in the age of the internet: remote work from home !

We are thinking of implementing a remote workplace where people work from their own homes /places and come together only when needed.

-few things to think about

Voice over IP system ( every worker has to be linked with at least 256kbps connection) and their special phone (or computer) acts as a communication tool. The server could be an “astreisk” open source VOIP system in linux. (free)

A special online time log system which logs time for your projects and makes you basically efficient.
(we are still trying to find one which suits our purpose).

Everyone has to have a backup system for electricity outages (which is notorious in Nepal.) Recommend usage for laptops.

An online project management system such as the free open source ProjectPier system.

An online client invoicing system (such as Freshbooks).

and every employee gets paid directly to their bank account.

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Don’t forget to add more suggestions !!!

Top ten frustrations with human resources (experiences)

so here goes the list for the frustrations with dealing with “un-professionals”, while running Digital Max Solutions

1) People take the job as a training first - execution of their responsibilities second(they are less inclined to feel responsible for their jobs.)

2) ‘Grass is greener on the other side’. is killing us. Competent manpower hard to retain for more than a year.

3) Some people work hard to impress you during the early months of their career with you, and then once they win your trust, start slacking off noticeably (intentionally /unintentionally). Am i missing something here?

4) YOu would have to invest most of your resources on infrastructure management, insurance and backup/security of the infrastructure, leaving not much resources for human resources trainings and career development.

5) Work ethics is rudimentary for most people with less than 5 years of experience. “Diligence” is in short supply amongst a wide array of young professionals in Kathmandu. Again, the current brain drain is accelerating, with it, the thinking that, “life is easy out in foreign countries” is solidifying in the young generation.

6) Constant Distractions in Kathmandu seem to affect an employee’s morale more negatively than on work. Young people are more disturbed by not being able to comprehend or able to find solutions to the complex reality of Nepal.

7) Not many people are interested in questioning themselves and their bosses about the career direction/chart. (blindly following whatever is given to them or wherever they are led). Very few are inspired enough to make a career path.

8 ) Common sense (highly undervalued and extremely deficient amongst upcoming IT professionals in Nepal).

9) “The grass is greener on the other side” thought is ingrained, plastered, super-glued !

10) “Because of My family” is the primary excuse for all deal breaking, ties-breaking decisions, some of the employees make. I have rarely seen one own up to their responsibilities cleanly. Those that have owned up, i have only abundant respect for them.

Again, this applies to most professionals i have met while running DMS and talking with other entrepreneurs in Nepal running companies in Kathmandu.

I will try to write how i have tried to counter these issues in a later post (hopefully soon).

Human Resources Management

I must say, this past few months, i spent more time on human resources management than on Business development. We have not been effective in finding a good human resource manager for our IT business.

I see this as an industry wide problem in Nepal. Headaches!

My suggestion to you is if you want to start a company of 15 or more people. Pay some more time and money to find an “excellent” Human resource manager. Your headache will go down by half. I will vouch for this.

At DMS, we are trying to bring in experienced Human resource manager who also has experience with the information technology (terribly difficult to get this qualification). We hope that this position will create a bridge between the management and technical developers working with us.

Will post more update on this experiment !