Tag Archives: virtual office

Employee Spotlight – Kathy Jackson

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Kathy was hired on December, 1, 2010 as a Call Center Agent. Kathy was born in Pennsylvania and raised in Maine & Texas. After graduating high school, she started a career in the US Air Force as an Inventory Management Specialist. Having served her country she took on her new role as mother to a now grown young man.

Situations occur in life which makes one re-evaluate the direction in which one must take to better their life and themselves. Unforeseen circumstances lead her to the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs and their VR Training Program. She attended the Harrisburg Area Community College and obtained an Associate Degree in Administrative Office Specialist.

Kathy can’t begin to thank the U.S. Dept. of Veteran Affairs V.A. Employment Coordinator, Kasey Kazakavich enough for the creative and talented way that he maneuvers the system to work on behalf of the veteran. Kasey’s motto “It’s all about the Vet.” Most importantly, she truly appreciates the support and the networking contacts which lead her to Pearl Interactive Network. Kathy thanks her lucky stars to be a part of a growing organization that has a CEO and Owner, Ms. Merry Korn that believes in tapping the workforce with disabled veterans and people with disabilities.

Best of all, Vice President of Operations and my supervisor, Ms. Diane Schrimpf for taking her time and extra effort to see that all employees of Pearl have the necessary resources to go forth and prosper.

Employee Spotlight – Sonya Smith

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Sonya started with Pearl Interactive network on July 27, 2011, working with Diane and Merry in Administration and Human Resources. Sonya is a 1995 graduate of the University of Houston with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Psychology. While attending college she worked in retail customer service and management. After graduating college her career transitioned into Human Resources. Sonya has over ten years of Human Resources

Administration experience including working in a virtual environment. Other industries she has worked in include insurance, and aerospace. Sonya was born in Texas in the gulf coast area where she resides today. She has been married for 13 years and is the proud step-mother of an 18 year old daughter and a blessed mother of a 13 year old daughter. She also enjoys gardening and a love for animals.

Employee Spotlight – Mindy King

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Mindy King started with PIN on February 21 of this year, as an Administrative Assistant. Mindy is a Veteran, Army Wife and Mommy to a six month old son and a nine month old Boxer. She has been married for a little over four years after meeting her husband in Iraq in 2007. She was medically retired in January 2011 and the same day they found out they were expecting their amazing little guy. Being a mom has been one of her
greatest blessings.

Mindy is also actively involved in the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the
National Military Family Association and Co-leader for her husband’s unit’s Family Readiness Group. She also helps military families with financial counseling and ‘surviving’
loving a service member with Traumatic Brain Injury and/or Post Traumatic Stress.

Mindy completed a Master’s Degree in Human Relations last year and is gearing up to
start on a Master’s in Counseling. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her
family, scrapbooking, reading, photography and writing on her blog which covers being a
female veteran and a military wife.

Employee Spotlight – Gina Beyer

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Gina Beyer joined Pearl Interactive Network in October 2011 fulfilling the role as Assistant Manager reporting to Diane Schrimpf. In just over 8 months, Gina has enjoyed working with the staff at Pearl and finds the job very fulfilling.

The Beyer family relocated from the Atlanta, Georgia area to North Carolina four years
ago as a result of her husband, Chris accepting a position as Vice President of Marketing
with a national firm. She and her husband have been married 27 years and have five children (4 daughters and 1 son) ranging in age from 16-26 and now have two young
grandchildren. Also, adding to the mix, Gina and Chris have two small Yorkies, Frasier and
Pooka, and a Doberman puppy named Dempsey to keep things lively and interesting. Chris and Gina are avid antique collectors and enjoy going to weekend antique shows,
auctions and estate sales looking for old treasures to both collect and sell through their antique business, The Private Reserve.

Employee Spotlight – Dianne Williams

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I am the mother of 2, Daniel and James, and the grandmother of 4 – 3 boys and 1 girl. I am the sole caregiver of my 94 year old mother, who resides with me. Family is the most important part of my life. My position with Pearl has allowed me to keep my mother at home with me, rather than placing her in assisted living or a nursing home.
I started working for Pearl in March 2011 as a mentor/coach, but I am very pleased that I am now working with Dwight in Tech Support. Between July 2011 and February 2012, when I started with Tech Support, I worked with a call center project assisting with faxes, approving applications, data entry and the clean-up for the project. I feel so lucky to have been given the opportunity to work with Pearl.

I have a very diverse background in employment. I have done everything from working as a Veterinarian Assistant (cleaning dog and cat cages) to SD State Parole Agent. I have a license in Cosmetology, a BSE degree in Composite Social Science and a Master’s in Criminal Justice Administration.

I love life!
Dianne

The Long Road to A Successful Civilian Life

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One Veteran’s Journey to A Career While Facing Health Issues and Employment Setbacks

The Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University has recently published its findings about hiring employees with military backgrounds.  The study highlights the numerous benefits of utilizing a veteran workforce in civilian positions, such as resiliency, commitment and advanced team-building skills.  Many of Pearl Interactive Network’s employees epitomize these qualities and Amy is a shining example of how home-based employment is an advantageous solution for both employers and employees.

