Nature seems to have thrown us a curveball with this pandemic.    Organizations and employers who once considered work from home, a benefit, are pushed to change their perspective and quickly adapt to the implementation and new challenges of having everyone working from home. But this is no routine work from home scenario. These are special circumstances with the lockdown.Then adding pressing work deadlines, domestic chores, and personal commitments to the mix, gives work from home a whole new....

Covid-19 has pushed everyone to try their hand at cooking. Whether you are a seasoned cook, who can artfully repurpose what’s in your pantry or a new cook who is still learning the ropes, everyone can be found spending more and more time in their kitchens. The numerous images and recipes shared on social media are a testament to that.    But what if you’re bored of your own cooking? Or if Work From Home s blurred the lines between work and home so much that you have no time left to cook? And....

Startups are celebrated because they succeed in spite of great odds. Imagine entering as a wild card candidate in a 100 metres race that has Usain Bolt no less, with both of your hands tied behind your back. Everyone, including your mother, thinks you have the chance of a snowball in hell; but this is no ordinary race and it ends with Mr Bolt looking at you in slow motion wonder, watching you pip him to the finish line by the blink of an eye.    This is daily life for a start-up: going against....

We may be juggling a lot of roles while at home during this lockdown, to manage cooking, household chores, and our kids. We can barely make even time to cook and make sure there is food on the table for all three meals.    But what about the evening hunger pang? What can we snack on? With having little time, we probably opt for the store-bought, packed snacks - quick and easy. While we sit at home, in front of our laptops (our children included), we are consuming more calories than we’re....

Imagine a happy family, you know the picture-perfect one you see on hallmark postcards. Now, imagine the dad gets sick with a chronic illness, that needs day-to-day care. The family is scampering around for information on how to help him and what therapies to consider. Of course, the internet is the place to look. It definitely has a lot of answers yet it also throws up a lot of questions! There are too many sources, opinions, and forms of medication and therapy suggested; and one doesn’t know....

Covid-19 changed the way most companies work. There was a time when working from home was considered a luxury but with the pandemic taking over the planet, it became a necessity and forced companies to adapt quickly. Though this transition had its own challenges, with the lockdown coming to an end, there is a new problem that has cropped up. Parts of teams are being called back into the office while others continue to work from home; to ensure the continuance of social distancing, only 20-30%....

Food makes the world go round – well, right after love! Most social media handles are choc-a-bloc with people turning chefs in this lockdown. But there are some who must be on their own or tired or looking for a break from the kitchen. So today FlexiBees decided to feature Authentic Food Stories, just for such occasions! The brainchild of Savy, an IIM Bangalore alumnus, AFS is a platform for home chefs to provide authentic, traditional and regional food!       Authentic Food Stories....

In our “Let us Help Each Other” series, today, FlexiBees features MAKERDEMY, a portal whose mission is to bring about a “maker revolution” in India through it’s online courses on maker technologies.Through this series FlexiBees aims to amplify the initiatives start-ups are taking to thrive in times of  COVID-19.      MAKERDEMY (https://makerdemy.com) is an online portal which offers courses on maker technologies like Internet of Things, 3D Printing, and Artificial Intelligence. The idea is to....

Looking for ways to build your network and gain traction in these difficult times especially on platforms like LinkedIn, then you need to read on!   Today, in our “Let Us Help Each Other” series FlexiBees features Saloni Mehta Company (ww.salonimehtaco.com) or SMC, which specializes in helping you effectively use LinkedIn to get leads, get hired and build your personal brand. Through this series FlexiBees aims to amplify the initiatives start-ups are taking to thrive in times of COVID-19.     ....

It is said extraordinary times require extraordinary responses. With COVID-19 forcing startups to think beyond the normal to survive, FlexiBees offers you talent hiring solutions that can help you smoothly tide over this crisis. Take a look at how flexible talent from FlexiBees has helped our clients.     FlexiBees has provided companies, both startups and established players, with part-time talent for many projects and roles; across a variety of functions & skill-sets like  Inside Sales,....

“What new skill have you learnt?” A lot of companies are asking their employees to gain new skills as they sit out the lockdown period. Though there a number of online resources to do so, today in the “Let Us Help Each Other” series, FlexiBees features Koach AI Technologies Private Limited, an AI conversational platform for skilling, built on the Science of Coaching.   As the fight against COVID-19 intensifies, and many start-ups and companies are trying to survive, FlexiBees aims to amplify....

Have you ever struggled to keep all your health records in one place? Or scrambled around to locate them when rushing to the hospital? Then this post is for you.   In these times when COVID-19 is challenging everyone, health has become the topmost priority. Having your and your family members health records handy has become essential. That is why today in our “Let Us Help Each Other” series we feature DRiefcase Health-tech Private Limited. We take a look at the initiative that they have taken....

