they can chat with their team members through a video chat method. This way, they can get a break from work and get the needed social engagement.
6. Group chats – Group chats should be encouraged when workers are working remotely. Groups must be created for official as well as unofficial purposes. It is not important for managers to be present in all groups. Interaction among teammates can result in better productivity to the organization.
7. Visual lunch – Just like virtual coffee, virtual lunch can be another process that can improve the bonding among employees. The process is quite simple as the organization can have group conferences where everyone can eat together sharing jokes while having meals.
8. Contests – Unofficial contests for fun can also replace the regular office parties people used to attend. These contests can be played through online platforms and it can enable employees to know each other in a better way.
9. Virtual workout – This may seem the most difficult part of social engagement, but it will lead to better mental and physical wellness for employees. Employees can share the number of calories they have burnt, the number of steps they have walked and this approach will help others to have a goal towards fitness.
10. Gift exchange – Every month, there should be a gift exchange in the company wherein, employees can send gifts to their colleagues. This will increase the bonding and closeness among team members.

Also read: Best Practices For Remote Onboarding

Conclusion

Managing remote teams by following the above-mentioned methods would turn out to be effective if tried out diligently. You would be able to gain trust in the remote employees and vice versa. It will eventually increase the productivity and achievement of the company’s goals and objectives smartly.

Struggling with the productivity of your remote team? Searching for productivity tips to get more out of the team? Here is a piece that was written precisely for you. Read on!

Remote working is now standard practice in several medium and large-scale organizations in the world. It is gaining prominence since companies have realized its potential and benefits. But a lot of us are still looking for answers to questions like,

How to be productive while working remotely? How to communicate with the team effectively? How to manage time more productively etc. 

In this article, we will address all these questions and share some of the best productivity tips that can be adopted by remote professionals. It will serve as the perfect guide for remote workers looking to increase their productivity significantly.

Did you know?

According to a Stanford study “Home working led to a 13% performance increase, of which about 9% was from working more minutes per shift (fewer breaks and sick-days) and 4% from more calls per minute (attributed to a quieter working environment)”

Also Read: Distributed teams | A complete guide

What is productivity?

Productivity in simple terms is the amount of output you get from the input in a typical period of time. Output in this aspect can be different goods and services produced by the company or a country. Input factors can range from labor, capital goods, and material. 

An example of productivity can be how many carpets are produced by a carpet manufacturing factory in a given interval of time. The result can help in identifying loopholes and introducing changes to increase productivity.  There are mainly three different kinds of productivity,

1. Capital Productivity
2. Human Labor Productivity 
3. Managerial Productivity

Define productivity

Productivity can be defined as the ratio of the output unit to the input unit. The resultant value indicates how much goods and services are being produced with the available resources in a certain duration of time. Productivity is also a measure of how efficiently an industry is working. 

Productive Efficiency tells us the efficiency at which the resources are being utilized. If a firm has higher productivity then it means that they are using their resources efficiently by keeping unnecessary wastage of labor and time in check. Firm Profitability is very much dependent on its productivity.

Productivity formula

To measure productivity, this simple formula can be applied,

Productivity = (Output generated in a time period) / (Input in the same time period)

                   = (Amount of Goods and services produced) / (amount of resources used)

Mathematically, 

    P = O / I

Productivity is a quantitative relation that gives the ratio of what the firm produces and what resources a firm uses to produce output.

To increase business productivity, either increase the output generated by keeping the input constant or decrease the input required to generate the same amount of output. Productivity is an indicator of a firm’s efficiency and how capable are they in utilizing these factors of production. 

Also Read: Virtual field trips | Critical items that you must know!

14 productivity tips for remote teams

Here is a list of 14 productivity tips for remote workers,

1. Prepare a daily To-do List

Writing down the tasks and activities to be accomplished in a day is one of the most recommended productivity tips for remote professionals. You could use a whiteboard at your remote workplace to write down your To-Do List or choose from a list of apps to ensure you stay on top of each task.

Ensure you prioritize tasks based on their importance and relevance to your assignments. Noting your tasks has proved to be one of the most efficient methods to prevent skipping them, and it also ensures activities are aligned with the specified deadlines. 

This habit enables you to focus on the tasks at hand, positively impacting your productivity quotient. You never miss deadlines, tasks stop accumulating, and you continue to be a reliable asset to the team.

While you work remotely, it is recommended to keep a track of how you are utilizing your working hours. Self-tracking is a great way to check when you are being most productive and also keep a check on when you are wasting your time. 

A To-do list can be created as per individuals’ preferences. The most critical task should be at the topmost priority and needs to be finished at the earliest. Assign more time to the tasks with more difficulty levels. Checking off the completed tasks from the list will give you a sense of accomplishment.

Tip: Estimating and noting down the time taken by each of the tasks on your To-Do List is an advisable remote workplace productivity tip and is extremely effective for busy people.

2. Eliminate Distractions

We must be attentive to the numerous distractions that disrupt the flow of work. Distractions have a significant impact on productivity, especially if you are working from home. Eliminating distractions from the work process, that do not add any value to it, ensures high productivity. 

It is recommended to inform everyone of your work hours to avoid distractions. Set your time apart for household chores, attending to kids and pets etc. Much like you would while physically at work. Do not deviate from your stipulated work schedule. This will help you avoid backlogs and unnecessary piling up of work. 

Staying away from your phone or avoiding social media during work hours is a very effective productivity tip for avoiding distractions. The Facebook notification from a friend can wait and should be ignored while you are focusing on completing your tasks.

There are several apps that help you stay focused by blocking unnecessary distractions from your device. Apps such as Forest, SelfControl, LeechBlock, Serene, etc help in blocking certain websites and applications on your device while you work. All you have to do is select the applications and your work hours and the rest will be taken care of by these apps.

Tip: While preparing your daily plan, include personal tasks as well as time to be invested in them. This practice will prevent overlap of personal and professional activities, and each can follow its separate course of completion without any clash. Block your calendar for scheduled meetings and deep work sprints, so the rest of your peers know when to connect with you. 

Also Read: Video conferencing etiquette | A how-to guide for everyone

3. Avoid accessing Social Media

It is a known fact that social media can cause disruptions to the regular flow of work. Concentration is affected, acting as a bottleneck in your daily progress. Thus one of the answers to the question of how to be more productive in a remote workplace is to try and avoid accessing or even completely switch off social media during the fixed work schedule.

As we already discussed earlier, social media can be a major distraction when it comes to working. The best way to deal with it is to stay offline or download apps to help you focus and avoid distractions. It is very easy to lose concentration when a notification pops up on your device.

You will never know when a two-minute break has extended into hour-long mindless browsing on social media. Social media is a top-level distraction from work. Let your friends and family be aware of your working hours so that there are no unwanted messages or calls.

Tip: Look out for features like ‘Deep work or focused work” on your phone that allows you to block notifications from distracting sites. Some remote work software like Unremot let you set your status to – Deep work, In a meeting, Personal work, Available and Offline and keep your colleagues informed about your availability. 

4. Practice exercising daily

Staying active and fresh throughout the day are vital factors for better performance. Yoga and exercise increase your concentration power and body balance. The mind is refreshed, and your body is energized. The immunity power of your body is enhanced, boosting positive vibes to work hard. You will stay attentive and focused, eventually elevating your productivity levels.

Articles on productivity emphasize the advantages of exercising daily to remain proactive throughout the day. Exercise is known to heighten endorphin levels which in turn boosts the happiness, enjoyment, and interest levels of an individual. Workplace productivity tips include maintaining a good posture while working which comes from stretching daily.

Daily workout practice not only keeps your physical health in check but also does wonders for your mental health. Practice following steps every day to become productive,

• Wake up early in the morning
• Exercise for 15 minutes
• Repeat the same routine the next day and increase the workout duration

Tip: Walking for 30 minutes a day, early in the morning or spending an hour at the gym is a great way to keep your energy levels high for the rest of the day.

Also Read: Online yoga classes | An ultimate read for best results

5. Maintaining a Healthy Diet

Maintaining a healthy diet is the productivity tip no remote worker should miss. Remote professionals may tend to overeat or eat junk because of the ease of availability of food at their houses or nearby food outlets. These eating habits may lead to serious health consequences like obesity, blood sugar or pressure, and lethargy. All the mentioned symptoms are a deterrent to the performance and productivity of remote workers. 

Select your diet with care to include fruits, vegetables, and nuts every day. Drink a lot of water to stay hydrated and eat in small quantities at proper intervals. It is important to eat food that helps your body and mind to function better. Eating junk food will not help with your proficiency. Employee productivity ideas suggest having a good diet rich in iron, protein, and complex carbohydrates. 

Remind yourself to eat limited proportions of food. Over-eating might lead to sluggishness as you tend to get drowsy. Try to restrict your kitchen encounters, as you are more likely to pick up something every time you visit. Keep a bottle of water at your workstation to stay hydrated and ensure good productivity at work.

Tip: As the saying goes “Health is Wealth”, and rightly so. A healthy mind and body possess the immense capacity to think positively. The work quality undergoes tremendous improvement. The individuals earn recognition and accolades, which in turn ensures their financial stability.

6. Take Occasional Breaks

Continuous work without any break can saturate your brain, thus slowing you down. Occasional breaks in between a hectic work schedule are one of the best productivity tips for remote professionals. Your mind needs rest to re-energize and rejuvenate for success and future growth. A stressed mind hampers the productivity of individuals leading to a loss of trust and confidence.

Human brains are prone to exhaustion if subjected to continuous stress and strains. We start developing fatigue which seriously affects their productivity. It is advisable to go for tea and coffee breaks, stroll for a few minutes outside to breathe in the fresh air, or engage in casual conversations with friends and colleagues during watercooler breaks.

If you are working for a long time, it is difficult to get fresh productive ideas. Taking small breaks at regular intervals is one of the most effective tips for business productivity. Take a short walk, play with your pet, or listen to music, during breaks to keep yourself active. 

Do not take the stress and drain yourself. As per science, the prefrontal cortex of the brain needs to relax in order to avoid decision fatigue and increase business productivity. You can even take yoga breaks to do basic breathing and stretching exercises to increase efficiency and be mindful throughout the day.

