Core Resource

Author: Core Resource

  • Recruitment is having to adapt to the “new normal”

    Recruitment is having to adapt to the “new normal”

    Recruitment is having to adapt to the “new normal” as are all other operations within industries and businesses.

    To survive, we all need to adapt and those that do will come out the other side.

    Companies and Organisations still need to recruit in certain sectors and to do this companies and applicants are using more virtual applications to conduct what was once a physical presence to complete the interviewing process, thus creating a new culture for the company.

    To do this, there needs to be new discipline’s put in place. Here are a few tips for applicants and employers to follow to create a new type of virtual recruitment policy:

    • Create a new Virtual Recruitment Policy & Procedures for the entire Interview Process.

    • Testing out of the chosen Video Application on both sides that will be used (Zoom, Skype, Google Hang out, etc) prior to the interview being conducted.
    • Have a Professional looking background to conduct the Interview.
    • Noise kept to a silence.
    • Time keeping being kept as punctual as a normal interview (with both start & end time).
    • Record the Interview (need to seek permission of applicant). (Some applications will have this feature).
    • This is the new normal so the more you want this to work, it will happen.

    • It is another way for your business to become more Lean and reducing waste at the same time (waste being your time and resources).

    Virtual Recruitment

    Watch my Video for the tips

    If you are in the midst of a recruitment drive, Core Resource offers a virtual remote Recruitment Support Package to SME’s.

    To find out more email geraldine@upcore.blackstairsdemo.com or contact Geraldine on 087 7743205

    www.coreresource.ie | Professional Business Services

  • Lean Management

    Lean Management

    HOW A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT CAN FIT INTO A LEAN BUSINESS STRATEGY

    In my last employed position as a Personal Assistant, Continuous Improvement was part and parcel of my employers organisational culture. It was one of the first companies in Ireland to embed and grow this new practice into their Companies DNA. The company took it head on and implemented the process into all of their departments. While I was there, I got training on the basic principles of how Lean works and can be applied. As a PA I supported various departments as their needs arose and this is how I got to put the Lean Principles into practice on one of their Lean Projects. It was amazing how a simple problem but very problematic in wasteful ways can be implemented into the Lean Process and seeing the end result a successful triumph to all involved and the bottom line winning out. The small problem that used to be escalated to Director level never became a problem again and less time, money and motion being the biggest winners.

    Lean ManagementBut first of all, what is Lean? Lean emphasizes the prevention of waste, extra time, labour or material spend that does not add value to a product or service. What is waste in business terms? Waste is anything that takes time, resources, effort or space but does not add value to the product or service delivered to the customer. There are 7 types of Waste that can be found in any business. They are labelled as Transport, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Over Processing, Over Production and Defects. This is better known as TIM WOODS. TIM WOODS is an acronym for describing waste in a business. When Lean is implemented in a business, it will improve quality, eliminate waste, reduce lead time and reduce total costs. Your Project Goals will be completed on time, on budget and meet performance requirements. If you look at the diagram below you will see how waste can be defined by people, quantity, quality and the end result being, added Value.

    What is Continuous Improvement? A continual improvement process, also often called a continuous improvement process, is an ongoing effort to improve products, services, or processes. Improvement in business strategy, business results, customer, employee and supplier relationships can be subject to continual improvement aswell.

    A Continuous Improvement (CI) Department is usually found in large Multinational Companies who have the means to invest time and money into creating and training up their departments and constantly re-evaluating the processes. It takes time and money but done efficiently and effectively, it can really work for the company as a whole. The bottom line being the main winner. But how can a small business do the same?

    This got me thinking, a Virtual Assistant is 100% lean. As a Virtual Assistant I complete tasks for small businesses. These businesses don’t have the manpower to complete all tasks required of them and do not want or can afford to hire a full time employee. I can, as a Virtual Assistant complete those agreed set tasks. Business owners then, will have reduced their time in completing the assigned duties, plus they only pay for the actual work completed. These requirements might be on a weekly basis or on an adhoc basis throughout the month. Basically, small businesses can be continuously improving without having a department. They can be reducing their time, space and effort on tasks that normally took extra time to complete thus making business life more efficient, productive and transparent.