Winning at Marketing while working remotely is likely not perceived to be as difficult as some other functions like Sales (you could go here for some ideas on winning at Sales in the era of remote working), but it has its challenges. Marketing is thought of as a function that is fuelled by face-to-face jamming sessions and late night bursts of creativity, and while there is some truth to that, marketing is a lot more than that. Also, one can find ways to recreate the creative high of jam....

With the COVID-19 Lockdown across the country, most people have been struggling with staying connected and engaging their children. In these times virtual meetups have taken a whole new meaning. Are you someone struggling to celebrate events due to the Lockdown? Then this post is for you.   Today, FlexiBees features Evibe.in (https://evibe.in) in our “Let us Help Each Other” series.     A one-stop platform to plan family celebrations like birthday, anniversaries and others. It takes care of all....

In our “Let us Help Each Other” series, today, FlexiBees features GoLivMo the “Amazon of activities,” an in-city e-commerce marketplace that efficiently connects Activity Creators with local users who are actively searching for fun and meaningful activities.    In difficult times supporting each other is the sure way to succeed. Through the Let us Help Each Other series FlexiBees aims to amplify the initiatives start-ups are taking to thrive in times of  COVID-19.      GoLivMo....

Next in our “Let us Help Each Other” series, FlexiBees features DealShare, a B2C and a B2B hyperlocal e-retail business, currently operational in cities like Jaipur, Mumbai, Kota, Ajmer, Sikar, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara. With COVID-19 a lot of businesses are trying to remain operational and sail through these tough times. Through this feature, FlexiBees aims to amplify the initiatives start-ups are taking to thrive in times of  COVID-19.      DealShare (dealshare.in) is an incredibly....

With the lockdown continuing and businesses and governments struggling to deal with the aftermath, start-ups are having to really put their thinking caps on to survive and thrive.    Today, in our “Let us Help Each Other” series, FlexiBees features Arsiare Consulting, an organisation that helps companies in cost optimization and process improvements to ensure growth in their profitability. Through this feature, FlexiBees aims to amplify the initiatives start-ups/ organisations are taking to....

Education technology space is growing at a rapid pace in India. Online education is perceived as a good option for complementing the education network in India. With an increase in the consumption of content online, it is fast becoming a popular option. Today, we interact with Suresh Avantsa, Founder and CEO of Aaraat (www.aaraat.com). Aaraat’s offerings include two products - a comprehensive learning management platform for delivering courses online, and an exclusive assessment platform that....

Continuing with our endeavor to amplify the initiatives start-ups are taking to survive and thrive in times of  COVID-19, today, in our series, “Let us Help Each Other,” FlexiBees features LogIQids.    LogIQids (www.logiqids.com) is an online platform designed to develop logical reasoning, critical thinking and problem-solving skills in kids from Sr KG to Class 9. Its gamified worksheets are educative and fun at the same time. The worksheets help enhance various critical skill-sets like....

  Today, in our series, “Let us Help Each Other,” FlexiBees features Qandle, a cloud-based, hire-to-retire HRMS platform. Through this feature, FlexiBees aims to amplify the initiatives start-ups are taking to make the best of the situation during COVID-19.    Qandle enables organisations to maintain their entire employee and company data in a single place while managing all tasks across the employee lifecycle seamlessly. Qandle places its focus on being mobile-first, with employee experience....

Does cold calling work?   If you are an entrepreneur or a Sales professional, then you would know that cold calling is the lifeblood of Sales, especially B2B Sales. While cold calling techniques have also gotten fancier over the last few decades, so much so that they are no longer recognisable as ‘cold’ calling, many small businesses today still operate using pristine cold calling techniques. They do relevant lead generation to the extent possible, create a list of contacts who fit their target....

The COVID crisis came out of the blue and has already made us change many things about how we lead our lives. Many of us, coming from backgrounds of some privilege, are learning to work with our hands for the first time, from the bountiful era of plenty where pretty much everything was available at a click, some of us are learning to ration for the first time. And of course our work, learning and consumption patterns are changing, transitioning from offline to online.     Businesses, startups,....

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. It is times like these that separate the “wheat from the chaff.”    COVID-19 has tested the limits of humanity and its ingenuity. Businesses, including start-ups are facing the heat. But entrepreneurs are not ones to give up. Today, many startups are trying out new models, approaches, channels, etc, in order to tide over this situation. We at FlexiBees want to amplify their voices, showcase their work and initiatives so that it reaches as....

A year ago we would have laughed at the notion that we would be called upon to do the one thing that could save humanity from disaster: stay indoors and do nothing. On paper it sounds ridiculously easy, but the reality is far from it. Now, into our second week of lock-down in India, we know that only too well. Many of us are managing our homes, our kids and our work, and it can seem like there is no respite and what’s worse, even with these round-the-clock schedules, everything seems up in the....