Amy has a degree in Healthcare Management and never thought that she would have a difficult time finding work, especially with her extensive military training.  After she left the military, her husband, also in the service, was transferred to North Carolina and it was here that she began her struggle to find employment.  Suffering from chronic migraines, Amy faced a battle many veterans are familiar with.  Unable to find a job and dealing with pain and illness, Amy says she “battled with my own opinion of myself. My self-esteem and confidence were at an all-time low.”

Starting at Pearl Interactive Network as a virtual Administrative Assistant for a global pharmaceutical company three years ago, Amy exemplifies the “strong work ethic and a sense of pride about [her] work” instilled in her by the military and now leads a team of thirteen.  Calling her employment at Pearl Interactive Network “an amazing experience,” Amy says her “life has drastically changed and continues to improve” with a strong sense of self and the ability to care for herself and her family while maintaining a career.  Offering hope to other veterans who find themselves suffering after their service, Amy shares that “home-based employment has allowed me to feel valuable even when I am ill,” something that few companies are able to provide.

Home-based employment has allowed Amy to thrive and as she says, to “still remain very much a part of a team,” a concept that is integral to many veterans’ success in the civilian career force.  Amy affirms that “it is very hard to not get discouraged when you are transitioning from the military to civilian life” yet “you never know when someone will be your lifeline” and provide the opportunity to regain a sense of self-worth and confidence through a flexible career.  Veterans have unique skills and strengths to bring to the civilian workforce; they just need the proper vehicle to display their talents.

Information about Pearl Interactive Network
Pearl Interactive Network is social enterprise committed to delivering superb contact center and staffing services while at the same time providing work opportunities to highly skilled people with challenges to work, such as disabled veterans, veterans, military spouses and caregivers. Our contact center model utilizes a unique and growing trend known as the virtual office, also known as work-at home or tele-work. The new way of thinking about work creates workflow solutions while delivering great customer experience. Some of our clients include Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, the National Association of Social Workers, Pennsylvania Medicaid and the U.S. Army.

If you would like more information about PIN, or to schedule an interview with Merry Korn, CEO or PIN employees, please call Sarah Pariser at 614-378-7374 or e-mail Sarah at Pearlinter.PR@gmail.com. You can also visit the website at www.pearlinter.org.

The Virtual Reality

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How can a company combine a social mission with a lucrative business model? Entrepreneur Merry P. Korn asked herself that question six years ago. She found her answer in creating Pearl Interactive Network.

Pearl Interactive Network (PIN) scouts out and provides top-notch virtual staff solutions to businesses and government agencies nationwide. PIN’s workforce provides everything from call center service and support staffing to administrative office and IT help desk support and more. But what sets PIN employees apart is their location. PIN provides employees who work from the comfort of their homes with the help of technology. Hiring virtual staff is a relatively new trend for many businesses, but it’s catching on, especially among large, corporate call centers. Usually home-bound, virtual staffs are gaining in
popularity because they tend to provide much lower turn-over rates, Korn explained.

“Large call centers see a huge upside to hiring people who aren’t going to leave their position as readily,” she added.

PIN pulls its talent from an often overlooked, yet talented demographic– military veterans, disabled veterans, military spouses, and people with disabilities. In 2010, the proportion of the U.S. population employed –the employment-population ratio-was 18.6 percent among those with a disability, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. In comparison, the employment-population ratio for people without a disability was 63.5 percent. The statistics are sobering, but PIN aims to boost the number of opportunities for disabled people who are talented, and ready and able to work.

PIN’s social mission revolves around connecting this very unique demographic with “good jobs with good pay,” and technology, Korn said. Over the last six years, PIN has found its niche in landing longer-term federal contracts with agencies like the Center for Disease Control, the U.S. Army and the Department of Veteran Affairs.

Many candidates who apply to PIN face blindness, paralysis and even geographic limitations. Employing assistive technology, such as Dragon and JAWS, has been vital to positioning PIN’s talent pool for success in the virtual workforce and removing the barriers to employment. Dragon is a type of speech recognition software that allows a computer user’s spoken language to be transcribed into text or used to perform voice commands, which makes all the difference for those who may have limited or no use of their hands. JAWS, software developed for computer users whose vision loss prevents them from viewing screen content, reads aloud what’s on the PC screen.

To keep staff informed and engaged as they work from home, PIN also works hard to maintain teams the employees can link up with for peer support through daily conference. PIN also provides mentors for people who are new to the virtual employment realm.

Korn aims to expand her business model to incorporate a nonprofit job skills training organization as well. She hopes to leverage grant money to offer online training for individuals who have the motivation to work, but who may lack the technical skills.

Having earned numerous awards for business and service, Pearl Interactive is proving that the sky is the limit in the virtual world. Learn more about Pearl Interactive Network by visiting www.pearlinter.org.