coworking

Teams are the typical building blocks of an organization: They provide companies with the means to combine the various skills, talents and perspectives of a group of individuals to achieve corporate goals. In the past, managers used to colocate team members because of the high levels of interdependencies that are inherent in group work. Today, though, more and more companies organize projects over distance, with teams increasingly consisting of people who are scattered over various offices and locations. While virtual teams provide a number of benefits, it can be quite challenging to manage them efficiently. Following the five- step program on Inc.com will help you manage a decentralized workforce.

1. Clear Understanding of Project Objectives – One of the greatest challenges facing any virtual team is a clear understanding of what they need to accomplish.

2. Communication – While communication is imperative for any project to be completed, it is of even greater importance when you have a decentralized team.

3. Clearly Defined Roles and Responsibilities – Problems are sure to arise when members of the team are unsure about the role they play and what is expected of them.

4. Don’t Rely on Nonverbal Communication – Oftentimes managers become over-reliant on emailing, texting or other forms of written communication.

5. Flexibility – Because virtual teams don’t have the same access to managers from afar, it is advisable to be lenient regarding work hours, deliverables, and timelines.

According to Ruth Mantell, a repoter for MarketWatch, networking requires strategy, research and social grace. Because competition for jobs is intense, there is a lot that we can get wrong when trying to build business relationships and generate business opportunities. First and foremost networking is about building relationships – not simply selling yourself. In that sense, here are 5 important networking “don’ts”.

• Don’t misuse the Internet – Don’t rely too much on email and networking websites such as LinkedIn. Nothing beats meeting face to face.

• Don’t be vague – Tell networking contacts about specific ambitions for your career or professional growth so they know how to support you

• Don’t stop – Keep networking, even when you’re not looking for a job. That way, your network is in place when you do need it.

• Don’t be selfish – Networking solely for your own goals is a mistake and doesn’t work. Also help your contacts.

• Don’t misuse your network – Distributing your references’ contact info too frequently can lead to burnout. Don’t abuse your network with too much contact either.

This interesting article on deskmag discusses the German government’s plan to force freelancers to pay a compulsory retirement ‘contribution’. Will it kill off entrepreneurship and destroy millions of independent careers? At least that’s the opinion of Tim Wessels, an IT specialist from Hamburg who has launched a petition against the so-called “Rewarding Life’s Work” law. With this law, provided it is passed, Freelancers will be forced to pay €350+ a month to support the broken pension system, on top of the €300-€600 they must already pay for health insurance (plus other taxes). Demanding that entrepreneurs fork out at least €650 a month in contributions before they earn a single cent will end innovation in Germany…

Mobile job searching is on the rise, according to a recent survey by Kelton Research. While smartphones are mainly used to browse the Internet, take photos/video, check email and conduct general search, there is a growing number of people who use their devices to search for work. According to the study, some 86% of smartphone owners said that they would use their phone to find a job; nearly 50% reported that they would even apply to jobs via their mobile phone if they could.

This JIBE infographic shares additional Kelton Research survey data and reveals that jobseekers are increasingly using downtime to hunt for jobs. Unlike traditional methods, mobile job searching can be done anytime and anywhere: Respondents specifically mentioned portability and immediacy as major benefits of applying to jobs via mobile.

What does the rise of mobile job searching mean for businesses? With smartphone usage increasing rapidly – this is definitely a recruiting pool too big to ignore. Companies can attract these tech-savvy jobseekers by optimizing online job boards and making the application process simpler to complete via mobile phone.

Check out the infographic on mashable.com. Would you search for your next job or project with your smartphone?

European accelerator Startupbootcamp launched in Berlin last week:

Startupbootcamp (or “SBC”) is a three month business startup acceleration program that runs quarterly during the year for startups, entrepreneurs and small businesses across Europe to get ready for funding, launching and scaling to European and global markets. By locating startup teams to one of Startupbootcamp’s program offices in Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Dublin, the accelerator focuses on exposing and connecting startups to an expanding community of key mentors and advisors that provide expertise from a multitude of verticals, industries and regions vital in growing a business. Take your startup to the next level and follow in the footsteps of fellow European startup successes such as Skype, XING, Spotify and SoundCloud.