With the Coronavirus threat hanging over all our heads, we hear that one of the things businesses are doing is to enable remote-working for their employees. It is actually a pretty good thing to do, ensures business continuity and employee safety.    Now we have some expertise in the area of remote working, as some of you might know. For those who don’t, we provide flexible i.e. part-time, project-based & remote-working talent to businesses; having done this for hundreds of engagements now, we....

Having worked in Sales and led sales teams for now half my career, there are some tricks I have developed that help me in the role. Still learning, Sales for me is the most interesting job in a company, not only do you get the business, you also work with the most kick-ass team of people who put themselves in the line of fire everyday.    As FlexiBees, we primarily work with startups, and we routinely see young folks working in Sales leadership roles for the first time. So here goes, some of my....

  Numbers don’t lie.    In this post I could talk about how truly we believe in giving our clients the best possible talent and models that unlocks growth for them, how madly we work to achieve that and how deeply we understand the problems that lack of good talent can cause for startups.    But this is not a truly madly deeply song.  And while hips don’t lie, lips can. So we will let the numbers do the talking here.      Any founder who says they don’t mind spending 40-50 hours spent hiring....

For most of us, especially men, shoes are a matter of utility, but Flatheads has decided to change all that, once and for all. With the millennials redefining how workplaces function and bringing casual wear to the forefront into the 9-5; Utkarsh and Ganesh have decided to take this trend on a new path, literally. With their latest venture, focusing on sneakers for men that can be worn to work and beyond, they are making sure the shoe is part of a man’s style statement.   With a growing team....

Shreya Prakash, together with her batchmates from IIM Bangalore, started FlexiBees, an organization with a vision to re-employ qualified women through flexible work opportunities. It was the unconditional love and support from her family, which enabled her, along with Deepa and Rashmi, to take FlexiBees to new heights.       "The thought had never crossed my mind that I could not be everything that I wanted to be. I was lucky to be raised by parents who, in fact, went out of their way to tell....

As the year draws to a close, one tends to reflect back on the various things it brought our way - moments of success, moments that taught us something, and those that left us spell-bound. Businesses do it too. Just a little differently, with many more charts, graphs, percentages and presentations.    And we at FlexiBees, have a surfeit of those these days. This was the year of data for us, delicious data, that changed us in some ways, fortified us in others, and became the foundation for a....

Lakshmi Soundarya Andra is working flexibly as a Digital Marketing Associate for a Learning Solutions Startup. Her family not only inspired her to get back to work, they provided a great support system to her, so that she could work without any worries.   "I live with a beautiful daughter, two lovely dogs and my cat that I adopted a couple of years ago. I was a single mother, but now am engaged to a wonderful man who's been super supportive of me at both work and otherwise, too. I am truly....

Hetal Patel is working flexibly as a Research Associate for a Stock Broking Company. Returning to work was not easy for her specially in the field of finance. The reason behind her successful return, is her family's constant support and encouragement.   "We live in a fast paced society, full of opportunities and challenges where people are finding it difficult to adequately fulfill their roles, both at home and at their workplace.  It is difficult to attain a balance in personal and....

Vaishnai Jai working flexibly as a content writer for a Financial Services company, calls her husband and her mom, her biggest pillars of support. They encouraged her to do her best, always, be at home or in her career and gave her a helping hand, whenever she was caught up with work.     My husband and mom are my biggest pillars of support. My husband was the one who initially encouraged me to give a try to getting back to work. More than the remuneration, he wanted me to feel proud of what....

Rashmi Nair, is working flexibly as HR Recruiter with a Digital Cataloging Startup. Her husband not only encouraged her, but also pushed her to do something for herself and accomplish her dreams.     "I am married & my in-laws stay with us. It's not always a rosy day everyday, but a bit of maturity, dash of empathy & loads of common sense help a lot in handling family ties! Our shifting to another far-off area in Bangalore, last debacle of a job along with my miscarriage made me stay away from....

Yesterday we spoke about how family support is so important in your returnship journey. Today we will talk about how you can go about ensuring you have your family’s resounding support.    From our experiences with 1000s of women, and witnessing and helping them on their journeys, here are some ways you can help get your family on your side:    Identify and make your needs known    The trick to helping your family see your perspective is no trick at all, it is to let them know what you want.....

  Often have we heard (and quoted) that behind every successful man, there is, apparently, a woman.    The reverse is equally true. Behind every successful and fulfilled woman, is her support system. Her husband, her parents, her in-laws, her friends - more recently, known as the village, the folks who provide succour to her on her tremendous journey by providing emotional and physical support. And that is why, as the next step to getting ready to return to work (here are the three steps to....

Anyone who has ever worked with creative professionals is aware of the challenges it brings; though you could argue that every professional eventually creates something.   In one organization, the moment you walk into the creative department, you could end up hearing strums of guitar music to people crowded around one system watching the latest animation videos or arguing endlessly, defending their idea. In another, you could end up in a complete silence zone, so the creative juices can flow.  ....