    Statistics and media are showing at present that working from home or from a Hub Station (Hot Desking) like The Hatch Lab in Gorey and The Virtual Business Center at 11 Patrick Street in The Pembroke Kilkenny are the way forward for businesses and the virtual businesses that they support. These new Hub Spots are the future as Incubation Sites with their amazing high tech facilities reflecting this. David McWilliams has been recently quoted on this topic for his TV programmer on “The future of work”, as saying “working remotely will be the next big thing.” Companies will prefer their workers and their virtual support to work from their homes or from Hub Stations (Hot Desking) that are and will be available in local towns throughout the country. Our local Chamber of Commerce in New Ross has recently released more new refurbished office spaces for local small businesses in The Rising Tide Business Centre. Not only is this a Lean concept but also an environmentally friendly issue too with no commuting and no extra pressure to live in built up areas. It really is a win-win situation. A lot of parents that took time out of work to raise their families are also in this demographic that can avail of this growing trend. Sure aren’t I one of those!!

    If this has got you thinking that a Lean business strategy is for you and you think your business and customers could benefit from a virtual personal assistant services, then please get in contact with The Virtual Organiser for a consultation. If you are a business that operates in a Lean capacity for your business operations but had not quiet considered your administration duties as an option to make more Lean, then please contact me.

    To find out more email geraldine@upcore.blackstairsdemo.com or contact Geraldine on 087 7743205

    www.coreresource.ie | Professional Business Services

  • Networking Groups

    Networking Groups

    The Blood Support to the Heart of Your Business

    Networking GroupsNetworking is a vital blood line support to the heart of any business. It is the one thing that I couldn’t survive without now that I am business owner. The main reason that I started up my own business was because of a Network Support Group, the Better Business Breakfast Group. This gave me the confidence to believe that I could start and grow by own business. Since I started my new business, The Virtual Organiser back in late Summer 2017, I have been fortunate to attend several business support groups. They have ranged from my local Better Business Breakfast Group (BBBG) in New Ross, to Women Inspire Network – WIN (I attended their annual conference in Dublin in October 2017), LEO’s Women in Business events, Elevation Construction Network Group, BNI Menapia Chapter (as a guest) and I am very much looking forward to attending later this month, Women in Business Networking Group in Kilkenny.

    On the virtual side of networking (Social Media) there are so many more support groups that can be reached globally of you so wish. There are so many support groups to choose from but the key is to choose wisely and to choose which ones that are going to be the most active but productive at the same time. The Groups that will have a return on your investment (time being the investment of engagement). I am part of 2 Virtual Assistant Support Groups both in Ireland and the UK. It is great to be part of a group in your own occupation area. You need to be engaging on Social Media for there to be any chance of business been done. It is easy to get your content created beautifully and strategically but you need to work that room as the saying goes. You need to be chatting, retweeting, quoting those retweets, sharing on Facebook, liking, commenting. Whatever the platform (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snap Chat or LinkedIn) you need to be using it the same way as you would engage in the physical side of networking. Be nice, do a favour and a favour gets returned. It costs you nothing to be nice. You never know where social engagement will lead you and it is all from the comfort of your couch and a cup of tea at hand. Virtual Networking Groups have specific hours in which to engage with too. Just include their hashtag (e.g #Wexfordhour) and off you go networking. Social Media engagement has incredible benefits but you cannot beat connecting with someone face to face but social engagement can be first step in that ladder in connecting. As the old saying goes “People buy from People”. As my business is B2B, it is impeccable that I get out there and work that room both physically and virtually.

