Training Staff that Works Remotely

Nancy McCord a Google Partner and Bing Partner
Nancy McCord a Google Partner and Bing Partner

Training staff that works remotely can be a challenge. My firm has four remote employees and I have found that training is as easy as taking a short video with your phone.

In my case, my remote employees do not all have the same hours as all of them have other jobs or are full time students. So, it is nearly impossible to get everyone online at the same time.

I have started taking videos with my phone while I am in a control panel to make a super short video of what to do on a project. I am finding that employees like this, are able to watch the training multiple times, and some will even take notes and then work from their notes.

The key is to make the video super short and convey a concept that is not overly complicated. For me, I have done videos on how to add negative keywords to an AdWords account and how to create new ad text.

For most millennials, the visual mode of training is best and engages them most. Older staff seems to want the video plus written steps.

The key takeaway on this blog post is sometimes you simply need to think outside the box and meet staff where they are and allow training that is on-demand for their schedule.

Sharing Buttons for Your Newsletter

A Bright Idea for Monday
A Bright Idea for Monday

If you are not using a template at your e-newsletter sending service and have used or created your own HTML code, you may have trouble adding your sending services e-newsletter sharing buttons if they are not already included in the footer.

I have found a solution at AddThis and a code creator that will make a code you can use for your HTML newsletter skin that does not include JavaScript.

Visit this page to create your own code: http://www.addthis.com/academy/add-email-share-buttons-newsletter/

If you want to track statistics you can set up an account and then get an API key which you then put in the ID field. Before you generate your code, update your details like Share Our Newsletter and your URL of your online newsletter to share.

AddThis is a wonderful work around and the buttons look good on the page. When clicked the email one will open an online interface for sending and the Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ buttons will open the senders accounts so they can easily share items with their online friends.