Hello and welcome to our video on configuring the helpdesk ticket categories. If you're familiar with trackit version 11 or prior versions, you may be familiar with a field called work order type. In this new version of trackit, work orders are now referred to as tickets, and the type field has been replaced with a field called category. In this video we're going to go over how to set up the categories in your system, the different configuration options they have, and what that means from a ticket perspective when you're logging a ticket against a particular category. We have to remember that a category is very important to a work order ticket. The category is selected based on what is being asked for in the ticket. So if somebody contacts the helpdesk and requests something about their internet access or a problem with their internet access, there's likely going to be a category somewhere that talks about network access or network issues or something like that. These categories can then be used in reporting to show how many tickets of a particular type are put into the system every day or every week or every month. You can use that for analysis later on to see how many tickets you get on a particular type or a particular category. You'll notice a lot of times we will use the term type or category interchangeably, and usually that's just out of habit because of the years and years and years that field was called type in the old trackit system. But in the new trackit system, the field itself is actually called category. So here we are, we're already logged into our trackit system and the categories option is down here on the bottom right. If you're not sure how to get to the configuration area of trackit, it's very easy, just click the menu on the left and select configuration. To get to the categories configuration, you can either click it on the bottom right here when you're in the all setting or you can actually click on lookups and then select categories. There are some default categories here in this installation. You can see we have account administration, applications, facility, general information, hardware, network, workspace. Now, there is no right or wrong way to do categories. The one thing I will caution you on is don't get category crazy when you first start using the system. I would say the biggest mistake made by new users to any system like this is they set out with the goal of trying to categorize everything as detailed as possible. And many times what ends up happening in that situation is you end up with hundreds of categories and you end up with duplicates and people who can't find the one they're looking for when they're trying to categorize something. It leads to people not selecting a category at all or often selecting whichever category is closest just because it's easier to select than trying to find a category in some huge long list. So that's the only thing I would recommend is that you sit down and decide what your top level categories are and you may want to have four to six or maybe even 10 top level categories. Once you get those nailed down, you could then actually start using the system and start looking for trends to figure out which categories you use most often or which types of issues you have most often so that you can then create a category for them. Now, if you've had track it for a long time, you've probably already got your categories all hammered out. If you're moving from another help desk system that you've used in the past, you either love your category set up that you have and you're ready to reimplement it here or you've made some mistakes implementing your categories in the old tool and you're going to use this as an opportunity to correct those mistakes in the new system. The track of community had a great conversation going on out there maybe roughly a year, year and a half ago about what are the common types of work order types or work order categories you use in your organization. And that's a great place to go and look. You'll see some people have a very simple category tree. Some people have a very advanced category tree. So it just depends on your organization, it depends on your need and what kind of reporting or analysis you're going to want to do later on. You'll notice here these gray colored nodes in the tree don't have any children. And the yellow colored node here, those do have children. The yellow colored ones with children also have this arrow next to them. So if you click on the arrow, that'll expand as well. So now you'll see under facility, we have two categories under that. Neither of those have any children. Now in the old track system, you can only have a three tiered category set up. And that was known as type subtyping category. In this version of track it, you can set up as many levels of categories as you want in your system. So for example here, let's click on building maintenance. Let's say new and let's make a category called windows. And it's under building maintenance. You'll notice there's a parent category there. There's a description if you want to type something to describe the category better. And if we look on the right side over here, you'll notice there's a priority. If we click this dropdown, you'll recognize these priorities from the ones we configured when we went through our priority video. You can specify a default priority for each category if you like. So here we're going to say, if it's a windows problem in building maintenance, we're going to mark it medium. We also have the option to display the category in self-service. Here's a way that you can really simplify things for your end users who are using your self-service portal. We recommend that you only check the boxes on these for the categories you want end users to see in the self-service module. You can also mark categories as inactive. This helps you if you're trying to streamline things and kind of trim down some categories that you were using that you may be deciding to stop using. You can also just use this if you're playing around with a category structure and you don't want to publish it out to everybody yet. The last option we're going to look at for the individual category is the support specialist. So here you can actually assign a technician to this category. So then when someone selects this category in a help desk ticket, the technician's name under here would be automatically assigned to the ticket. Now