Smack-bang in the middle of the Internet revolution, no business today can afford to ignore Digital Marketing. While Digital Marketing can be seen as more of the same old marketing, simply on a new set of channels to reach your consumers, the truth is that it has changed the way marketing is done. For the simple reason that technology and internet access has changed the way consumers consume and interact with brands.    None of this will be news to a visionary entrepreneur, who more likely than....

Flexible work models and the Gig Economy are not new in the industry. However, what is new is the fact that more and more companies are choosing to hire flexible talent for their specialized needs. A recent news piece reported how 67 BSE 100 companies had hired 57% contract workers in FY19 as opposed to 54% last year. While there is much debate as to whether this is a healthy trend or if organizations are opting for this to cut costs, the reality is that this trend is here to stay.   More and....

How has Sales transformed in the last couple of decades    Gone are the days when Sales was all about knowing your own product and making sure your potential client knew it too, and in fact, was never able to forget it thanks to repeated follow-ups from you.    "Today is all about Solution Selling instead of Product Selling"   With an increase in service businesses, especially led out of software, it is important to know your potential client’s problems and offer your product as a solution that....

The season of lamps and lights, online sales and gift distributions is here. It is that time again when many employees either want to go home to be with their families or simply take time off to partake in the Diwali festivities.     If we were to ask what is the biggest challenge you, as a business owner or a manager leading a team face during this time, then handling multiple leave requests during festive season could be high on your list.   Handled incorrectly it can result in disgruntled....

Today we want to talk to our finance whizkids. Are you a finance professional looking to return to work in the near future? Want to know what skills are in vogue today? Read on.   Today morning we posted a blog about the broad finance space, where it is going and how to upskill yourself. Now let’s talk about what these skills are. Below are some of the ones that we come across on a regular basis. We will give you a very short teaser of each, and you can do your own research on them too.  ....

As a part of our Industry Expert series, meet Anshika Srivastava, Digital Marketing Manager, FlexiBees who is responsible for developing, implementing and managing marketing campaigns. She plays a major role in enhancing brand awareness within social media space as well as driving website traffic and acquiring new leads/clients.    Read on to learn how she has built her career as Digital Marketing professional while working from home.     1.     Tell us about your experience, and your role as a....

This month was HR month for us. That means that this month, we created messaging and communication around hiring HR talent via flexible models for your business. We realised a while ago that every function has its unique nuances that unlock differently, and if we want to create a world where nearly all roles can be carried out flexibly (flexi-time, part-time, remotely), then one approach is to do it function-first.              This has led us down a fascinating road, where we have to get into....

Content Marketing is all the rage, and rightly so.    With the roti-kapda-makan trifecta rapidly turning into roti-kapda-makan-internet, a phone and a data connection is all one needs to become a consumer. Of news, views, reviews, memes, polls, ads, articles, listicles, gifs, videos, etcetera - by no means an exhaustive list and every year, more get added to this mind-boggling array of formats and channels.    If you are a brand whose consumer is spending increasing amounts of time online, you....

Yes, but how Many of you will answer that question in the affirmative. Who doesn’t want good marketing, which not only creates  a unique voice for you, but also by creating awareness & visibility gets you business.   But isn’t marketing talent expensive? Yes. And rightly so. Branding, positioning, consumer insights mapping, all tried and tested concepts in the marketer’s toolbox, don’t come easily. It takes years of working with brands - doing research, deciding strategy, executing campaigns,....

Hello ladies,   Hope you liked what we put out this week i.e. tips & tricks on updating your social media profile, to land your dream job.   If you could not catch it, then go here to learn how to make the best use of LinkedIn to boost your profile, here to know what immediate actions to take on social media to catch the attention of recruiters, and here to read what our Industry practitioner, Illustrator and Graphic Designer par excellence, Debjani had to say about how to go about using Social....

In the second of our Industry Experts series, meet Debjani Bhattacharya, freelance Graphic Designer who works for several high growth businesses! Read on to learn how important “Social Media presence” is for her field, how she makes the best use of “Social tools” to showcase her work and source new work. Social media presence is important not only for Graphic roles, but all roles in general such as Marketing, Digital Marketing, Technology, Content Writing etc. If you are interested in making a....

Are you a techie looking to return to work in the near future? Want to know what skills are in vogue today? Read on.    Yesterday we spoke about the broad Technology space, where it is going and what skill-sets it needs. Today let’s talk about today’s skills. Below are some of the ones that we come across on a regular basis. We will give you a very short teaser of each, and you can do your own research on them too.   Front-end Developer: The skills/languages popular today are HTML, CSS,....

“Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” - Carl Jung   That’s right, the objective of this step is to awaken your professional self - think about what you were before your career break and where you want to go after it. Think about the work you used to do, the skills you built while at it, whether you liked doing it or not. A second career can be the change in professional direction you wanted, so think about what you would like to do going forward - what skills you would like to....