Tip: Make it a point to move out of your workplace every once in a while. This is a productivity trick that will enhance your capacity to remain focused while at work.

Also Read: How to work from home successfully | A priceless list of tips to succeed

7. Execute Tasks in Groups

Several tasks need to be performed on a recurring basis and sometimes every day. It is recommended to analyze each of these tasks and identify which of them can be grouped and executed together.

This practice significantly reduces the time spent in conducting many of your tasks and in turn, you gain time for conducting additional activities. It’s a smart move to club similar tasks in groups. This is one of the most effective productivity tips for working remotely.

For imparting messages of similar nature, club the respondents in one email and send the requisite information. Similarly, conduct meetings or discussions with multiple people for conveying the same messages or imparting training. It is an efficient way to save time and accelerate the productivity quotient.

We are constantly looking for tips for productivity increment at the workplace. One of the most effective tips to be successful at work is to divide tasks into different batches. Similar tasks can be put in one batch and completed at one go.

For example, you have to convey a similar message to five different people. Instead of doing this individually, it is better to call them up in a meeting and have a discussion. If you are looking for one tip of the day for work, it would be to keep meetings, emails, discussions in the second half of the day. Keep the first half to focus on your individual task.

Tip: Responding to all phone calls and emails steals away much of our time in the stipulated work hours. Analyzing the emails and phone calls of similar nature and grouping them to execute in batches is one of the essential office productivity tips for remote workers.

Also Read: Trust remote teams | A comprehensive guide

8. Avoid Multitasking

 As we continue with our analysis and deliberation on how to be productive at work, we need to understand the drawbacks of severe multitasking. Switching between tasks multiple times exhausts the brain leading to considerable fatigue and tiredness.

Our brain fails to focus or concentrate on a particular type of activity which severely impacts our productivity and efficiency. As remote professionals, we often tend to push ourselves to handle multiple projects while overcompensating for the fact that we save a lot of time by avoiding the office commute.

We remain under the assumption that we have ample time to execute additional tasks, overlooking our capability, and subjecting ourselves to excessive stress. Thus, avoiding multitasking by taking up focused work, tackling one project at a given time, etc, aids in maintaining higher productivity. 

Tips on productivity consider multitasking to be a productivity killer. According to top productivity blogs, switching tasks frequently can cause mental block and result in reducing productivity by 40%. Based on a study carried by the University of London, the IQ of some multitasking men dropped by 15 points. 

It might be appealing to try to do everything at once but you would be surprised to know that giving undivided attention to one task at a time can increase productivity. Focusing on one work and creating a task list is a Lifehacker productivity tip for remote employees.

Tip: Listing down all the tasks and prioritizing them as per their criticality and severity; executing them accordingly is a good practice.

9. Practice task delegation

We focus on completing our assignments individually without delegating them to our team. We remain overburdened, struggling to complete our work within the specified deadline. Outsourcing work in a planned & effective manner within the teams helps us boost our own productivity and meet team deadlines faster.

It is tough to be an expert in every domain. The recommendation is to outsource activities to individuals based on their expertise and efficiency. This will enable faster execution of assignments, positively impacting the productivity factor of individuals. 

One of the best productivity tips for managers or team leads is to know how to delegate the work to the right person. This practice is a tip to success for not only the company but individual workers as well as they get to experiment and grow along with the team. 

Personal productivity tips for managers include delegating tasks amongst team members based on their strengths and weaknesses. Staying vigilant regarding the interests of team members helps in analyzing whom to select for a particular task during the hour of need. Productive businesses are not the result of overburdened employees.

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10. Time Management

Time management is yet another critical productivity tip for remote professionals. Through experience and analysis, you need to work on understanding the time required for each of your tasks. Both overestimating and under-estimating are harmful to efficient time management.

We often tend to neglect the small chunks of work and allocate less time for their completion. We forget the complexity factor completely during time management. Logical thinking is essential while dividing the time between the activities and tasks.

Complexity and magnitude of work need to be balanced while allocating the time for each task. You may not be able to complete certain tasks as per the scheduled time. There can be several valid reasons for such a situation.

It may be due to, unavailability of a person, your network connectivity may be down etc. The time allocated for those activities must not be neglected and leisured out. Planning for contingencies is a smarter way to address your work. Managing time is often a challenge when working remotely.

Productivity tips to tackle this problem are to set up daily goals with reminders, focus on more crucial tasks first, read time-management books, etc. Work productivity tips suggest starting your day by tackling the most important task. There are more chances of you delegating the complex tasks, hence doing it first thing in the morning will help you work on it with a fresh mind. 

Tip: Schedule and prioritize all your to-do lists and items as per the respective deadlines and their complexity, and assign them appropriate time keeping in mind all the possible situations.

11. Learn to say “No.”

Saying ‘No’ does not always have to be negative. You need to be able to say “No” to certain activities and tasks. Now, the question that arises is, when to say no? First, we need to understand that our brain cannot intake excessive work beyond its capacity.

Additionally, all activities are not equally important and relevant to the project goals and objectives. Now for the second part, we need to invest our intellectual thinking ability to understand which tasks can be avoided or dealt at a later period.

Analyzing the relevance and significance of each activity to meet both the company’s and project’s goals and objectives is one of the recommended productivity tips and tricks for remote professionals. We need to inculcate the habit of saying no to irrelevant and insignificant activities. Few activities can even wait to be executed at a later stage. 

Remote employees often wonder how to become productive while working from home. Did you know that saying “no” is a great tip for success and increases productivity? Accepting all the tasks can lead you to be overburdened with work and lose focus on the important work.

If you have the bandwidth to take up extra work only then you should be accepting more work. Many of us take up extra work to avoid being seen as rude or arrogant to others. Learn to say “no” graciously and be direct in your response is one of the greatest tips to be successful at work.

Remember, by saying no, you are not shunning work; instead your are prioritizing and setting realistic and achievable goals, thus staying on top of your projects more productively.

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12. Check Work progress

If you can monitor your performance, progress and efficiency, then that is the best way to control your productivity. Despite preparing a To-do list, remote professionals may tend to overlook their daily progress.

This is essential because they are absent from the office environment where there are PMOs or coordinators to check the status daily. It is advisable to note down the progress at least twice a day. The status must be communicated daily through emails even if there are daily stand-up meetings conducted to track the work progress.

You will automatically be on track with your assignments and strive for completion as per the mentioned deadlines. It is possible to lose track of work and time while working from home. Remaining self-motivated is an important aspect of remote work. Hence, it is important to keep a regular check of your task list.

Few managers ask their employees to send a daily update to keep track of their work progress. Keeping a check-list of your work helps in keeping track of the progress. Assign daily deadlines and try to meet them by following productivity tips at work.

Tips: Make use of Software applications such as Asana to keep track of daily tasks. It maps at your work and shows how close you are to completion.

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13. Practice self-care

Self-care is one of the fundamental aspects of staying motivated and focused on delivering productive work but is often overlooked. Practicing self-care can be small yet significant things such as spending time with a book or your pet, mindful exercises or a quick nap, or even indulging in your hobbies.

A positive and stress-free mind can think effectively and contribute to designing mind-blowing solutions for the assigned work. Self-care goes a long way when it comes to being productive. It could be as easy as setting up a morning and evening routine for yourself.

Decluttering your work desk, allowing few distractions, taking breaks, exercising regularly are a few of the tips to be more productive. The best tip of the day for increasing productivity is to not be too hard on yourself. Do not compromise on sleep or healthy eating while you work.

Tips: Make sure to keep work aside on weekends and give yourself sufficient time to relax and rejuvenate. Avail paid vacation benefits and focus on your mental as well as physical well-being.

14. Have a defined end time for your work

The last of our productivity tips is to ensure you have a defined end time for your work. The assumption is that remote work provides a work-life balance, but if we are not cognizant of an end time, we might end up overworking ourselves; especially in the absence of a physical workspace where you can see our coworkers wrapping up. 

You do not need to be strict with the timings, but being aware of it helps optimize your time better, ensuring you make the most of your day. To ensure, you stay on top of your productivity game, ensure you tackle one productivity tip at a time.

Make your way through the list, inculcating each practice into your daily work for the best results. Keep a workday countdown timer to be aware of your work timings and not disturb the work-life balance you are seeking.

Let your manager be aware of your work timings and off-days in order to maintain boundaries between personal life and professional life. Productivity tips for work suggest setting aside fixed working hours will help you maintain a routine. Brain and body will automatically know when to get ready for work.

Tips: Let your teammates know about your working hours. Work efficiently during working hours and avoid any kind of distractions in order to finish your work in time.

Also Read: Productivity tips | A how-to guide for everyone

Top software offerings to improve productivity

1. Unremot Virtual Watercooler is an online platform that allows teams to have an informal conversation with each other.
2. Trello helps in managing, organizing, and sharing everything from simple to-do tasks to major project management tasks.
3. TeamViewer is a free remote desktop app that lets users hold video conferences, web meetings, audio calls, text chats, etc. This even allows screen sharing on ios devices.
4. SpaceTime integrates with slack to help you take care of your distributed team’s schedule.
5. Asana provides an easy way to track employee’s work and get the best possible results.

Hiring a CPA? Need to know how and where to find the best candidates? Here is a comprehensive guide to finding the best CPAs. Read on!

How to hire a CPA?

Who is a CPA? A Certified Public Accountant is a designation given by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants to individuals who are responsible for helping organizations, businesses, individuals in reaching their financial goals by providing financial advice.

If you are a recruiter looking to hire CPA services for yourself or your business, this article will provide all the details you would need for the recruitment process. Important topics such as market rates, skills, certifications and qualifications to look for, CPA hiring rates, interview questions, popular job boards, etc are covered below in detail.

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Hiring Market for CPAs

According to the Bureau of Labour and Statistics, the projected growth rate of employment of accountants and auditors is 4% between 2019 to 2029. This rate is as fast as the average of other occupations. This employment growth rate is directly tied to the economic health of the nation. 

As the economy grows, the need for hiring CPA professionals increases as more people are needed to prepare and examine the financial records. The lack of availability of skilled professionals in this field has made CPA a promising career option for qualified professionals. There were close to 1,436,100 accountant and auditor jobs in the year 2019. 