you also have the option of adding more than one technician here. If you do that, when you go ahead and assign this category to a ticket, you'll have the option then of picking one of these specialists from a list to assign to the ticket. So I'm going to go ahead and save this and you'll notice now under facility, under building maintenance, I now have windows. Now if I click on windows, I click on this again. And I say cleaning, save that one. So now you'll notice under facility, I have building maintenance, I have windows, I have cleaning, maybe also under windows, I'm going to say we have one replacement. I'm going to save that. So now you'll notice under facility, we have building maintenance, windows, and we have cleaning and replacement. So I can make this any number of levels that I would like. But again, just make sure that you don't over complicate them. It's okay to have these go five or six levels deep, but you don't want to have 50 top level ones and then 50 levels underneath. If you over complicate this too much, it's going to lead to people not wanting to use it and having problems with that. So you want to make sure that your list is accurate, but not out of control. So now we've seen how to create new categories and how to insert categories beneath other categories. We can also go and change some. So let's say I want to change cleaning and I want to put it under workspace. So I can go into cleaning and I click this up down here and I can page over to workspace and I can select that. And I basically, now I'm just re-parenting this. So now cleaning is going to fall under workspace. If I save it, you'll notice when I go back into my category view here, cleaning now shows up under workspace. So now that we've taken a look at creating some of these categories, let's add a new ticket so we can see what they look like when we're picking one. So in the ticket screen here, you'll notice here's my category field. I'm going to click my dropdown and here's my list. So I can go under facility and I can select building maintenance. I can select window replacement. Okay. And notice the replacement field shows up here now. We do have another field. It's called category full path, which is in the system. You can customize this work order form and add the category full path. If you like, you can also add the category full path to the grid view in the help desk so you can see it in your list of tickets and that will show you the entire path all the way down from facility to building maintenance, to windows, to replacement. It will show you this entire path all the way, but the default field that shows up in the ticket right here on the default form is just the category. And so that is an overview of creating and using categories in track it. For more videos in this training series, you can visit our documentation site at docs.bmc.com. If you forget where the documentation is, you can always click the help link in the upper right hand corner inside track it. Some other useful resources are the track of community where you can talk with other track users and support representatives about how to get the most out of your product. You can reach that site at community.trackit.com. You can also reach our technical support directly by visiting support.trackit.com and for general product information, you can always visit trackit.com. Thank you for watching and I hope this video has been helpful to you.


From the award-winning nature series, Southwest Horizons. White Sands of New Mexico. The largest gypsum dune fields of the world. But they are more than just grains of sand. Venture 2, White Sands, White Wilderness. Episode 1 of Southwest Horizons. It started 500 years ago when Columbus in search of Barton's gold and silk returned with new world treasures. Seas which spread around the globe were ever-changing civilizations and a human destiny. Today, researchers are finding that the original genetic material from which these plants came are disappearing at an alarming rate. Follow the race against time as modern science meets the challenges of a rapidly decreasing gene pool. The real treasure that Columbus took back to Europe and then gave to the rest of the world was the gift of the Indians to Columbus Ringgold. Don't miss Ringgold from the Maya to the Moon. For these and other worthwhile videos from the archives of New Mexico State University's award-winning Department of Agricultural Communications call toll-free 1-888-750-4156. Most titles are 2495 plus shipping. Major credit cards accepted. And now for our feature presentation. They have been called the Sky Islands, a wonderland of rocks. And by resident Apache natives, the land of standing up rocks. Welcome to the Chiracaua Mountains. This inactive volcanic range located in southeast Arizona borders the state of New Mexico to the east and the country of Mexico to the south. The Chiracauas are home to a wide range of unusual animals and an eclectic selection of plants. Why these varied species exist here is partially due to the mountains attracting the limited precipitation that passes over the surrounding desert. This is the basic idea of the Sky Island concept. But more on that a bit later. Perhaps it is best to reflect on the ancient past first and understand how these amazing mountains came to be. What forces shaped this unique range? Why did the Chiracauas rise so rapidly from the desert basin? And how did it come to be that there is such a variety of rock forms in this area? Probably the most striking feature of the range is in the northwest section. Here at the Chiracaua National Monument extraordinary rock pinnacles are found. Spires, hoodoos, balanced rocks, towering columns. These natural formations are what attract many here. But long before they were formed there was a series of cataclysmic events that set the stage for these spectacular natural sculptures. The geologic story of the Chiracauas is one filled with violent, fascinating events. The first major occurrence that affected this area occurred 600 miles to the west of here where North America meets the Pacific. 