Once you are ready to return to work or even half way there, start putting yourself out there via Social Media, especially LinkedIn. In our blogpost from yesterday, we speak on how to create a fantastic LinkedIn profile to land your dream job. Read it here. But once you have created that profile and presence, and are looking for jobs, know that LinkedIn provides a set of tools that can be put to great use to help you in your quest.   Some of those are -   1# Open to recruiters   Go to the....

If you have clicked on this article, you probably are aware of WHY you should use Social Media, especially LinkedIn, to attract recruiters when you are on the job hunt. But in case you are on the fence about it, do these statistics below help make up your mind?   2 mn job-seekers have landed a job via LinkedIn so far AND 89% of recruiters have hired someone via LinkedIn   So there you are. LinkedIn is used by at least 500 Mn people, and has around 10 Mn active job listings. Moreover, not only....

Introducing the second of our Industry Experts, Shipra Sonthalia, Recruitment Head - FlexiBees, who along with her team owns the entire recruitment effort for FlexiBees, entailing hiring from across industries and functions. Read on to know what she has to say about her role, what techniques she uses to evaluate candidates, and the advice she has on writing eye-catching resumes for those of you who want to return to work. And if reading this makes you want to apply to for a second career, apply....

  As part of our I-RISE series, we speak on the 5th step - E-update. The article below covers the very important aspect of updating one’s resume to get back to work.   **   Taking a career break is one of the most difficult decisions that women often have to make. On the one hand is the beautiful feeling of starting a family, but on the other, there is also the worry about the repercussions a career break would have in your professional life. And if the break needs to be extended, there is also....

Welcome to the last step of I-RISE, our 5-step plan to help you become technically ready to return to work. Now that you have gone through the first four steps, and hopefully feel more ready and confident, the big question is, how DO I get back?   Well, there is no one answer. You will have to repeat the first four steps; for example, networking yields results only over time, so if you started getting back in touch with your industry colleagues as per Step 3 - Interact, it will take more than....

Of course you do.   Now here is another interesting question: is there such a thing as a part-time Investment Banker?   Yes.   Well, we were surprised too. When we got our first requirement, for a part-time Investment & Research Associate, we worked hard to fulfil it (and we did; it was a roaring success and the client not only extended the association to a more permanent one, but also recommended us to a bunch of other similar firms). When we got our second such requirement for an Investment....

This week we have been speaking about the Human Resources profession, trends, skills needed, which you can read here and here. Today we will be talking about how one must go about brushing up one’s skills in HR. And if you are already there, and want to start exploring what your second career holds for you, wait no further, and start applying today.   Ways to brush-up skills in Human Resources   Become Active on LinkedIn: While understanding how to use social media as a whole is a desirable....

Human Resources is a vast field with many different specialisations and facets. Yesterday we spoke about some of the trends in this space, which you can read here. If you were an HR professional before your career break and are looking for a way to re-enter, these below are some of the skills you could brush up on. But like we always say, don’t wait for perfection, but attain it on-the-job. So start applying today to get into the groove and back into the game.   1) Enhance your Digital....

After covering skilling for Marketing, Digital Marketing, Finance, Technology, Sales, Content, Graphic, this week we will talk about yet another function that many of you might be interested in - Human Resources.   While we will speak this week about the new things happening in this space, skills of today and the future, our sincere recommendation is that you don’t spend time perfecting these new skills, since that could take time and you would be losing out on precious on-the-job experience.....

Introducing the first of our Industry Experts, Merril Diniz, Head of Communications - SHEROES, and Writer at Heart! Read on to know what she has to say about her role, what keeps her going, and the advice she has for those of you who want to make a career in Content & Communications. And if reading this makes you want to make a second career in the field of Content & Communications, apply to us today! (*details given below).   *********   1. Tell us what your role at Sheroes is, and what are....

Yesterday we asked you Are you a Graphic Designer? Read on to know what new is happening in this area and promised to come back with tips to help you navigate these waters.   So here we are. So if you have always been the artistic type, used to walk around with a sketch pad when you were younger, and have a keen eye for color and detailing, then Graphic Design might well be the profession for you. Here is how you could brush up your skills.   How should you skill-up for a thriving career in....

Last week we started talking about Content - trends, skilling, examples, myths - about the various facets of Content i.e. Content Development, Creation, Strategy, Management and Writing. Why did we speak about it in detail? Because Content today is the most universal components of all businesses - whether you are a start-up trying to generate demand for your product, or an MNC wanting to engage in Influencer Marketing, Content is critical to both of these.   This week we will talk about yet....

Content today is one of the most universal components of all businesses, whether for a start-up trying to generate demand for their product, or an MNC wanting to engage in Influencer Marketing, Content is critical to both of these. Content Writers are crucial to businesses today, and if you want to make your second career as a Content Writer, then these below are some of the skills you need   1# Research A lot of business writing today is done to help potential customers get acquainted with,....