The median salary of accountants is $71,550 as of the year 2019. The entry-level salaries are generally low which increases as the number of years of experience increases. CPAs can work in several industries, a few of which have been listed below,

1. Private Industry and Businesses
2. Public Practice
3. Government organizations
4. Education sector
5. Non-Profit Organization

The growth in job opportunities for accountants and auditors is directly tied to globalization, technological advancement, IPO growth, and the economy. Making skills within this industry be highly valuable to secure a good job.

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Top 15 recent job titles for CPAs

Online Certified Public Accountant Professionals are in demand in several industries and being hired at different job positions. CPAs can be recruited for different tasks based on their experience and area of interest. We have listed down the top 15 job titles for CPA professionals below,

1. Senior Tax Accountant

A Senior Tax Accountant is responsible for maintaining tax records and prepare tax returns and reports. To be eligible for this job role, a relevant experience of 4 to 7 years is required. The average annual salary for a Senior Tax Accountant is $86,501 per year. 

2. Director of General Accounting

The Director of General Accounting has an overall responsibility to assign accounting operations and systems. They report to top management. To be eligible for this job role, the managerial experience of 5+ years is required. The average annual salary for a Director of General Accounting is $158,410.

3. Auditor – CPA

Auditors plan and execute audit assignments in compliance with standards set by the state. It is an entry-level job where auditors report to Senior Auditors. To be eligible for this job role, an experience of 1+ years is required. The average annual salary for an Auditor is $60,459. 

4. Audit Group Team Leader

Audit Group Team Leader holds the responsibility of leading a group of auditors who are experts in risk assessment, performance assessment, etc. To be eligible for this job role, an experience of 3-5 years is required. The average annual salary for this role is $110,810. 

5. Accounting Director

Accounting Director is responsible for accounting operations and systems. They also direct the establishment and implementation of financial policies and procedures. To be eligible for this job role, a relevant experience of a minimum of 5 years is required. The average annual salary for an Accounting Director is $158,408. 

6. Accounting Manager

An Accounting Manager is responsible for managing several accounting functions such as ledger maintenance, accounts payable and receivable, asset analysis and reporting, etc. To be eligible for this role, a minimum experience of 5 years is required. The average annual salary for an Accounting Manager is $107,628. 

7. Chief Financial Officer

A Chief Financial Officer is a senior-level professional who develops an organization’s overall financial policies by providing strategic directions. To be eligible for this job role, a relevant experience of a minimum of 7 years is required. The average annual salary for a Chief Financial Officer is $394,235.

8. Staff Accountant

A Staff Accountant works in the accounting department of the company and responsible for maintaining a general ledger, preparing financial reports, budgeting, etc. To be eligible for this job role, a minimum experience of 1-2 years is required. The average annual salary for a Staff Accountant is $56,079. 

9. Bookkeeper

The bookkeeper oversees a company’s financial data and compliance by maintaining accurate reports and documentation. They are responsible to record transactions on a daily basis. To be eligible for this job role, an experience of 1 – 3 years is required. The average annual salary for a Bookkeeper is $44,204. 

10. Staff Auditor

A Staff Auditor supports the audit management team in preparing audit programs. They also analyze financial records for discrepancies and variances. To be eligible for this job role, a minimum experience of 1-2 years is required. The average annual salary for a Staff Auditor is $60,459 per year.

11. Accounting Operations Manager

An Accounting Operations Manager is required to make improvements to the existing accounting process in compliance with the organization’s accounting policies. To be eligible for this role, a minimum experience of 5 years is required. The average annual salary for an Accounting Operations Manager is $107,000. 

12. Senior Finance Analyst

A Senior Finance Analyst performs several duties such as budgeting, forecasting, preparing reports, financial planning assistance, building financial models, etc. To be eligible for this job role, a minimum experience of 5 years is required. The average annual salary for a Senior Finance Partner is $122,284.

13. Accounting Operations Director

An Accounting Operations Director is responsible for assigning accounting operations and systems. They are also required to lead and direct accounting professionals. To be eligible for this job role, a managerial experience of a minimum of 5 years is required. The average annual salary for this role is $158,500.

14. Internal Auditor

An Internal Auditor works in the internal audit team of an organization and ensures that the organization’s risk management, governance, and internal control processes are working effectively. To be eligible for this job role, a minimum experience of 2-3 years is required. The average annual salary for an Internal Auditor is $72,507.

15. Senior Revenue Accountant

A Senior Revenue Accountant manages finances on behalf of an organization that includes preparing tax returns, processing financial transactions, etc. To be eligible for this job role, a minimum experience of 3 years is required. The average annual salary for a Senior Revenue Accountant is $88,259. 

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Qualifications to look for in CPA

While hiring a CPA professional, look for the following qualifications to find the perfect fit for your business, industry, or organization.

1. Bachelor’s Degree for CPA jobs

Earn a Bachelor’s degree in accounting and gain a minimum of 150 hours of semester education. The 150 hours include 120 hours required for completing the Bachelor’s degree and 30 additional hours that can be acquired by taking up a double-major, earning a master’s degree, enrolling in CPA exam prep courses, etc.

2. Master’s Degree for CPA jobs

A Master’s degree is not mandatory but is preferred by some employers. It also helps in earning 150 semester hours. Here are some of the best colleges to pursue a degree in Economics,

1. University of Pennsylvania
2. University of Notre Dame
3. University of Florida
4. University of Georgia
5. Michigan State University

3. CPA Certification

After completing the eligibility criteria, a candidate is ready to take the Uniform CPA Examination administered by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The course divided into four parts must be completed within 18 months with a minimum of 75 on each part.

4. CPA Licensure

The final step is to get a professional CPA License from the State’s Board of Advisory that allows the candidate to start practicing.

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Skills to look for in CPAs 

Hire a CPA by analyzing the candidates based on the following technical and non-technical skills,

1. Analytical skills – Accountants must be able to find out documentation errors and suggest solutions for the same.
2. Communication skills – Good written and oral communication skills are highly desirable when you hire CPA professionals.
3. Detail-oriented – A good eye for detail is required while preparing and examining financial documentation.
4. Organizational skills – Organizational skills come in handy when accountants and auditors work for multiple clients and have to handle a range of financial documents.
5. Business Acumen – Business Acumen is a must-have skill for CPAs to help in providing big-picture perspectives and assemble company-wide reports.
6. Management and Leadership skills – CPAs should have management and leadership skills to work in higher positions and manage a team.
7. Technical abilities – CPA Professionals require technical acumen to master their company’s software and systems.
8. Presentation skills – Presentation skills are important for CPAs to provide information in a clear, concise, and compelling manner.
9. Mathematical and deductive reasoning skills – CPAs work with numbers and business accounts hence good mathematical and deductive reasoning skills are a must.
10. Problem-solving skills – CPA is expected to examine documentation and provide financial solutions as and when required.

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Certifications to look for in CPAs 

List of top certifications to watch out for while looking for a CPA professional,

1. Certified Public Accountant Certification – It is the most important certification for accountants and also paves a path for a career in finance. Many employers have listed this as a mandatory requirement to work as an accountant.
2. Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA) Designation – It is a globally recognized accounting certification. This certification focuses mainly on topics such as reporting, taxation, auditing, ethics, leadership, and financial management. It has a total of 3 modules consisting of 13 exams in all. 
3. Certified Management Accountant (CMA) Certification – This certification is offered by the Institute of Management Accountants. It teaches about the underlying factors behind a company’s financials and what kind of strategic business decisions one can derive through them.
4. Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) Designation – It is a globally recognized accounting certification established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. These two are one of the longest-standing accounting associations.
5. Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Designation – This certification is focused on financial planning and helps candidates who are looking to start a career in wealth management or investment.

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Rate per hour of CPA

As per Ziprecruiter records from the year 2021, the average hourly rate of CPA professionals is $34.84 in the United States. The hourly freelance CPA rates can go as high as $54.81. The salary of entry-level accountants can be as low as $17.79.

The rates vary based on a CPA professional’s years of experience, skillset, qualifications, job location, educational background, etc. In Europe, the rate per hour for hiring online CPA services varies in the range of £25 and £35 hourly.

Countries like Luxembourg, Switzerland, Norway, Austria, and Sweden are amongst the top 10 countries with the highest accountant salaries across the world. Austria is a prime destination for accountants due to its close proximity to financial clients in Switzerland and Germany. 

The cost of hiring CPAs in Asia is fairly low. Recruiters can outsource work in these countries to take advantage of the highly skilled labor at reasonably low prices. Countries such as Malaysia, India, the Philippines, China, etc are amongst the top ten countries to look for accountants.

The average consulting rates of accountants in most Asian countries are $12 per hour. A permanent employee earns an average salary of $24326 annually.

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Top 10 job boards to find the best CPAs

To find top CPAs it is important to post job requirements at the right place. Online job portals help recruiters to hire a personal accountant as per their needs. Prepare an enticing and descriptive job description and post it on multiple job boards to reach maximum candidates.

Filter applicants based on your requirement such as public accountants near me, years of experience, the field of interest, etc. Freelance CPA professionals can also be hired on a project-to-project basis from these job boards. 

1. Accounting
2. Indeed
3. AccountingJobsToday
4. Upwork
5. Freelancer
6. unremot.com
7. SimplyHired
8. FlexJobs
9. Toptal
10. Dice

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Top 10 companies hiring CPA and salaries offered

If you are searching for “accounting firms near me hiring”, the following companies will pop up,

1. Quad Five – Quad Five is a research company looking to hire accountant CPA at a salary of $75k -85k annually.
2. Jobot – Jobot is a staffing and recruiting company looking for professional CPA for hire at a salary range of $80k -120k annually.
3. JCW – JCW is a staffing and recruiting firm hiring Senior Tax Accountant at $60k annually.
4. Marcum Search – It is a staffing and recruiting agency offering $66k -104k yearly for the senior auditor position.
5. Rokt – Rokt is a marketing and advertising company hiring entry-level accountant at salary range of $70k -90k yearly.
6. Kassouf – It is a financial planning firm hiring senior tax consultants at an hourly rate of $18.
7. F45 Training – F45 Training is a global fitness training community looking for Global Senior Accountant at $60k -94k yearly.
8. Yes Energy – It is an Electric Power Trading Solutions Company hiring CPA professionals at $175k -225k annually.
9. Softcom Systems – Softcom Systems is hiring Senior Accountant at salary range of $80k -100k yearly.
10. Casbon and Associates LLC – This accounting firm is hiring Tax Manager at $100k -200k yearly.