30 million years ago the Pacific Plate was forced under the westward moving North American Plate. The Pacific Plate was shoved down into the mantle where it was turned into magma or melted rock. A gigantic magma chamber was formed right here under the Chiracaua region. Behind me on the high crests of the Chiracaua Mountains are the remnants of the Turkey Creek caldera that erupted here 27 million years ago. That eruption ejected vast amounts of volcanic ash, cinders and bombs into the atmosphere. Accompanying that eruption were fast moving clouds of incadescent gases that rushed down the hillside in speeds of more than 100 miles an hour. Building up this large volcano that eventually collapsed inward and has since eroded to the remnants that are left on the high crest of the Chiracauas. Some of you may remember the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington State. This eruption here was 1,000 times greater, producing a caldera 5,000 feet deep and 12 miles across. This trail cut is an excellent exposure of the volcanic tuff that was exposed here 27 million years ago with the eruption of the Turkey Creek caldera. The fragments that you see here are pumice, soft rock permeated by gas bubbles. The white streaks are pumice that has been crushed by the heat and the weight of the overlying ash. In between the two are small crystals of silica and fellspar and volcanic glass that make up the bulk of the tuff. The next big cataclysmic event that occurred here was during basin and range faulting, during which some blocks of the Earth's crust were pushed up and others were dropped down. Uplifted blocks produced mountains such as the Chiracauas. Blocks that dropped down produced basins such as the San Simone Valley here on the Arizona-New Mexico border. It was during the cooler, wetter periods of the last ice age that the maze of narrow canyons and awesome pinnacles were formed. As frost and ice wedged into cracks, the rhyolite tuff began to split. Water runoff between freeze and thaw also aided the process. Today, the results of this relentless ice age erosion can be easily seen if you know what to look for. I'm standing here in a slot canyon. This is the perfect example of weathering that occurred during the last ice age. Repeated freezing and thawing of ice in joints such as this roughed out these large-scale features. A process that was quite active during the last ice age but has since come to a virtual standstill. It has been 10,000 years since the last ice age. The climate has become increasingly warmer, drier. This has dramatically slowed down the erosion of the pinnacles here at the Chiracauas. But it has not stopped completely. What you see on much of the tuff today are lichen. These plant colonies consist of fungus and algae that contribute to the continued erosion of the spires. Lichens produce acids that etch minerals such as feldspar and silica in the rhyolite. These acids concentrate minerals on rock surfaces which then form a type of rock varnish. The lichens also expand when they are wedded by rain. These plants can exert enough pressure to dislodge minerals and chip off rock flakes. And so the erosion process continues. It would appear that these pinnacles could be easily toppled by earthquakes. Yet studies indicate that they could withstand 12 to 13 times their stress weight. So you can be assured that these pinnacles will be here for many generations to enjoy. The grandeur of this magnificent mountain range extends beyond the area of the pinnacles. The Chiricawis thrust up almost 5,000 feet from the surrounding desert floor to its highest peak, almost 9,800 feet above sea level. This dramatic relief is characteristic of some 40 neighboring mountain groups that exist in southeast Arizona, southwest New Mexico, and northern Mexico. Scientists label this complex the Madrean Archipelago. An archipelago is a large group of islands which aptly describes these mountains rising above the surrounding desert landscape. But there is perhaps a better term for the Chiricawis and its isolated mountain ranges. They make up what many simply call the Sky Islands. The Sky Island concept is based on water. These mountains behind me trap the limited precipitation from weather systems as they move across the arid plains. Here in the flats we might only get about 8 inches of precipitation annually, while the base of the Chiricawis might get 15 inches, and the tallest peaks might receive more than twice of that annually. Temperature also plays a critical role in the Sky Island story. If I were to stay here at these low elevations on this August day, temperatures will easily reach into the 100 degrees. But here in the comfortable high peaks, it will probably only get up into the 80s. It's the height of these mountains relative to their surroundings that create this virtual oasis in the desert. Here's how it works. As weather systems are forced up over the Chiricawis, the air masses are quickly cooled. The moisture condenses into rain which is then released over the mountains. It is the progression of the water-filled storms crossing the desert floors, then being captured by the tall mountain peaks that create the Sky Islands. Because of the nourishing water, plants and animals thrive in these mountain ecosystems. The Chiricawis are the most massive of the Sky Islands in the Mediterranean archipelago and support a rich and varied forest. The Sky Islands are biotic islands as well as climatic islands. With the vast expanses of hot desert separating each mountain ecosystem, a kind of island isolation exists. The plants from the mountains simply stop growing at the desert's edge. Isolation holds especially true for some reptiles and small animals. They cannot survive the long trek over the parched desert in order to reach another Sky Island. Only birds and larger mobile animals who can quickly travel the distance between these mountain oases have that choice. For many animals here, life is played out exclusively in the Chiricawis Sky Islands. It is where they will remain their entire lifetime. The summer monsoon rains bring most of the precipitation here. From July through September, more water flows as large storms develop. Waterfalls spring from the hillsides.  