    The main pivotal benefits to me for networking groups are as follows:

    Support:

    Starting out in business and for those days that you feel like you are blowing in the wind with no direction, these Networking Groups really offer great reassurance of support. You will discover that everyone is in the same boat as you. An answer is only a question away. As one guest speaker said “the only stupid question, is the one in your head – let it out”. If you are at working from home, a question can be put to a virtual group and an even bigger question can then be discussed in person at a Networking Group. Try and schedule into your diary at least every 2 weeks at a minimum to get out and there mingle with other business owners in your area and beyond. Other business owners who have been around much longer have a wealth of experience that no money can buy. Engage and utilise this information to your advantage. You never know what past experience you can pull on in helping them out too with a potential lead and solution to a problem. Support doesn’t just wear a hat of problem solving and lead generation, it also acts as an encouragement tool to keep going. “Well done you are doing a great job” and “you’re doing all the right things” and “just keep the pedal on the throttle”. All support is welcome so take it on board and use it.

    Leads – New Business:

    This really is the main driving force behind all Networking Groups both physically and virtually. All businesses need to be continuously and actively looking for new business. Even if your calendar is full, you never know when those orders and appointments will dry up. Nothing is guaranteed in life and especially in business. Networking Groups are a breeding ground for leads and eventual business. It’s like the world wide web…. a small connection can lead to a bigger connection and so the cycle continues and intertwines for everyone involved. It’s like throwing a small pebble into calm lake and watching the ripple effects. Use your peers to gain what you require to drive your business forward. Who knows where it might lead.

    Growth:

    Your business constantly needs to grow. By attending Networking Groups, you learn from other businesses attending and from guest speakers their expertise and knowledge. You can also avail of 1 to 1’s with members of the group. This is a great way of picking each other’s brains for the benefit of both of you involved. Always go in with an open mind to learning. Every day is a learning curve, and there’s always more room to learn. Putting this new knowledge into practice is where your business will really grow. By engaging on social media with like-minded people you will learn so much too from their expertise.

    Confidence:

    One of the things that I hadn’t considered when setting up my own business as a Virtual Assistant was my confidence. I was so excited about being able to start back to work that I hadn’t factored this in. I was having to put myself “out there” 100% of the time. As a business owner you are the business, front, back and sides. You cannot sit at your desk and think the work is going to land on your lap. It doesn’t work like that, you need to get out and sell yourself. It is nerve wrecking walking into a room full of strangers who you have to convince that they should be using your service. When you have been out of the work scene for a while it does take that bit longer to gain back that confidence. But by continually networking both off-line and online your confidence does start to make an appearance again and nothing will stop you now in achieving your goals.

    Friendship:

    One of the things I love in life is friendship. Friendship with friends and family. Throughout your late teens and twenties, you were pushed out of your comfort zone of your family. You then had to make new friendships out in the big bad world or you would sink. Friendship keeps you going when you move away from home, start college, start a new job and move countries and even counties / cities. I really enjoyed meeting new people and if a friendship develops then that’s the icing on the cake. I am really enjoying developing new business friendships from Networking Groups that I have attended and from engaging online. What I am loving is meeting people in real life and twigging that you already know them from the social media world of Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. You know then that social media and the old fashioned way of talking with people is working in tandem together.

    Networking Groups

  • Core Resource – Press Release

    Core Resource – Press Release

    FULL, FLEXIBLE HR SUPPORT FOR GROWING BUSINESSES TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN STAFF WITH SUPPORT FROM CORE RESOURCE

    BUSY and growing SMEs often struggle to manage their HR and Recruitment processes but Core Resource offers them full yet flexible support.

    With Ireland almost at full employment levels according to the CSO, mismanaging recruitment can mean losing talent to a competitor. Retaining existing staff members while ensuring that your business is fully compliant with changing employment legislation add more headaches for SMEs.

    Core Resources gives business owners more time to focus on what makes their businesses thrive by managing their HR and Recruitment needs.

    Geraldine-O'BrienGeraldine O’Brien, founder of Core Resource, promises to give extra support to businesses when they need it without the expense of employing a full-time HR manager. She has a number of satisfied clients for her existing virtual assistance services.

    “Core values are pivotal in running a successful business” says O’Brien. “I feel like I’m the beating heart in my clients’ businesses by keeping them ticking over with the support I offer.”