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Top 10 interview questions for CPAs

How to hire a CPA? The best way is to ask relevant questions and judge a candidate based on their technical and soft skills. Here are the top ten questions that recruiters should ask the prospective candidates during an interview,

1. Which accounting platforms have you worked with previously?

Rationale: This question helps in highlighting the accounting software knowledge of a candidate.

Sample Answer: I have worked extensively on Sage X3 and Quicken but I also have a knowledge of QuickBooks.

2. How do you manage deadlines and prioritize tasks?

Rationale: Tests the candidate’s time management skills and organizational skills.

Sample Answer: I prioritize my task based on due dates and importance and keep communicating with time about the approaching deadlines.

3. How do you keep updated with the changes in the tax code?

Rationale: It helps in judging a candidate’s ability to stay updated regarding the tax laws and regulations.

Sample Answer: I make sure that I read the publications issued by IRS as well as individual states regarding any tax changes.

4. What do you do to ensure accuracy in your accounting entries?

Rationale: Judge a candidate based on their attention-to-detail skills.

Sample Answer: I make sure to check my entries multiple times before submitting them. I use software to ensure my documentation is error-free.

5. What is your method for checking datasheets for accuracy?

Rationale: Highlights a candidate’s analytical abilities.

Sample Answer: The candidate should mention what software they use to ensure accuracy in the documents while examination.

6. How would you explain a complex financial report to a client from non-financial background effectively?

Rationale: Helps in analyzing a candidate based on their communication skills.

Sample Answer: I would explain things in a simple manner through several analogies that make it easier for the other person to understand. I also break down complex information into smaller information pieces.

7. What is the most challenging accounting task you had to solve in your career span?

Rationale: Test problem-solving ability.

Sample Answer: Candidates can give examples from the previous workplaces where they managed to simplify an accounting task.

8. Have you ever developed or changed an accounting process? Discuss in detail.

Rationale: Helps in evaluating a candidate based on their innovative skills.

Sample Answer: A candidate can explain how they identified a problem in the process and what steps they took to solve the problem either by developing something new or making improvements to the existing process.

9. Describe how you helped a client reduce costs?

Rationale: Helps understand the business acumen of the candidate.

Sample Answer: Reducing costs is one of the tasks an accountant should be able to perform. See if the candidate has examples for their past experience where they were able to do so successfully.

10. What according to you are the biggest challenges faced by the accounting profession these days?

Rationale: To see if the candidate stays updated to the latest trends.

Sample Answer: There are no right answers here. Look for the candidate’s familiarity with the industry and its challenges.

Looking out to hire a teacher? Need to know how and where to find the best candidates? Here is a comprehensive guide to finding the best teachers. Read on!

How to hire a teacher?

Believe it or not, teachers are the most important members of society. They have the main responsibility of preparing students for the upcoming future. No matter if you run a school or an online portal for teaching, you need to know the best way to hire a teacher.

Teaching jobs are not at all easy. Thus, it is important to pay attention to lots of aspects when you are hiring a teacher. Teachers are involved in the preparation of curriculum standards, track student growth, and motivate students to participate, focus, and learn.

Try to understand the steps behind hiring a teacher, including data about the candidate. So, before you look out to hire teachers, make sure to get to know about the steps behind hiring teachers.

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Hiring market for teachers

If you are looking for teachers to hire, it is important to know about the market statistics in hiring. As fast as the employment for school teachers is concerned, it is projected to grow at a rate of 4% from 2019 to 2029. The rising enrollment of students in schools as well as online classes will also lead to an increase in demand for teachers.

As per a projection by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job opportunity for teaching jobs will be nearly 1.9 million. This statistic is for the post-secondary school teachers. The data by BLS also shows the variation in the employment of teachers for different subjects.

The job opportunity can also vary depending upon the location. With the rise in pandemics, it is expected that demand for freelance teachers will rise. Many schools and colleges are taking up online classes. Thus, teachers with good technical abilities will be in greater demand.

Employment for teachers may rise for preschool, kindergartens, and middle school. The biggest employment will be provided to teachers who can teach elementary grades. The elementary grade teacher will account for almost 37% of the employment.

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Top 15 recent job titles for teachers

Following are some of the job titles for teachers.

1. Library Technicians

Library technicians work as an assistant to the school librarians. They help in improving the functioning of the library. Their main task is to organize the library books and documents. They also assist the visitors to the library. They also direct visitors to appropriate sections and register them within the library system.

2. Special Education Teacher

A special education teacher works with students with special needs. The main task of a special education teacher is to help these students to do the coursework like reading and writing. In addition to this they also teach communication skills to students with special needs. Disabilities can range from mild to severe. Thus, a special education teacher tries to work on a case-to-case basis to fulfill the educational needs and requirements.

3. Elementary School Teacher

An elementary school teacher is responsible for teaching young children. An elementary teacher is appointed for different subjects according to the subject specialization of the teacher for hire. Elementary teachers also meet with parents to discuss the progress of the students. They also ask students about their growth and personal development. They also keep track of the academic progress of the student.

4. English as Second Language Teacher

These teachers work with non-native English speakers so that students can improve their fluency in spoken as well as written form.

5. Health Educator

The main task of a health educator is to teach students about the habits and behavior that can help them to lead a healthy life. They also create strategies to increase the health of those within the community.

6. High School Teacher

A high school teacher works with students from grades 9-12. They also prepare students to continue education after school. Most high school teachers have specialization in different subjects like Math, English, and History.

7. Guidance Counselor

The main work of a guidance counselor is to advise students about their educational and professional search. They also help in outlining areas related to academic success. They also help students to search for potential career scope.

8. Learning and Development Coordinator

The main task of a learning and development coordinator is to training programs for students who need special help in a particular area of study, they also review students’ areas of growth and development processes that can help them to achieve success in the classroom.

9. Director of Student Services

This is a senior-level position that you need to pay attention to when looking for teachers to hire. The main task of the director of student services is to have an idea about the needs of the student.

10. Education Consultant

An education consultant offers their services to parents, students, and educational organizations on different academic subjects of interest. They can also suggest enhancement of the curriculum and improve the overall performance of a student.

11. Librarian

A librarian oversees the library staff and manages the storage and organization of the informal pieces like books, periodicals, and documents. They also help visitors to log onto the library network and to search the database to search books on file.

12. Assistant Professor

These days you can also look for a freelance professor for your educational institution. The main task of an assistant professor is to offer an entry-level role before gaining complete responsibility as a full-time professor.

13. Speech Pathologist

A speech pathologist is also called a speech therapist, they work with students who have communication disorders.

14. Associate Professor

An associate professor has a role similar to an assistant professor. They teach college students in a specialized field. An associate professor usually earns the title once they have gained tenure. They can also contribute a significant amount of research to their institution.

15. Superintendent

A superintendent is like a CEO for a school or an educational institution. They carry out the school board’s strategy to help educate students and also to allocate resources that can benefit the development of students.

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Qualifications to look for in teacher

You can’t look for teachers for hire, if they don’t have a bachelor’s degree. In addition to this, teachers also need to have a Master’s degree in their area of specialization or the subject. In most states in the United States, a teacher also needs to have enrollment in the state-approved teaching programs.

Alternative certifications can be even better for candidates who are looking to get jobs in educational institutions like schools and colleges. It is also important to make sure that the teacher you are hiring should have passed the state exams before being admitted to the programs.

If you are looking for teachers, make sure to hire teachers who have studied in any of these educational institutions.

College/University	Location
Purdue University (Main campus)	West Lafayette
Heritage University	Toppenish
University of Washington	Seattle
Berea College	Berea
University of Illinois	Illinois
University of California	California
University of Michigan	Dearborn
Oklahoma state university	Stillwater, Oklahoma
North Carolina State University	Raleigh

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Skills to look for in teachers

If you are looking for teacher hire, it is important to be sure that teacher is skilled enough. Following are some of the major skills that you need to check in a teacher,

1. Patience

Every student has their own struggles. While some may have difficulty in reading some may not like Math. Thus, staying calm and patient is one of the major skills that you need to check when hiring a teacher.

With large classrooms and different types of students in a classroom, patience is a must for a good teacher, patience is an important characteristic that makes an effective teacher in practice as well as a model.

2. Empathy

Empathy is another important characteristic of a good teacher. Children, as well as youth, have big feelings and they have to deal with everything along with their academic pressure.

Thus, as a teacher, it is important to empathize with students so that a teacher can know what a student is going through. As a teacher, it is important to put themselves in a student’s shoes before taking any major decision.

3. Decision Making Skill

A teacher may have to take multiple decisions all at once. A teacher can’t be uniform in all their decisions. They have to make decisions based on the abilities as well as the behavior of a student. Thus, when you hire a freelance teacher, make sure to check the decision-making ability of the teacher.

4. Computer Skills

With the growing importance of online classes, it is also important to know if the teacher you are hiring can work with computers or not. These days, many software are used for teaching, thus, try to know, if the teacher is comfortable using that software for teaching.

5. Drive for self-improvement

A teacher’s life is like a journey with lots of scope for improvement every other day. Thus, try to hire a teacher who has a drive for self-improvement and who can try to learn new things every other day.

Also Read: Hire UX Designer | Everything you must know

Certifications to look for in teachers

Following are some of the major certifications that you can check before hiring someone for freelance teaching.

1. The higher education teaching certificate by Harvard – Is a short online certification course that enables a candidate to get the ability to create a positive, supportive, and inclusive learning environment for students. It can also help a candidate to understand the application of world-class learning.
2. Leading ambitious teaching and learning by Edx – This course offers all 21st-century skills that every teacher must-have. The course is developed in partnership with Microsoft. Thus, teachers can also get the needed technical knowledge.
3. TESOL intensive by Eton – This is a course that lays emphasis on refreshing and developing teaching skills. The course also helps teachers in understanding and adjusting to multilingual and multicultural classrooms.
4. BridgeTFL – The course offers basic teacher training to candidates who are new to the world of teaching. If a candidate has zero-knowledge and training to take classes, this course can offer maximum benefits.
5. Colorado learning and teaching with technology by the University of Colorado – This course is suitable for teachers who are not technologically sound. The course lays emphasis on using technology to students.