Startupbootcamp – a European startup accelerator from StartupbootcampTV on Vimeo.

“Tom Malone, professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and author of the HBR article “The Age of Hyperspecialization,” explains why breaking jobs into tiny pieces yields better, faster, cheaper work — and greater flexibility for employees…”

The future of work 2.0

Google+ provides some interesting tools for freelancers, including Google+ Brand Pages. Another aspect of Google+ that freelancers should consider is the Hangouts feature.

Google+ Hangouts is a very interesting social media tool – especially for freelancers. It is one of the unique Google+ features that helps to distinguish Google+ from other social media tools.

If you’re a freelancer, you should think about the various ways that Google+ Hangouts can benefit you as a freelancer. Google+ Hangouts offers a great opportunity for freelancers to connect on a more personal level with individuals they would ordinarily not be able to interact with on a face-to-face basis. Google+ Hangouts are easy to use, versatile, and free of charge.

Here are some ways that freelancers can use Google+ Hangouts:

• Hosting a conference call
• Brainstorming
• Training
• Holding a status meeting
• Networking
• Building a community
• Discussing potential projects with prospective clients (instead of sales calls)
• Collaborating on a group project
• Holding “office hours” for clients

Google+ Hangout sessions can also be recorded, so a team meeting can be shared with absent members at a later date. Also, this means that a training session could potentially be used over and over. In fact, there are countless possibilities for using hangouts. Can you think of Google+ Hangout uses for your own freelancing business? Currently, the only downside is that Google+ Hangouts is limited to ten people (including the person who initiated the hangout). So, if you have a need to connect with more people, you’ll need to use another method of communication.

We’ve built a great widget that has been released and is now available. We would like to take a moment and describe some of the features our widget has and how you might take advantage of it.

Do you offer employment services and solutions, human resource consulting or manage a database for recruitment and permanent placement?

As one of the leading online  project marketplaces in Germany, we’ve been connecting freelance professionals and innovative businesses on our specialized industry platforms since 1999. Benefit from co-branding with projektwerk.

The widget enables you to offer your website visitors a customized project marketplace with valuable, daily updated content. By utilizing the projektwerk widget, you can provide your website visitors with interesting, sector-specific freelance work on individual project basis and simultaneously provide access to the best database for excellent freelance professionals. The widget can easily be added to your website and is totally integrated into the look and feel of your corporate design. No updating or editing necessary – the information is pulled automatically and syndicated over to your site.

Have a look at the widget on two of our partner sites:

For more information please contact:

Daniela Chikato

Mail: d.chikato@projektwerk.de

Phone: 040-43 21 30-36

“This interesting post, published by TechCrunch on February 4^th 2012, does not only remind us of how one of the greatest inventions of our generation has already changed the way we communicate, share information, or shop but also gives us a taste of what is still to come: The Internet is changing the way we work – the web is disrupting labor and transforming the definition of employment as we know it!

The post discusses the rise of the “independent worker”, who is one that operates independently and flexibly in today’s work environment – unattached to any particular company. The author, Nick Cronin, summarizes what he believes are the main factors contributing to this development, how these changes are affecting companies’ hiring processes, and the increasing importance of labor efficiency for maintaining a competitive edge.

“The era of the lean, flexible workforce is here and guess where both companies and independents are increasingly locating each other. Yep: The Internet.”

Read the full post “Labor Efficiency: The next great Internet Disruption” on TechCrunch

In that sense, check out the leading online project marketplace for freelancers and businesses in Germany:

projektwerk

Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action | Video on TED.com.

According to Simon Sinek’s “Golden Circle Rule”, people don’t buy what you do, but they buy why you do it. Even if it is no secret that many successful brands gain an irrational edge by appealing to our emotions, in his TED talk, Simek presents a innovative model which explains why some organizations and leaders are able to inspire action while others are not. Some of his examples include Apple Inc., Dr. Martin Luther King, and the Wright brothers. Enjoy.