    “Adding human resources packages to my existing offerings makes sense as it is such a vital part of any business. Because there is compliance and administration involved it can turn out to be very time-consuming for businesses which are already stretched. That’s where Core Resource comes in!”

    Core Resources offers several flexible packages so that business owners can access the HR support they need when they need it most. This can include reviewing CVs, pre-screening applicants, arranging interviews and managing post-interview administration tasks.

    As well as managing recruitment, Core Resource can offer ongoing HR support to safeguard against risks, ensure compliance and help business owners to avoid potential legal pitfalls.

    “Core Resource safeguards your business’s most valuable resource, your people” says O’Brien.

    O’Brien’s skills as a virtual assistant is evident in what her existing clients say about her. “Thanks to Geraldine I’ve been able to ‘make time’ for my business and its growth. Having someone I trust will do the work with the same pride and attention to detail as I would is important. It also means that my business continues to run on a day to day basis while I put my attentions and actions into building the future business. She’s a joy to work with.” Siobhan Fitzpatrick, Director of WIBN (Women in Business Network).

    “Honesty, commitment, hard work and loyalty spring to mind when you think of Geraldine O’Brien according to Declan Joyce, Principal Solicitor at Kelly Colfer Solicitors.

     

    Core Resource will continue to provide virtual assistance support to valued clients alongside the new human resources packages.

    Geraldine O’Brien who is based in New Ross, Co. Wexford, has an Honours degree in Business (BSS Human Resources) and experience working at every level of management in nine different industries.

  • Is There Any Benefits to Working from Home?

    Is There Any Benefits to Working from Home?

    I am now 3 months into working from home after setting up my own business as a Virtual Assistant and it is time to reflect on, well is it working out? Is it working out for me (business is going great). This ideal world of working from home, is it really as good as they say? The main reason for me starting my own business as a Virtual Assistant was to be able to have a balance of working life (using all my years’ experience working as Personal Assistant) and still being here at home with my 4 children. The best way to figure this one out is do a simple pro’s and con’s list. No fancy lean thinking principles to work this one out…maybe at a later stage I might apply the 7 wastes of lean to another blog task.

    PRO’s to Working from home with your own business:

    • I am at home
    • Able to bring kids to and from school
    • Having dinner (lunch on the busier days) on the table for the kids when they get home from school (apparently according to my eldest daughter’s principal this was one of the main requirements kids want from their parents)
    • Able to address any calls I get from school to come collect them, etc. This can be done at the drop of a hat
    • Not tearing home from work to collect kids, do homework and put the dinner on at the same time.  Oh and to try and give them all equal listening time for all their woes after their long day at school
    • Not having to pay for childcare (School system is technically free and pre-school is 100% free)

    Cons to Working from home with your own business:

    • You never leave your workplace
    • Work nights (10pm writing this), bank holidays (just had my first one) & the odd Sunday too
    • Children love pressing buttons on your keypad and sitting on your lap while you are trying to work (As I am typing my 3-year-old is sitting on me), a new skill set I am learning. Typing with obstacles…. must update that one on my LinkedIn page
    • What to do with children in the house when you are working, the mid-term really gave me an insight into what the summer holidays are going to be like…ahhhh
    • People like to drop in or phone for a chat because I am at home
    • Housework can keep staring you in the face…
    • No jokes or Monday morning stories from the weekend to share
    • Can’t pop to the canteen for food already prepared for you or the nearby shops for a few bits on your lunch hour /tea break (I live in the countryside)
    • I don’t have a lunch hour or half hour (like in some companies), it is usually a bite at the desk or on the go as I prep food for the kids to come home too.

    Working from HomeThe long and short of it is, being a working mother is hard. Working from home is hard and working in an office is hard. Your work has to be completed no matter what and so does the housework, kids homework and it is just a matter of what works best for you.

    It is tough going but the pleasure (remember Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – see diagram →) and the drive I get from starting and running my own business makes the sacrifices worth it.

