Five Survival Tips for Working From Home
Today, more and more people are seeing the benefits of working from home. In 2017, remote work was the fourth most popular job search term used by people looking for jobs. This is no surprise: Working from home reduces stress, increases family time, saves money on gas and other costs, and eliminates hours of commuting time each week. But there are also challenges – from loneliness, to distractions, to the difficulty with signing off at the end of the day. A recent New Yorker article summarized it well: 911 OPERATOR: 911—what’s your emergency? ROBERT: Hi, I . . . uh . . . I work from home. We have an entirely remote model, with more than 100 team members working from home. Since many of us still struggle with the challenges on an ongoing basis, we decided to survey our team members to identify their biggest challenges – and their top tips for overcoming them. Here’s are the top tips we found: Get a home office – or at least an “office” Don’t work from your kitchen table. Even if you don’t have a home office, Rony, one of our team leads, suggests you should “have your own ‘office space’ […]
Is Your Leadership Team at Risk of Burnout? Here are 5 Steps You Can Take
On a recent Monday morning, I opened my computer and was faced with one of my biggest leadership challenges yet. Bianca, my director of operations, reached out to me on Skype. She was feeling stressed and overwhelmed. Worst of all, she felt like she was being unproductive–she felt like a failure. She thought she was letting me–and the entire company–down. Bianca is key to my company’s success, and I knew that if we didn’t fix the problem, there was a real chance she would leave. Top performers, unsurprisingly, are the most likely employees to face burnout. This is particularly true in startups, where the hours can be long and job requirements can change rapidly. A team member who isn’t enjoying her job and feels like she isn’t growing might quit even if she’s otherwise a great fit for the company, the team, and the role. However, many leaders take a “suck it up” attitude to team members who are stressed and overwhelmed, rather than focusing on what they can do differently. I quickly realized that Bianca’s concerns were symptoms of a wider challenge. We had almost doubled in size, from 60 team members a year ago to over 100 today. […]
Reflections on Our Corporate Planning Summit
In late July, we had our first Corporate Planning Summit. We brought together the entire leadership team, along with all HQ staff, for an incredible weekend in Manila. I have finally digested the wonderful ideas and touching moments of the Summit and wanted to share it broadly with the Peak Support community. On Saturday, we kicked off the Summit with a casual and delicious buffet dinner. I sat at the far end of the table and caught up with Jim, Mark, Roland, Trish, Trixie, Kim & Cyrene. As I looked across the room, it was great to see everyone settle-in and spend quality in-person time. We ended the dinner with a brief toast to our H1 2018 success and set the agenda for the next day. I jetted off to bed; which meant I fell right asleep and then got up at 12 midnight and stayed up through the next morning. Damn you jetlag! Sunday was the big day. After breakfast, we descended on the conference room. It was a big, luxurious room with formal table settings and all the equipment we needed. On the left side of the room were tall windows looking onto a rainy Filinvest City. The […]
Peak Support Q&A: Iar Indus
Iar is a statuesque beauty who joined the ever-growing Peak Support family in March of 2017. Iar lives in a town in the southern part of the Philippines where she enjoys spending her days off from work catching up with friends. Let’s get to know Iar better in the second installment of the Peak Support Agent Q&A. See also our other Agent Q&As with Mimi Abelarde and Mark Pabriaga. Please introduce yourself! Hi! I’m Iar! I’m the friendliest looking girl in town. Making friends is one of the best things in the world because I always want to promote world peace. Life is simple so let’s not put too much stress on ourselves, smile always, and let’s make this world a better place to live in. What is your secret talent? It’s a secret! Lol. What’s the one place in the world that you’d love to go to and why? Maldives, because it’s a beautiful island where I can relax and enjoy. Which cartoon character are you? Wonder Woman. Describe your hometown in one word. Friendly. What’s most important in a relationship? Trust. Earlier this year, you went off to spend a few months in a beautiful European country. Why did […]
Do You Need to Fire a Top Performer? Here Are 4 Things to Do First
No one wants to lose a top performer. When someone is doing a great job in a critical role, replacing them is difficult, time consuming, and expensive. Depending on your business, they may even take clients with them. Performer But if a top performer is toxic to your company’s culture, the difficult choice is often the best one. Research from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management shows that one bad apple actually does spoil the whole batch. Toxic employees spread negativity and often have a prima donna attitude, requiring too much of your precious time and attention. Furthermore, teammates of a toxic worker are 47 percent more likely to become toxic themselves, according to Kellogg. And replacing them ultimately yields $12,800 in cost savings. The reality is, replacing a top performer is a real struggle, but rebuilding a damaged company culture is a much taller mountain to climb. I have faced this challenge at Peak Support — thankfully, not that often. It’s never easy to fire someone, and it’s even more difficult when clients are happy with the person’s performance. But when I’ve made the decision, I’ve never regretted it. It’s lifted a weight off my shoulders, removed a toxic influence, and often created […]