Also Read: Hire English to Spanish Translator | A complete guide

Rate per hour of teacher

The average salary received by an average teacher in the US is $61,730 per annum. The data for average salary is for the academic year 2018-2019. On an average rate per hour for freelance teach in the US is,

• High school teacher: $21.91 per hour
• Special education teacher: $16.20
• Middle school teacher: $19.84
• Primary school teacher: $14.96

The rate can vary depending upon the expertise as well as the experience of the teacher. The rate per hour for a teacher in European countries is 9.25-Euros per hour. The salaries are also dependent on factors like a teacher’s position, qualification, and the country where they teach.

In Asian regions, the rate per hour teacher can vary depending on the nation. On average, an expert teacher can earn anything between $14-$22 per hour in Asia. The average monthly salary for teachers in some of the Asian countries are as follows,

• Japan: $1500-$2000 per month
• China: $1250-$2850 per month
• South Korea: $1850-$2150 per month

Also Read: Hire Animators | Know before you start

Top 10 job boards to find the best teachers

Following are the top 10 job boards where you can search teachers of your choice,

1. Academic Careers Online – You can advertise at this job portal to hire teachers and professors for universities, schools, as well as coaching centers. If you make a payment of $295, your advertisement will remain live on this platform for 3-months.
2. unremot.com – This is the best platform where you can get in touch with all types of teachers and professors including freelance teacher com.
3. Employment crossing – Posting your requirement on this job board will enable you to get job posting on 600+ portals for free.
4. ESLemployment – If you are looking for an English as a second language teacher, this is the best platform to choose.
5. HigherEdJobs – This is a website dedicated to offering jobs to teachers with higher education. Thus, you can get well-educated and experienced teachers at this job portal.
6. SchoolSpring – This is one of the most popular job boards to search for teachers. This job board has job postings for more than 800K teaching jobs.
7. Teaching China – If your organization is based in China, or if you are looking for a Chinese teacher, this is the perfect job board for you.
8. TeachingJobs – This is a US job board that advertises for teachers who look for K-12 teaching jobs.
9. TieOnline – This is a non-profit organization that connects teachers with International organizations and students.
10. TopSchoolJobs – Just like the name suggests, you can get in touch with top-class teachers through this job portal.

Also Read: Hire Web Developer | A how-to guide for beginners

Top 10 companies hiring teacher and salaries offered

Following are the top 10 companies that are offering jobs to teachers,

Company	Salary offered
VIPKID	$14-$22 per hour
IXL Learning	$80852-$117,993 per annum
Khan Academy	$121,749 per annum
Demme Learning	$56788 per annum
K12	$33025-$58414 per annum
Pearson online	$134,754 per annum
Cengage	$75954 per annum
Adult Learning	$46712 per annum
Edmentum	$22.48-$32 per hour
Magic Ears	$16-$20 per hour

Also Read: Hire Facebook Developer | An ultimate read for best results

Top 10 interview questions for teachers

Following are some of the best question you can ask to a candidate who has arrived for a teaching job interview,

1. What is your teaching philosophy

Rationale: This question will enable you to know if the candidate has the nature to become a teacher. The answer to this question will enable you to know the methodology of teaching used by the teacher.

Sample Answer: I believe in teaching according to each student’s passion. No two students are the same. Thus, I make sure to offer a personalized teaching approach. Thus, my mantra is to teach students as per their needs.

2. How much do you want to know about a student before starting to teach?

Rationale: This answer can be targeted especially to a candidate who has arrived for a freelancing teaching job. The answer to this question will enable you to know if the candidate lays emphasis on students or not.

Sample Answer: I try to know about a student’s learning style, passion, and challenges he/she is facing. After knowing these details I try to plan my teaching style accordingly.

3. What do you find most frustrating about teaching?

Rationale: This is a behavioral question that will help you in understanding the nature as well as the behavior of the candidate. The answer to this question will enable you to know if the candidate is suitable for a teaching job or not.

Sample Answer: I get very frustrated when a bright student gets very confident and when a mediocre kid doesn’t want to come out of the shell. I get quite disturbed when I am unable to balance students with different learning capabilities. Balancing different students is one of the most frustrating aspects of teaching jobs according to me.

4. Why do we teach science in school?

Rationale: This is a question that you can ask a candidate who has arrived for a Science teaching job.

Sample Answer: Science is not all technical as most students feel. Science is involved in little things we do, we listen and we learn. Thus, everyday learning is the main reason, Science should be an important part of every school curriculum.

5. How do you evaluate your students?

Rationale: This is another important question that will enable you to know if the candidate is suitable to become a teacher or not.

Sample Answer: I evaluate my students with formal as well as informal methods. It included quizzes, tests, and different in-class as well as out-class activities.

6. How will you deal with a student who is habitually late?

Rationale: This is a situational question that will help you to know about the student-management ability of the candidate.

Sample Answer: My first approach will be to counsel the student. Then, I will try to know about the root cause behind the problem. If needed, I will also include school authorities and parents in the process.

7. How does a teacher’s personality affect their success?

Rationale: The answer to this question by the candidate will enable you to understand how prepared he/she for the job.

Sample Answer: The personality of a teacher plays an important role in success. Teachers need to be flexible, disciplined, and empathetic to get success at teaching students.

8. How do you interact with the parents of a student?

Rationale: The answer to this question will enable you to know about the communication skills of the candidate.

Sample Answer: I try to give parents my personal contact number so that they can contact me anytime with regard to the academic issues of the student.

9. Do you believe that there is a place for technology in the present classroom?

Rationale: The answer to this question will enable you to know if the candidate wants to include technology in the process of teaching.

Sample Answer: Yes, with the advancement in technology all over the world, it is highly advisable to use technology in the classroom.

10. Why did you become a teacher?

Rationale: This question will enable you to know how passionate the candidate is about getting a job as a teacher.

Sample Answer: I became a teacher because of the inspiration of my Math teacher in high school. I was never good at Math. But, she made sure that I understand the concepts. She worked very hard to help me get good grades. I was influenced by her dedication and wanted to become like her. That’s the reason behind my story about becoming a teacher.

Are you planning for a virtual icebreaker for your team? Want to know how to plan one? Need help with some of the best software tools to make it effective? Here’s the right page for you – read on!

 

Working remotely necessitates positivity in enhancing productivity, trust, confidence, and efficiency of both the remote professionals as well as the companies hiring them. Besides the professional bonding with the remote team, it is also essential to strengthen the emotional bonding too.

One of the mantras of a successful team is to boost both the physical and mental strength of the members. But the question is how to achieve this bonding with the remote team members present at different time zones of the world. The answer is virtual icebreakers, powerful tools to get acquainted with each other and build up a strong rapport. 

The article will assist you to understand the definition of virtual icebreakers, the need for a virtual icebreaker along with its benefits in remote team building, and various virtual icebreaker games and activities.

Read: Remote Meeting 101: How to have better remote meeting?

Virtual icebreaker or online icebreakers

Virtual icebreakers can be games or activities that enable interactions between the remote team members in an informal mode. They ensure seamless conversations between individuals and build up strong interpersonal relationships among team members.

They can even be simple questions being interchanged with each other. The members feel relaxed and comfortable and a sense of belonging to the team. The virtual icebreakers are essentially leveraged during online video conference calls and web meetings while the members are placed in different time zones. 

Important Tips:  You need to understand when to use virtual team icebreakers and when to use not. There are situations when the icebreakers might not be correct to use. Hence it is essential to be aware of the appropriateness of their usage.

Types of virtual icebreakers

Below is a summary of various types of virtual icebreakers,

1. Meeting Icebreakers

Icebreakers are the best way to encourage connections and bonding in a team. Team meeting ice breakers can strengthen ties and help stimulate better brainstorming and foster an atmosphere of inclusion. Some ice breakers for team meeting are,

• One Word Game = Divide the team into smaller groups. Ask them to find one word to describe their group.
• Birth map – Hang a map of the country or world on your bulletin board or share one during your online call. Ask people to place a pin where they were born or raised. These team introduction ideas can help highlight the diversity in the group.
• Would You Rather – “Would you rather”, is a great opening activity for the meeting. Some common virtual questions are:-“Would you rather questions have only summer or winter in your life”? “Would you rather hike or watch a movie”?

2. Fun Icebreakers

According to a report published in 2017, only 24% of workers feel connected to their peers. This figure will be much higher where employees work in remote settings. The survey showed a large majority of employees feel isolated. Fun icebreakers may fuel feelings of camaraderie. It is an effective technique to build tighter bonds and learn more about their colleagues. Some fun ice breakers are,

• Charades – This is a classic game is one of the best icebreaker games. You can play whether you have a large team or a small team. The goal is to describe an object, book, or movie using your acting skills.
• Find 10 things in common – This game can be great ice breakers for a meeting, especially for large organizations. These can be virtual icebreakers over Zoom. You divide people into separate groups (usually department members). The task is to find 10 things that all share.
• Human Rock-Paper-Scissor – Most of us have played rock paper scissors as children. The staff is sub-divided into teams. Each team comes up with a particular body signal for Rock-paper-scissor. Teams can then have faceoffs with a best of five series.

3. Team Icebreakers

Team icebreakers are designed to lower people’s guards in a social setting. Team icebreakers help to fast track familiarity and ease the socializing process. HR professionals are always looking for how to get a new icebreaker? Some team icebreaker are,

• Baby Photos – These icebreakers for virtual team meetings activity require a bit of preparation. Send a request for a baby photo from each team member. Place the photos on the digital board with a number for each photo. People guess which photo belongs to which team member by writing a name beside each corresponding number.
• Turning over new leaf – this involves the team physically meeting. The team is divided into groups of 3 to 4 members. The members stand on a blanket. The goal of the exercise is to flip the blanket without members leaving the blanket. If one person steps off the blanket, they need to restart the whole exercise.
• This is better than that – Team members choose random items from their office or home. The team members select one of the objects they would take to a deserted island.