    Working for me would be the top two grids on the above pyramid. Working gives me self-esteem and self-actualisation. Being a mother and having a family around me allows me to have love and belonging. The two elements of working and being at home allows me to have safety & security and having physiological needs.

    But there is no right or wrong combination to it all but what works best for you and your family’s needs. I admire all mothers, those who work away from home, work from home and those who stay at home to care for their kids and loved ones. I have done all three and they are all equally hard and challenging and they all come with their own pro’s and con’s.

    Here’s to mothers everywhere. We are brilliant. Remember us women should support each other more. We are all in the same boat no matter what.

    To find out more email geraldine@upcore.blackstairsdemo.com or contact Geraldine on 087 7743205

    www.coreresource.ie | Professional Business Services

  • What Qualifies Someone to be a Virtual Organiser

    What Qualifies Someone to be a Virtual Organiser

    Why am I writing this blog?

    Virtual AssistantAs explained in my last blog, is to give my readers an insight into my journey setting up my very first business by myself. What is that business??? I am a Virtual Assistant. Yes, a Virtual Assistant is one of the next 6 “Big Things” in #tech world. Fabulous is what I think.

    Imagine all of us Personal Assistants who don’t live near the Capital or any of the large major cities and are not able to tap into the recruitment circle that is the hive of activity that goes with living near these areas’ in Ireland. There is actually a way now thanks to Wi-Fi to tap into this hive of activity and that is being Virtual.

    Why had no one told me about this concept before, why had I not thought of this before?? Oh yes too busy wiping bums, wiping spills and all that goes with condensing all of time into my fabulous 4 children and husband for the past 4 years. Did I mention my husband is a dairy farmer? Dairy Farmers come with very special T&C’s especially when you are married to one.

    Perfect I found a career path that I loved the sound of but what makes me qualified to work for an entrepreneur and small businesses completing their administration tasks on their behalf…virtually.

    1. Education
    2. Years of Work Experience as a Personal Assistant & Office Manager
    3. Working in a multitude of different Industries
    4. Combination of the above
    5. Being a Parent

    Education

    I have a BBS Degree specialising in Human Resources from Waterford Institute of Technology

    Years of Experience as a PA / Office Manager

    I have over 13 years’ experience as a Personal Assistant to Directors, CEO’s and VP’s. I have worked as an Office Manager in small sized companies completing all operational tasks for an umbrella of multitude of departments. All departments in the company being me.

    Working in Various Industries

    I have worked in various industries over the years. I have worked in the IT recruitment sector, construction, commercial property, call centre, natural energy, enterprise within the education system, manufacturing waste equipment, accountancy and medical device industries.

    Combination of points 1-3

    Just knowing all of the above combined together gives me the confidence to carry out businesses tasks to the standard that was required of me in all of my roles. Along with me wanting to give 100% all of the time.

    Being a Parent

    How can being a parent qualify me? Being a parent requires you to be good at multi-tasking, especially being a mother of 4 along with a husband who has a job that requires him to work 7 days a week, 365 days of the year. (Don’t worry he gets 1 week off during the year – the joys of your own business in the agriculture sector). Multi-tasking to survive combined with fantastic time management skills will allow you to execute the multi-tasking of the jobs in hand. So the cycle continues.

    To find out more email geraldine@upcore.blackstairsdemo.com or contact Geraldine on 087 7743205

    www.coreresource.ie | Professional Business Services

  • My Virtual Adventure into Hopefully the Known

    My Virtual Adventure into Hopefully the Known

    How it all started for The Virtual Organiser

    I had a thought, almost a light bulb moment, Eureka…”why don’t I write my own blog”!!!! But about what!!!
    This is all while I was hanging out the wet clothes on the clothes horse at 9pm one night. What about, I thought, maybe I could write about, “what’s it like to be a near 40-year-old young girl setting up her own business”. Would anyone be interested in the fact that it has been nearly 4 years since she has used her intellectual brain??? I am sure there has to be someone out there that might want to read about my start up butterfly’s moments and the self-confidence struggle of “can I really do this”???