Yesterday we spoke about the 5 trends that had changed the world of Content and promised to come back with tips to help you navigate these waters. So here we are. If Content is what interests you, and you have a flair for it, then read on to know how you could brush up your skills.   How should you skill-up for a thriving career in Content   This week we are speaking largely about Content Strategists, Managers and Writers. We will come to Graphic and Video artists next week. So here are some....

A quick refresher, we have been talking about the I-RISE plan since the past few weeks. I-RISE is your roadmap to Technical Readiness for Returnship and to know about it, go here. As part of the 4th step, Skill-up, this week we shall talk about Content, Content Development, Creation, Strategy, Management and everything to do with it, in some detail. Content is one of the most sought after skill-sets in this new economy, and if you plan to continue or start your second career in Content, read....

“Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I’ll rise.” - Maya Angelou   I rise, you rise, we all rise when women achieve their dreams. Technical Readiness is a big part of achieving that dream, of ensuring you become fighting fit. No wonder then that our 5-step plan to attain technical readiness is called I-RISE.   I is for Introspect: Look within, gauge your skills, talents, likes & dislikes R is for Research: Look around, see what new....

An extended maternity break and her mother’s diagnosis of terminal illness, led Deepa Narayanaswamy, co-founder FlexiBees, to quit her full-time career. Later, when she was ready to get back into the workforce, she realized that there were limited opportunities for qualified women who wanted to return to their careers on a flexible basis. It was this lack of meaningful flexible opportunities that led Deepa and her batchmates from IIM Bangalore, Rashmi Rammohan and Shreya Prakash to set up....

One of the things that Akshatha’s son is the proudest about is the fact that she is a former Air Force officer.   Akshatha is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) who is currently working as a freelance content writer. One of the things that her 10 year old son, Saksham is the proudest about is the fact that she is a former Air Force officer. Though Akshatha had completed her tenure at the Indian Air Force much before Saksham was born, he is still very curious about it. “Saksham keeps asking me....

Motherhood was what prompted Nithya Kalyani, a Post Graduate in Mass Communication to quit her job and opt for a work-from-home profile, instead. However, Nithya also credits motherhood and all its accompanying ups and downs, for helping her become a stronger person. The mother of two - eight-year-old daughter Harshita and four-year-old son Harshavardhan - has carried forward her own mother’s strong will and determination to never give up, and hopes to pass it on to her children.   The mother....

A hands-on mother, wife, a dutiful daughter, a foodie and a passionate recruitment manager, Akshatha Padar wears many hats on any given day. Akshatha’s life has become even more beautiful over the past five years, since her daughter, Ishana, was born. “My proudest moment was when I first held Ishana in my arms and she was able to make out my voice and touch. She would stop crying the moment I would hold her. This journey has taught me so much - to appreciate the little things in life and the....

Sayantika Adak, who describes herself as a ‘stay-at-home-full-time-working mom,’ has handled many profiles across industries, but the one she enjoys the most is being the mother of five-year-old Tishaam, aka Pickle. And, while quitting her job was never in the pipeline, the happiness that she derived from being around her tiny bundle of joy, the fact that her husband's job required him to be away for more than half a year and the dearth of good opportunities in the city she lives in, made the....

First of all, you might ask, what does flexible Sales talent mean?   Well, it means on-demand sales talent, that works with you in a flexible approach - could be part-time or fully/partly work-from-home or both, with very clear deliverables and incentives that are linked to those deliverables.   Now some of the benefits of this model are clear; of course, clear deliverables, and KPI linked incentives will drive performance, and every business needs that. But what may not be as clear is the....

We have spent the last few weeks now talking about trends and skilling in functions like Marketing, Digital Marketing, Finance, Technology. Now for the most interesting of them all, Sales/Business Development.   One might think, what could possibly have changed in Sales? Once a good salesperson, always a good salesperson. Isn’t that true? Well, that is true, Sales people never really lose their gift. But in order to compete well in the hyper-competitive world of Sales, they do need to freshen....

Technology changes every 2-3 years if not sooner. The good news is that today we have a pretty fair idea of what the next 2-3 decades hold for us in terms of the broad areas that will lead the change. So if you plan to be a part of this industry for the next 2-3 decades, you need to understand what these areas are, and how to prepare yourself for it.   But before we begin to get into tomorrow, let’s talk about today. As a person aspiring to return to work after a career break, to get back in....

A few days ago we spoke of the ways to kickstart your upskilling journey for marketing and digital marketing. You can find the article here. Today we are going to talk about Finance and how you can upskill yourself for the new-age Finance industry.   What skills does the finance industry comprise Few functions are as diverse as finance, with a wide variety of sub-skills and specialisations. In fact, it can be seen as a matrix of hard skills and industry segments. Hard skills like Accounting,....