4. Work Icebreakers

Encourage your employees to participate in a work meeting ice breakers to improve team speakers.

• Your favorite – This works for both offline and online icebreakers participants to discuss their favorite food, drink, etc.
• Speed meeting icebreaker – the goal of this meet and greet game is to meet their colleagues similar to the speed dating concept. The activity is a great way to find common ground.
• First Job – In this ice breaker game online, the participant describes their first job and what they learned.

5. Professional Icebreakers

Research shows that colleagues who are closer perform better. Here are some professional ice breakers you can use for your organization.

• Live-poll is a great way to make meeting ice breakers lively. Several tools like Slido lets audiences or team members participate anonymously. The tools are interactive and easy to use. You can ask a mix of fun and relevant topics. These icebreaker tools are free.
• Virtual happy hour – Virtual happy hour has emerged as innovative ice breakers in the recent lockdown. It is a fun time where people can drink and be themselves. Happy hour is one of the many virtual icebreaker activities you can do with your team.
• Employee spotlight – Every meeting can feature one coworker before the normal agenda starts. The person in question gives a short participant can share pictures of their family, present a song, etc. These virtual team icebreakers help the team to learn more about one another.

6. Presentation Icebreakers

Even if you have an informative presentation, you may find presentation icebreakers help your audiences get actively informed in your presentation. The audiences may be more receptive to the message.

• Introduction with a twist – Presentation ice breaker often starts with the presenter introducing themselves before the presentation, this is similar but with a twist. Here the participants are asked to introduce themselves and state something unusual. Later the presenters ask questions from the introductions. The participant who remembers maximum detail wins.
• String together a story – Storytelling is a powerful ice breaker for presentations for meetings. You can start with the first sentence and ask the first participant to continue. Each person gets to decide which direction the story will take.
• Problem-solution icebreaker – Another ice breakers for presentations are to present a real and hypothetical problem and ask people to give their solutions.

7. Conference Call Icebreakers

As working from home or working from remote locations has become the norm, more businesses use conference calls to encourage/ remote working teams to connect and bond. Here is a list of conference call ice breakers you could use,

• Play a game of Pairs – This is one of the popular conference call icebreakers. The participants select a player who is also attending the call. They describe or show the other participants their footwear. The participants select another player to show their footwear. If they match the participants try again.
• What’s out of your window – ask people to reveal their view outside their windows. Does their window overlook a garden or a bustling street? This is a great excuse to view the participant’s home office or get them to walk around their room.
• Take part in a poll – Another popular ice breaker for conference calls ice breakers are asking call participants to take part in a poll. Some popular poll questions are:- Do you enjoy working from home? Tea or Coffee?

8. Drawing Icebreakers

Drawing lets people tap into their creativity. We have listed some drawing icebreakers are,

• Squiggle Birds – In this activity, a team member will have 5 minutes to convey their ideas by drawing.
• Collaborative face drawing – this is popular ice breaker activity for work. You divide teams into smaller groups. Each member draws a feature of a person. Pass the paper around till everyone has drawn a feature.
• Iterative team drawing – the objective of the game is to draw the best reproduction of a toy/statue within certain constraints.

9. Motivation Icebreakers

• The 5 of anything icebreaker – this is an ideal way to begin a motivation ice breaker session. The participants can share 5 things that motivate them. To make the activity fun you can ask participants for their 5 favorite novels, 5 favorite scary movies, etc.
• Name the throwback – Create a playlist of songs that were popular during a certain period. You should try to cater to the average age group of the team. Split your team into smaller groups. Play a snippet of the song and ask the team to guess the song. These are some fun break the ice games you could try.
• Choose your favorite – pose virtual meeting ice breaker questions like which talent would you like? what is best to eat pizza? You can have color-coded options for each answer. Asking fun questions can serve as ice breakers.

10. Zoom Icebreakers

Zoom has become a great medium for communication for remote teams. With social distancing norms in place, several regular social gatherings are now happening online. Here are some Zoom icebreakers you could use,

• Social distance Bingo:- You don’t need a bingo board instead assess what activities were done by having people raise their hands. Some of the sample questions you can ask: Who slept through noon? Who enjoys baking? Who Binged watched Stranger things?
• I Spy – You can use the Gallery view on Zoom that allows you to see everyone. You use someone painting on the background or hat to play the “I Spy” game. Other people guess where the object is hidden. The game ensures everyone participates.
• Netflix Series you are currently binging – Being prolonged lockdown binge-watching Netflix series seems to have become the norm. Everyone on the Zoom call takes turns to reveal the series the Netflix series they are watching. People with similar tastes can connect, and people will get suggestions on what to watch next.

11. Social Media Icebreakers

• Group chats:- Social media icebreakers are fun and let people interact.
• Video players – icebreaker videos for meeting allows people to have fun and can keep them occupied before the meeting starts.

12. Faculty Meeting Icebreakers

There are various icebreaker online games and activities you can do to improve interaction during a staff meeting. It is an excellent way to start faculty or parent-teacher meetings.

• Animal imitation – in this ice breakers game online the teachers are sent random animal names using a randomizer. The staff member enacts the movement and sounds associated with the animal.
• Famous Faces – this is a fun interactive game and popular faculty meeting ice breakers. The staff member selects a celebrity name that other members can see. They guess the celebrity identity by asking virtual ice breaker questions to their colleagues.
• A penny for your memories – These can be ice breakers for parent meetings. The members take out a penny from their purses or wallets. Each member reads the year on the penny and narrates a memory from that year.

13. Facebook Icebreaker

Facebook is a social media tool that can be used how to break the ice online.

• Say Hello – Saying hello is one of the best social media icebreakers.
• Personal comment – Post a comment when you find you have something common with your new friends.
• Holiday post – Sharing a post of holidays even if you don’t celebrate is a great Facebook icebreaker.
• Comment on the content – Comment on the content on Facebook posts. You could always ask follow-up questions.

14. Collaboration Icebreakers

Collaboration icebreakers go a long way for the remote roups and feel more comfortable working together while collaborating.

• Pick a song – Ask each team member to pick a work-appropriate walk-up song. Play it and ask the rest of the team members to guess whose song it is. These collaboration icebreakers energize the employee when they hear their song. They learn something about your teammates.
• Breaking the stereotype – this is a great icebreaker game online or offline, where teammates start with a single statement “I [true description] but I [negate a stereotype related to the description]. This is a quick activity suitable for a virtual platform.
• Mrs. and Mr. Wright have emerged as popular icebreaker video games. You tell a fun story. Invite your team member to stand in front of their cameras and perform your certain move every time you say a word.

Read: 8 Simple ways you can combat remote work loneliness

Ice breakers game online

Below is a summary of some of the famous virtual icebreaker games and activities,

1. Icebreaker Shoes

This activity is one of the most popular icebreakers for virtual team meetings. You can ask the participants to take a picture of the shoes they will be wearing during the meeting and share it with everyone. The pictures must be uploaded before the start of the meeting.

Once the meeting initiates, you can ask each of the participants to elaborate on their shoe selection and the reason behind the selection. An interesting aspect of discussing shoes is the participants may even mention their hobbies or interests, for example, running shoes would elaborate on an individual’s desire to run marathons.

You can even ask the participants to take a picture of some important objects placed on their work desk. It may be a memento, a gift, a photo stand, etc. The participants can discuss the significance of the object in both their professional and personal life. You can learn about the character traits of a person through this conversation.

2. Two Lies and a Truth or Two Truths and a Lie

This game is generally conducted in small groups since the participants require some time to think and answer. The participants are either asked to note down two truths about themselves and a lie or vice versa.

The host or the meeting coordinator receives the information from everyone and then distributes them among the participants. Each one needs to guess whether the facts mentioned by others are correct or not. It proves the intuitive and reasoning power of the individuals and a great way to understand the team.

3. Time Machine

Time Machine is a very common game followed even in schools and colleges to reenergize the thinking and innovative power of students. The game is also very effective in the professional world, acting as one of the creative virtual icebreakers for remote teams.

The host or the meeting coordinator asks the participants to think of a time in the future or past where they want to travel if they were mounted inside a time machine. Once they guess the time, they need to share the place where they want to visit and whom they want to meet. For each of their answer, they need to share the reason behind their choice.

4. Culinary Interests

Sharing culinary interests is a fun game to play as an icebreaker for remote teams. Each participant needs to share their favorite dish either by cooking themselves or a picture. They can share the recipe or ask others to guess the recipe.

If you have a team located in different parts of the world, the culinary game is an excellent method to be acquainted with the food habits and authentic cuisines of a place. 

5. Location Mapping

With remote team members being present in various parts of the world, you can perform a simple exercise of location mapping. Point the location of each participant in a world map and place it in front of everyone on a shared screen or online web meeting at the start of the conversation.

The participants can visualize the location of others and may start interacting promptly on some trending news about a place and so on. You can even put forward some questions regarding the location of each participant and any particular significant and prominent aspect of the place.

Read: 14 Best Remote Job Sites: Start your job hunt at the right place!

Icebreaker questions for virtual meetings

Virtual icebreaker questions can be fun or deep. The answers can help reveal facets of a person’s personality. They give insights into working styles and how they collaborate. We have listed some common ice breaker questions for virtual meetings for you,

Virtual ice breaker questions

Question 1: Where are you from?

This is an excellent icebreaker. It gives you some background knowledge about your coworker and allows them to connect with others through common geography. 

 

Question2: What is one item that you cannot live without?

This question helps to show what the participant values. It allows you to discuss to use and design of the product.

 

Question 3: What is your favorite childhood movie?

You can follow this question by asking what were their thoughts while watching the movie and what did they feel? It can give you an understanding of the experiences that are memorable to the participant.  

 

Question 4: If you were an animal, what would you be?

The animal chosen can be revealing on what traits the participant finds desirable and Why?

 

Question 5: If you could have dinner with anybody in history, dead or alive. Who would it be and why?

The participant can choose a historical, literary, artistic, political, sports, or entertainment figure. The question can help reveal why the candidate gets inspired by the candidate. 