    Let me start by telling you a little bit about myself. My name is Geraldine or Geraldine Anne if my mother was introducing me or Deanie if it was my siblings. Ger is also a name I trade by, with my in-laws and all those who know me from my Cork days.
    Geraldine, Geraldine Anne, Deanie, Ger, well she is just 40 (yikes and just don’t go there) and has a business degree along with years and years of experience working in the real world as a Recruitment Administrator, Recruitment Consultant (in the good old days of the Celtic tiger years), Receptionist, Office Administrator, Office Manager and (drum roll) a Personal Assistant.

    I might as well throw in the little big fact that I am married to Wally (Walter Junior) and we have 4 beautiful children because they just are beautiful. Anna (Anna Marie) 13, Laura (Laura Rose) 9, Sarah (Sarah Grace) 7 & finally but no less least Tom (Tom Walter and not Walter Junior Junior) 3. There are enough Walter’s living down one lane and to add another Walter into the confusion mix, just was not worth it. Oh and did I mention, Wally is a farmer, a dairy farmer at that.

    Back to the drum roll moment…Yes I was a Personal Assistant up until December 2013. I then took redundancy and 3 months later or so Tom (Tom Walter) arrived. Obviously I have been very busy in the last four years since…mammy busy…which can be just as demanding as any boss!!

    I hadn’t been really given any thought to using my intellectual part of my brain until recently enough. The “summer strains” were to starting to show and I am sure you are wondering what the heck does she mean by “summer strains”. The “summer strains” for me was having all 4 kids at home in the one house at the one time 24/7…..do not get me wrong any mother who stays at home knows what I am saying. We all feel the same …if you don’t, your just not admitting to it to yourself, just yet. Anyway this “summer strain” look must have been written all over my face by all the new wrinkles and pounds appearing on my face, boobs and ass. Sprinkle some fairy dust magic and along came by entrepreneur sister, Angela (Angela of Lodge Road Therapy Fame – if I used her second name she would never talk to me again!!) who runs a very successful local business networking group for small business owners (Better Business Breakfast Group in New Ross). Angela invited me to one of those meetings because she thought maybe I might find it interesting. OMG what the hell would I have to offer the group but hey I am not one that is going to throw away an opportunity to help eliminate my summer strains and even better tap into a part of my brain that had not been used in some time……..

  • Launch of the Virtual Organiser

    Launch of the Virtual Organiser

    in St. Michael’s Theatre, New Ross, Co. Wexford

    A virtual organiser business offering an organisational solution to Wexford businesses’ administrative needs was launched in New Ross recently by a mother-of-four.

    Launch of the Virtual OrganiserEmbracing the Smart Worker concept, Geraldine O’Brien addressed a crowd of more than 30 people at a Better Business Breakfast morning at St Michael’s Theatre. After several years spent raising her children, experienced personal assistant and busy farmer’s wife, Geraldine said she needed to find an idea that would allow her talents to be expressed as well as looking after her family. After much research, she came upon the concept of ‘The Virtual Organiser’.

    Geraldine said: ‘It’s taking on the whole concept of the smart worker working remotely while embracing the Carbon Footprint Initiative (looking to be being rolled out by the Government shortly) and trying to balance family and work life. I am a virtual assistant so the business doesn’t put me on the payroll. It’s cost efficient and we agree terms of what work needs to be completed. The client might want emails and phone messages checked for them. I do a lot of social media work for small businesses who don’t have the time, creating content to reach new customers and there is consistent advertising going on. I take the pain out of administration and the stress out of people’s business.’

    Acting as a personal assistant, Geraldine is always on the other end of the phone or computer screen for clients.

    The mother-of-four broadcasted the launch live on Facebook and got a customer on the back of it. She said she was overwhelmed by the response she got from small and medium sized Wexford businesses.

    courtesy of New Ross Standard

    https://www.independent.ie/regionals/newrossstandard/news/virtual-organiser-business-launched-36860128.html