Last week, we spoke about the need for skilling, and followed that up with starter resources on how to know which skills are relevant for you. You can read this article here. This week we are going to break it down into different functions, and also touch upon how to go about acquiring these skills.   Why Marketing needs skilling-up? This time our subject is Marketing, which is nothing but the science to creating and communicating products and ideas to your consumers. The consumer of today is....

Never has the need for skilling been more acute. Technologies are changing every 2-3 years, which is disrupting not just the way we work, but entire business models. Companies such as Uber, Swiggy, Amazon, PayTM, Google, Facebook, Tinder, are changing the way we travel, eat, shop, pay, read, socialise, date and much more. These and other tech breakthroughs have given birth to a host of new functions, job roles, industries and sub-industries.   In fact the need for reskilling applies to people....

Getting back into the work think mode means refreshing your connections and going out and conversing with more people. This is Interact : the third step of ‘I RISE’, the 5-Step plan to Technical Readiness. It is one of the most crucial phases of your journey, and entails reaching out to people - your bosses, your peers, work colleagues and acquaintances, and start connecting with them in general or even on work specific topics. It’s a great way for you to accelerate the building of your body of....

  This husband-wife team have pooled in their individual, yet complementary, skill-sets, talents and strengths to take their experiential event management company, Seventeen Events, to where it is today. Seventeen Events provides unique experiences in every event they conduct, and helping them in this endeavor is FlexiBees consultant Ruchi Jain who has been working with the company as a Business Development professional for the past ~1.5 years as an integral part of the team.   In a....

A crucial part of the Returnship Journey is Readiness, and a huge aspect of Readiness is Technical Readiness. Technical Readiness has many facets but they can all be summarised in one word: I-RISE. That’s right, I-RISE means Introspect, Research, Interact, Skill-up and (E-)Update. Today we are here to speak about the second step i.e. Research - why it is important and how to go about it.   The first step i.e. Introspection connected us back to our professional selves. You will see that simply....

FlexiBees now has a thriving community on multiple social platforms. Last week’s Live chat with our co-founder Deepa N Swamy, on one such platform, was all about Readiness to Return. Many of you came with questions around those, around skilling in particular. So we thought it was worth diving deep into, to bring forth the different facets of Readiness to keep in mind before actively starting to look out.   “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the....

Transcript of Live Chat on How to be Ready to Return to Work (answered by Deepa N Swamy on 14th March 2019 online in the thriving FlexiBees community within Sheroes App)   Q: 3 years back I left my job and moved to Indonesia post marriage. Since then I took up freelance content writing. But it was a makeshift arrangement. I now want to shift to traditional marketing again. Can I do so by working remotely from Indonesia? Are there companies that entertain in such a situation?   A: First of all,....

Yesterday we conducted our first Live Session - a community chat - on Sheroes on ‘How to be Ready to Return to Work’, and it was an amazing experience. We loved interacting with you and feel enriched for having the conversations that your questions sparked. This below summary is our way to close the loop on the chat, but also a way to open a door for more such conversations that we will start very soon.   “One big reason for falling out of confidence is once out of work, we are also out of the....

“Here’s to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them” - Anonymous Last week was amazing for us - in the process of bringing examples of women to you who had achieved success in their returnship journeys, we got inspired ourselves. The idea we started with was to showcase the successful journeys of these women, but also to highlight the different paths they took across diverse functions and skill-sets to reach that destination. And that is the whole point of flexibility....

Mumbai-based Bansi Mehta’s story mirrors that of many other women. Armed with a Management degree in Sales and Marketing, Bansi was working with a credit rating company when she had to take a break after her baby was born. This break stretched on for eight years, as Bansi stayed home to be a part of her growing child’s world. “While I tried to continue with the company on a part time basis, it did not work out as the profile needed me to travel around. With little support at home, I could not....

Pune-based Management graduate and mother of two children, Franky Aggarwal has had a vast career and experience of over 14 years spanning multiple domains such as banking, telecom, technology, edu-tech and the hygiene and health industry, where she currently works as a marketing consultant. In telecom, Franky worked with two leading companies which saw her grow professionally and earn numerous awards and accolades. The birth of her second child, however, put a break on her career. “Both my....

Life had taken Shipra Sonthalia, Recruitment Lead with FlexiBees, through a number of different roles before landing the profile that was her calling – Human Resources Management. After her marriage, Shipra took an almost seven-year break from corporate professional life. “Over the years, I dabbled in a few things, which included a business selling decoupage products, when my daughter was a year old.”   While this fueled the creative side of Shipra, it did not satisfy her professionally and she....

Securing a fully-funded PhD position in Life Sciences from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, was not a challenge for the studious Dr Shruti Sharma. Armed with the PhD and a Post-doctorate fellowship in cancer biology, Shruti returned to India and over time, found a job as a Research Associate, where she discovered her passion for teaching and discussing science with her students.   However, as is the case with many working women, after her baby was born, Shruti took a career break. “My....