 

Question 6: If you can travel to any country in the world, where would you go?

The answer can show the previous travel experiences. It can show their openness to new cultures and experiences.

 

Question 7: What is your guilty pleasure?

The answer can show their values and how comfortable they are about sharing their weaknesses.

Question 8: What is your unusual talent?

It is an opportunity to learn more about a person. It can show you how the person views themselves and understand their strengths. 

 

Question 9: What unusual or quirky thing do you do regularly?

The answer can disclose shows self-confidence in revealing vulnerabilities. These traits may help you solve workplace problems.

 

Question 10: If you were stranded on a deserted island, what band or music would you want?

Do they like music? The answer can show their hobbies and tastes outside work.

Virtual meeting ice breaker questions

1. What was your previous role?
2. What do you like most about the company?
3. Do you enjoy working in your current role and why?
4. How was your first experience at work?
5. Can you share some funny incidents with your supervisor?
6. Which incident at your workplace imbibes a feeling of pride within you?
7. What contribution of yours resulted in a significant change in your team’s goals and objectives?
8. What are your suggestions for improvement in the current program?
9. Example of any good team activity a person has conducted in the past

Must Read: How To Build And Sustain Trust In Remote Teams

Do’s and Don’ts of using Virtual Icebreakers

Although virtual team icebreakers are effective in building up a strong team bonding and culture, yet they need to be leveraged at appropriate situations and moments. Only then you can realize their benefits in team building. Enlisted below are the situations when leveraging virtual icebreakers will turn out to be advantageous,

1. Team members operating remotely at different time zones with negligible chances of being engaged in a face to face conversations, discussions or meetings.
2. Introducing the remote team with each other in a web meeting or a video conference call
3. Scheduling meetings and discussions between culturally different people with varied skills and experience
4. Cross Team collaborations involving teams from different departments or divisions
5. Hackathons or workshops which generally extend for long durations, attended by people placed at different hierarchical levels

Now let us discuss the situations when it is not advisable to use virtual icebreakers. The scenarios are enlisted below,

1. Interactions between team members already sharing a good rapport, not mandating the need of introducing virtual icebreaker activities
2. Meetings and business discussions with customers who consider informal conversations as unprofessional
3. Analyze the complexity of a meeting wherein virtual icebreakers may consume a valuable amount of time instead of being a boon

Read: Team Communication 101: What is it & How you can crack it!

Few Golden Rules for selecting Virtual Icebreakers

Before selecting or deciding on the virtual icebreaker activities to imbibe a feeling of strong team culture, you need to remember a few golden rules as enlisted in this section,

1. Decide the purpose and the need for icebreaking exercise. It helps you to plan the sessions, activities, and games effectively. The icebreaker sessions need to be productive to ensure the members trust each other and collaboratively solve issues or problems.
2. Finalize the time to be invested in the icebreaker activities, normally to occur for no more than a duration of 5 minutes. The objective must not be to hijack the meeting time but only to ease the comfort level of the members.
3. Gather information on from which place your remote team members operate. They may be working from home or in a coworking space. Sometimes they may be attending the meeting while on move in an airport lounge or a café. The information is needed to ensure they are focused and cooperative to mingle with their teammates.
4. Decide the mode of communication, a video conference call or an audio call. You need to analyze the interest and comfort level of the team members while selecting the media. Some may not like being visible in a video for the introductory meeting.
5. Think of providing basic information about the participants to all the team members in advance. In the case of customer meetings, it is better to share customer roles and critical behavioral activities with the participants. This action facilitates the icebreakers for virtual team meetings.

Suggested Read: Managing Remote Teams: 13 tips that will come handy

Benefits of virtual icebreakers for remote teams

Icebreakers have proved to be very beneficial for remote meetings as they not only help to churn the human brain but also help in developing a strong bonding between the team. The members are easily introduced to each other, which paves the way for a smooth and seamless work culture in the near future.

The games and activities create a relaxed and stress-free atmosphere, encouraging all to participate and communicate with each other. The brainstorming exercises encourage active interaction between each other, developing a sense of togetherness and unity. It will eventually result in working collaboratively in achieving the company’s goals and objectives.

Icebreakers induce the creative minds of individuals to nurture their brains and actively engage in games and fun activities. The team members inculcate a feeling of trust and confidence. They feel motivated and comfortable working in the future.

Suggested read: Best Remote Working Tools That Make Life Easy

Icebreaker apps and best icebreaker tools

There various icebreaker online games, tools, and apps that can be used as an icebreaker for virtual meetings,

1. unremot – unremot.com is a fantastic platform where you can meet virtually using unremot virtual watercooler joints and cafeterias. This has proved to be a boon for remote collaborations. You can have ice breaker activities like play ice breaker games online before the remote colleagues start to collaborate.
2. Drawful 2: Research shows there are several benefits of doodling such as helping concentration, spur creative insight, alleviate stress, and improves the memory of the meeting. Drawful 2 is an interactive software allowing participants to virtual doodle through a room code.
3. Pop Quiz: Pop quizzes are a great way to get the competitive spirit before a virtual meeting. The pop quiz allows everyone to participate. Some online games online provide pop quizzes like AhaSlide. The virtual meeting games are perfectly suited for remote teams. There are icebreaker apps such as Trivia Crack and Quiz app. Trivia Crack allows participants to spin a wheel and select questions from multiple categories.
4. You Nailed It: You Nailed It is a wholesome activity done together. It is a simple activity where team members appreciate the member who has worked very hard and performed well. You do not have to get into specifics. It gives a boost of confidence to the team member who has been putting in the extra effort.
5. Wealthy Walrus:- Wealthy Walrus is fun icebreakers for meetings. The app starts on the principle that the Walrus begins with $14 billion to distribute, the catch being you have to perform ridiculous acts. The participants have the option of selecting yes or no. The results of all the participants are tabulated.

Suggested Read: Synchronous & Asynchronous Communication For Remote Work

Tips on how to plan virtual icebreaker activities

Some important tips which you must remember before structuring the virtual icebreaker activities

1. The recommendation is to limit the duration of icebreaker activities to 5 or a maximum of 10 minutes
2. Analyze or scrutinize the background of the participants, their cultural background, and their location before deciding on the ideas for icebreakers 
3. Do not force a person to be part of the icebreaker sessions, even allowing them to opt-out if they feel insecure or uncomfortable
4. Select your questions cautiously as you may deal with members from different communities or cultures where there may be polar differences on any topic
5. Encourage all the participants to speak out their ideas and feelings, the recommendation is to call out names so that no one feels left out
6. Ensure there are no conflicts between participants while the games are being conducted

Hiring a Chemist? Need to know how and where to find the best candidates? Here is a comprehensive guide to finding the best Chemists. Read on!

How to hire a Chemist

Organizations and startups are innovating at a fast pace with the advancement of science and technology. The healthcare and food companies are working hard to produce good quality products. Therefore, worldwide companies began hiring cosmetic chemists. These freelance chemists will help the organization in making new products.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the growth rate of employment of formulation chemists and scientists is 7% from 2016-2026. The industrial sector pharma, oil, and gas will hire a chemist to fulfill various purposes. In the future, chemists will have better employment opportunities in worldwide renowned industries.

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Hiring market for a Chemist

Many formulation chemists have been employed on a full-time basis in large organizations. The median salary of a cosmetic chemist is $78K-$81K annually. It is according to the latest records revealed by BLS. As the economy is growing, many chemists started providing their services as freelance cosmetic chemists.

The charges of cosmetics chemist and skincare chemist are around $500 to $5000. In the United States, the job market for contract chemists grows 6.5% annually from 2016-2026.  Around 88,000 chemists are working in the United States and there is a need of around 10,000 in the coming years.

For the chemist position, the competition will be strong in the future. Those with master’s, doctorate degrees, work experience, and certifications from the American Institute of Chemists/National Certification in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering have been hired for chemists’ jobs.

In recent years, the government agencies in the USA food department and pharma companies have hired chemists. Still, the demand for in-house chemists for hire has declined in the manufacturing sectors.

These companies started outsourcing research and development projects. During the economic slowdown, the layoffs of chemists in the pharma companies are limited. Some chemists with advanced degrees teach students in high school, technologists, and chemical technicians in different organizations.

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Top 15 recent job titles for Chemists

The top formulating chemists can work well in any work settings that given to them in the company. We have prepared a list of recent job titles for chemists are,

1. Analytical Chemist

An analytical chemist works in service-related jobs provided to them in government and industrial sectors. To get a job in the entry-level position of an analytical chemist, a person should be qualified with Bsc or HND in Chemistry. As per BLS records, the average annual salary of the analytical chemist is $83K-$90K.

2. Associate Chemist

An associate chemist’s job is in the manufacturing company’s laboratory settings. In the product development phase, they conduct the research. On average, the remuneration of an associate chemist is $69K-99K. A person should qualify bachelor’s degree in chemistry to get an associate chemist job.

3. Bench Chemist

Conduct the quantitative and qualitative analysis on new products is the work of a bench chemist. The salary of a bench chemist is $85K-$99K average annual in the United States. Bench chemist should have a master’s degree in chemistry/pharma/microbiology.

4. Chemical Engineer

A chemical engineer’s job is to plan and schedule the work for the technicians working under him. Find out the measures to reduce cost and maintaining quality too. For getting a job, a person should have a chemical engineering degree. On average, chemical engineers earn $75K-$85K in the USA.

5. Biochemist

A biochemist does the study of physical and chemical principles of living things. They examine how the chemical reactions have happened in tissues on a particular reaction of medicine. To perform independent research, a biochemist should have a Ph.D. degree. In the USA, the median salary of a qualified biochemist is $99K.

5. Clinical Technician

The clinical technicians operate the lab equipment. They do the collection of samples and assist the senior medical staff in the surgeries. They get jobs in clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, and other medical facilities. A diploma degree is sufficient to get an entry-level clinical technician job. In America, a clinical technician makes around $38K-$66K annually.

7. Medical Technologist

A highly skilled professional is a medical technologist who does the tests of blood, tissue fluids, and samples. Then, perform the analytics work on it. They ensure that all the details have been collected and prepared promptly. A medical technologist gets $80K-$99K as salary.