A woman has the most challenging role of all – as a mother she has to ensure that she is there for her family, supporting and nourishing it. As a professional, she needs to break the glass ceiling that she is often faced with. Life becomes a balancing act, emotionally and physically exhausting – and this often causes many women to quit the rat race.   However, you don’t always need to sacrifice one for the other- and that is something that Mohua Das, FexiBees consultant with a leading edu-tech....

FlexiBees now has a thriving community on multiple social platforms, and this week we are talking about the Returnship journey. This post below is an encapsulation of this week’s conversation, with the journey fleshed out. Read on.   The Returnship Journey   Returnship or returning to work after a career break, is no easy thing. It takes courage, some know-how of where to start, and loads of support along the way.   It is a return to the jungle you were once familiar with, that now seems....

FlexiBees now has a thriving community on multiple social platforms, and we recently published a series of polls to create awareness of the different aspects of flexibility in work. This post below is a continuation of that effort, with insights from the poll responses embedded in it. Read on.   Flexibility is the solution, it’s a revolution   Over the last couple of weeks, we have come to know you a little. And we daresay, you might have come to know us a bit too. We like to bust myths for....

Recap: Recently, FlexiBees partnered with Transformance Forums to organise a summit discussing the Future of the Workplace. The people attending were leadership from Human Resources, Transformation and Digital Teams of top organisations - all with keen interest and stake in kitting their organisations with new ways of working. The whole day was packed with insights, and my one strong take-away was that leaders across organisations are thinking about how to prepare themselves for what is to....

Throughout my career, I have been a business person - Sales, Marketing, Communications, Branding - believing these to be crucial to the growth of any organisation. But now, after having been immersed in the world of talent solutions for two intense years, I am happy to say my horizons have broadened (a big draw of being an entrepreneur by the way) and I cannot emphasise enough the role that Human Resources plays or can play along various aspects of what makes organisations tick. Especially....

As a small business trying to grow, my biggest learning over the last two years has been that there is no one big lever to making a company successful. It needs good direction, great talent, quick execution, the right partnerships, steady clients, some funding, and that magical something that is vision or passion or purpose that breathes life into it. Oh, and luck.   Phew!! Is quite a list.   But today, poised at the edge of the rollercoaster that 2019 is likely to be, let me make your day - by....

The world is going through one of the most significant periods of disruption, ever. In fact, the pace of change is so rapid that, as American inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil had predicted at the start of the millennium, the next 100 years will experience 20,000 years of relative technological change. With digitisation, and artificial intelligence taking over the world, it is also shaping the way we work.   The world of work has been going through changes at a break-neck speed. When....

According to findings released by multinational staffing firm ManPower Group in June, this year, global talent shortage is at a 12-year high - out of almost 40,000 employers surveyed globally, nearly 45 per cent are struggling to fill in roles. The Talent Shortage survey also reveals that India is among the top 10 most affected markets in the world, with 56 per cent of employers facing difficulties in filling positions.   However, juxtaposed with these findings is also the fact that India has....

In today’s dynamic world of work, the flexibility to expand or contract your team based on the demands of the business, is one that is highly beneficial. This is where contingency hiring, also known as project-based or short-term hiring, helps. Here you recruit talent on a per-project basis, with the understanding that the relationship does not extend beyond the duration of the project, unless you wish for it to continue. This ensures that you are able to get your work done professionally and....

Companies today –  startups, SMEs, and large organisations - are all hungry for growth and looking for new ways to hire high potential talent. At the same time, the gig economy, a phenomenon which is also known as the ‘Uberisation of the workforce,’ is slowly becoming a reality around the world. This means that forward-looking companies are now going beyond the standard full time 9-5 talent, to explore more flexible options which include on-demand or contract basis, remote talent and those who....

A conversation that is happening around workspaces the world over is how to get the best talent – one that is productive, motivated and cost effective. Today’s world is inundated with startups – companies which are revolutionising all aspects of life, providing unique technologies and benefits to consumers and, in the process, creating interesting disruptive businesses. These dynamic companies cannot afford to hire talent in the same old-fashioned way where everyone is a full-time employee,....

In today's dynamic world, conventional hiring practices don't always deliver the goods. You need flexible, fast paced solutions in order to EXPERIMENT & GROW.  Are you a high-growth start-up needing lots of skill-sets but not having the budgets to afford full-time employees? Or a business manager in an MNC needing a high-specialty skill-set for a time-bound project?       Then come to FlexiBees. We provide flexible part-time talent for all your needs, as and when you need it.         So if you....

Work-from-home-mothers Shruthi Rao and Nithya Kalyani have a reason to celebrate – they have just completed a major milestone – one year with FlexiBees, a startup that provides on-demand talent and teams on a flexible/part time basis.   Shruthi, a B.Com graduate who is pursuing Company Secretaryship, always wanted to be independent like her mother – a working woman who managed her house and family, beautifully. Life, however, had other plans. As Shruthi embraced motherhood, she had to take the....