8. Patent Examiner

A patent examiner must check that a patent should be granted for further inventions or not. The median salary of a patent examiner in the USA is $124K-180K.

9. Product Chemist

A product chemist develops the design models of a product. They work in a variety of industrial settings food, biotechnology, and pharma. Product chemists that are working in industrial sectors have a master’s degree in chemistry and earn a $90K-$100K salary.

10. Molecular Biologist

A molecular biologist performs the task of how the biological molecules become organelles. They are responsible to do the research work and conduct academic activities. On average, a molecular biologist earns an $80K-$110K salary living in the USA.

11. Laboratory Research Assistant

A laboratory research assistant performs hypothesis tests and evaluates the data prepared after the research work. They get the duties of doing chemical tests and studying slides. The salary range of a laboratory research assistant is $39K-$400K.

12. Geochemist

A geochemist does the study of the composition and structure of the earth. They do the complete examination of rock, minerals, soil, and water systems found on earth. The median wage of a geochemist is $99K in the USA.

13. Genetic Engineer

A scientist who performs the living organisms’ DNA changes is the work of a genetic engineer. They do the genetic techniques in developing an improved version of living organisms. The genetic engineer earns $88K-$98K.

14. Polymer Chemist

Mostly, a polymer chemist works in industrial settings. To prepare a product, they understand the composition of a molecular product. The average pay scale of polymer chemist is $72K-$85K.

15. Pharmacy Technician

A pharmacy technician works as an assistant under the pharmacist in distributing the drugs and maintaining the medicines in stock. The national average wage of a pharmacy technician is $40K. They have to directly deal with the patients discussing their medical history and preparing prescriptions for them. They take care of the stock arrived at the pharmacy.

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Qualification to look for in a Chemist

Those companies have started hiring a cosmetic chemist. They should look into the candidate’s education profile to finalize a cosmetic chemist consultant for their organization.

1. Graduate Degree in Chemistry: To get theoretical and technical knowledge, a bachelor’s degree in the Chemistry subject is important. It includes a list of courses like organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, physics, hypothetical research, and calculus. Other fields related to Chemistry are materials chemistry and biological chemistry.
2. Postgraduate course in Chemistry: You want to find a chemist for an advanced research job. Then, a person with a master’s degree in Chemistry is preferred for this job role. There is a list of courses in the master’s degree program that are bioinorganic chemistry, molecular spectroscopy, quantum mechanics, and organic synthesis.
3. Doctorate Course: A Ph.D. program is helpful to conduct scientific research. Some of the professional programs offered include synthetic chemistry, chemical biology, and physical chemistry. The work of a cosmetic formulation chemist is to research the product development, processing, testing, and do improvement on the existing products.

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Skills to look in a Chemist

A skincare chemist and cosmetic chemist should have soft skills knowledge along with professional qualifications. It contributes to their success level in an organization. Apart from that, these skills are essential to have in any freelance chemist working or looking for a job. Therefore, the list of skills to look in a chemist at the time of hiring is,

1. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills: Companies want such staff working for them who can deal with every situation occurring in the day-to-day working.
2. Interpersonal Skills: In every job, if it is of a cosmetic chemist a person must have proper listening and speaking skills.
3. Time Management: In this fast pacing working style of a company, you have to meet the deadlines. You are efficient to manage the time.
4. Organize things in your company: You are a local chemist working in an organization; you have to keep the track of several documents and do analysis.
5. Analytical Thinking: Working on a chemist job role in a company, you have to analyze the research documents.

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Certifications to look in a Chemist

At the time to hire a chemist for a company, you can check out these lists of certificate courses that a candidate should have achieved.

1. Exploring Everyday Chemistry course at the University of York: It is an advanced diploma course of the University of York. The course duration of this, advanced diploma program is five weeks.
2. Warnborough College offering Biochemistry Part II course: To strengthen the conceptual knowledge of biochemistry, therefore, the course started at Warnborough College. It is a certificate course of 5 to 7 weeks duration and fees are $550.
3. Explore chemistry concepts at the University of York: Fir the working professionals, the University of York began a course based on strengthening the everyday chemistry concepts.
4. Solid State Chemistry course at Massachusetts Institute of Technology: In this course, the experts use the periodic table to teach the students about electronic structures.
5. Duke University’s course regarding Chemistry Structure & Solutions: An introductory course to teach the basic concepts related to chemistry.

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Top 10 Job Boards to find the best Chemists

Are you looking for cosmetic chemists for hire? These top 10 online job boards will help you to find a cosmetic chemist for your company.

1. LinkedIn: It is an open-source online platform for employers and employees to connect.
2. unremot.com: At unremot, candidates prepare their accounts and post their skills and qualifications online. Employers can visit the website and find staff for their company.
3. ChemistryJobs: You can visit ChemistryJobs to hire a beauty chemist.
4. Indeed: Indeed became one of the best job websites that started in 2004. It has around 200 million users.
5. Flexjobs: Flexjobs.com is among the popular job portals follow it to know how to hire a cosmetic chemist.
6. Monster: Monster is a digital platform to hire people founded in 1994.
7. Glassdoor: Use the Glassdoor job portal as it will help you as to how to find a cosmetic chemist.
8. Snagajob: Snagajob is an online job portal to hire a cosmetic chemist and makeup chemist.
9. Linkup: Linkup is a place where I can find a cosmetic chemist to hire online.
10. The Ladders: A ladder is a place where you can get qualified managers, hair product chemists, and cosmetic chemists near me.

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Top 10 Companies Hiring Chemists and Best Salary Offered

The list of top 10 companies looking for chemists for hire on regular basis. We have collected the information of entry-level salaries of makeup chemist, beauty chemist, and skincare chemist job posts.

1. Purdue University: Purdue University is an education institution that offers graduate and postgraduate courses. The entry-level salary of a cosmetic chemist in the university is $50K-$60K for teaching and research jobs.
2. Lawrence Berkeley Lab: Lawrence Berkeley is a national laboratory that hires chemists for research work and pays them a $60K yearly salary to fresher employees.
3. Agilent Technologies: At Agilent Technologies, the chemists do the analytical work of the products and get a $55K-$65K annual salary.
4. RTI International: An independent NGO is RTI International hires chemists regularly and gives them $70K-$75K as annual remuneration.
5. Henkel: Henkel is a reputed organization that believes in innovation and does regular recruitment of beauty chemists and hair product chemists. They pay them $60K-$70K annual salary.
6. US Food and Drug Administration: US Food and Drug Administration is a government organization that does the hiring chemists to keep regulations on food items. It offers $65K-$70K as yearly remuneration to the fresher chemists.
7. Pfizer: Pfizer is working to make a healthier world. The company hires the chemists to keep a check on safety standards and pay them $55K-$60K annual salary.
8. Merck: The purpose of Merck is to focus on people’s growth and save their lives. They have chemists working on entry-level positions and earn a $50K-$60K annual salary.
9. Proctor & Gamble: Proctor & Gamble is a candle and soap company that started 175 years ago that has chemists working with them and getting a $55K-$65K annual entry-level salary package.
10. Lubrizol: The Company named Lubrizol makes lubricants, fuels actively hires chemists for research work, and gives them $56K-$65K as salary.

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Top 10 Interview Questions for a Chemist

Following are the interview question you can ask while hiring a chemist for your company.

1. What can make a molecule into an organic molecule?

Rationale: It is a simple question to test the subject knowledge of the candidate appearing in the interview.

Expected Answer: The ratio of a hydrogen atom is less than a carbon atom in a molecule is known as an organic molecule.

2. Tell about the human body’s chemical composition of fat. 

Rationale: For the research work on a product, a chemist should know the human body’s composition.

Expected Answer: The fats that are found in a human body include,

• Glycerides
• Glycerides+Phospholipids
• Glycolipids
• Phosphoinositides
• Tocopherol

3. What is the use of graphite rods in a nuclear reactor?

Rationale: To perform the practical work efficiently, then the candidate should aware of the practical things of the chemist job too.

Expected Answer: The use of a graphite rod in a nuclear reactor is to get un-enriched uranium that can use as a fuel.

4. Explain in detail about dextrorotatory and levorotatory.

Rationale: An industry-related question to test the conceptual knowledge of the candidate comes for the interview for the chemist job.

Expected Answer: Dextrorotatory and levorotatory are the plane-polarized light properties. The light that comes to the observer after turning clockwise is dextrorotatory. On the other hand, when the rotation of the light is anti-clockwise is levorotatory.

5. What is the difference between fractionation and distillation?

Rationale: The employer can test candidate the knowledge of the candidate by asking for a clear difference between fractionation and distillation.

Expected Answer: Fractionation is a technique in which chemicals come close in the mixture during the boiling process. Distillation is a process in which the boiling point of chemicals is different in all the mixtures.

6. What is a mole?

Rationale: As an employer, you have to test the complete educational knowledge of the person coming for the interview of a chemist. You should hire a person who has a strong grip on chemistry concepts.

Sample Answer: Mole is a unit to find out the number of chemical substances present in a particular substance.

7. What is the titration process?

Rationale: In the interview rounds, you can evaluate the candidate’s knowledge by asking questions related to chemistry subjects like the titration process. It can help you to know practical knowledge.

Expected Answer: The titration process is used to find a morality base or an acid. Between the known solutions of volumes, a reaction has been carried out in this titration process.

8. How does buffering work?

Rationale: Basic concept knowledge is necessary to get the job of a chemist in a company.

Sample Answer: The hydrogen ion has neutralized in the buffer process. By the acid, the hydroxide ion will neutralize. No effect will show in the neutralization reaction. You will select an acid in the buffer solution. You can choose an acid pH to achieve the desired pH.

9. What new things you have excited about in chemistry the most?

Rationale: This question has designed for an interview to know that the candidate is familiar with new developments in chemistry or not.

Expected Answer: The candidate can answer about the new developments in the Chemistry field.

10. Tell me about your research in the chemistry field. 

Rationale: As a chemist, the candidate coming in the interview has researched several products. You can ask the contribution of the chemist in the last company.

Expected Answer: The chemist that comes for an interview can mention his or her contribution to the research work and product developments.