Both plant and animal thrive. Summer storms are so frequent that they made a strong impression on the Chiricawa Apache, residents of these mountains for centuries. The Chiricawis believed that the noise heard during the storms was created by the thunder people and that lightning itself was considered the arrow of the thunder people. Called lightnings or thunder's arrow, some Apaches believed that certain flints found in the mountains and later used for hunting were actually shot during a thunderstorm by the thunder people. The Chiricawa Apache also honored the Child of Water, a character central to many ceremonies. The relative abundance of water in these mountain islands also explains why a certain original aquatic species still survives here today. Hidden along the banks of the Chiricawa streams is a colorful amphibian which got its name from this mountain range, herpetologist Phil Rosen. The Chiricawa leopard frog is actually a fairly widespread species in the Sierra Madre and even in the White Mountains of Arizona. It happened to first be recognized as a distinct species here in the Chiricawa Mountains along this stream. That's a great big pretty green frog. It's kind of a neat frog. If you have any taste for frogs, it's pretty much Kermit. Leopard frogs are a fairly ancient group and we know that a lot of the species, all of which are very similar to each other, are ancient. It looks like the Chiricawa leopard frog might be as old as 100,000 or even a million years. This mountain range is a big one in Southern Arizona, the biggest and the best watered, and presumably was one of the best places in Southern Arizona for the Chiricawa leopard frog at one time. At this point, there are very few left and we're actually trying to save them. The Chiricawa leopard frog is struggling with the Chiricawa today. Over the course of a number of years, the introduced species seem to have eliminated the Chiricawa leopard frog from almost every perennial stream in the Chiricawa. We're trying to preserve the genetic diversity of the species so it will be viable into the future. The significance here specifically for this set of Chiricawa leopard frogs is that there's a lot of environmental diversity for the frog. There are lush environments, springs, Sienegas, marshes, and small streams on the valley floor that can support very large numbers of frogs and there are these refugia up in the mountains that can support frogs in very dry times. So the diversity, the landscape diversity created by the Sky Islands is significant specifically here. So this is the best watered mountain range in Southern Arizona. It's got the most fish and most fish species and it has lots of good habitat therefore for this relatively aquatic frog. Among the fish species of the Chiricawas several exist that are indigenous to these mountain islands, native types that began here long ago. This is Leslie Canyon. Through vigilant efforts of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, introduced fish types have been kept out of these waters in the Southern Chiricawas. The result? Two native fish species have been able to survive along with the Chiricawas leopard frog. The Yaki Chub is a small minnow. At full size it will be maybe four to six inches. The Yaki Chub isn't a endangered species and it's found only in the United States now on two wildlife refuges near the ones in the Chiricawas and then it's found in West Turkey Creek and the Chiricawas too. So there's three populations of the Chub now. The most distinctive thing on the Yaki Chub is the triangular black spot at the base of the tail. The Longfin Dace is another native minnow to the Chiricawas. It's probably three inches long as an adult. It has a black and gold colored stripe along the side of the body that goes the whole length of the body and it also has a round spot at the tail. It's probably the abundant native fish although it has declined over the last 20 to 30 years. It's still one of the few native fishes that's doing fairly well. The native fishes of the Chiricawas they have some unique adaptations. The Longfin Dace can be found in streams that dry up. There's some evidence that they dry up during the day that the fish will get under mats of algae or leaves that are wet and that's kind of one of its adaptations for drought. With the Yaki fishes the isolation here is that they have small stretches of stream depending on the rainfall and the year they'll expand and contract but they very rarely ever get a big enough rainfall that they connect with the main streams down in Mexico. So basically the fish in the Chiricawas are becoming isolated because they never connect. They've been here an incredibly long time back when there was more connection of the different rivers in this area so they've been here hundreds of thousands of years. As the desert expanded in the valleys the sky islands in a lot of cases are the last refuge for these fishes so that even though there's small habitats and there's not much water they can survive through time here. If you take the time to look at them and watch them they're really fascinating fish and very beautiful fish and uniquely adapted to the Chiricawas. Further down the slopes of the sky islands the role of water plays out in a very different way. These are the surrounding foothills of the Chiricawas. Elevation here is in the 4 to 5,000 foot range. Rainfall is considerably less than at the peaks but the foothills do benefit from precipitation gathering properties of the sky islands. While the flow of surface water from the mountaintops can flow directly into the surrounding desert basins often the route is less direct. Much of it goes underground instead of traveling the entire length of the slopes. Lower elevations are not deprived of surface water however. They receive substantial amounts of precipitation compared to the nearby basins just because of their proximity to the geomass of the major peaks a principle which scientists call the Miriam effect. The result an amazing mixture of plant communities unique to this elevation. These foothills surrounding the Chiricawas mountains exhibit different kinds of plants throughout the year. Right now it is autumn a time that the Chiricawapache referred to as the earth is reddish brown and in this reddish brown earth there are some surprising plants plants we wouldn't expect to find in a dry desert environment. Hiding out in the cracks and crevices of these rock outcrops are the deserts resurrection plants and what we have here is a desert moss. Now we normally expect to find mosses in wet moist areas along a stream, a brook, by a waterfall but these mosses live out their lives in a dormant state dry, shriveled, seemingly dead and in the summer rains they spring to life. The moss life cycle requires that the sperm swim in a film of water across the surface of the plant to the egg. Fertilization takes place and then the life cycle begins again. Another example of a desert resurrection plant is this desert cloak fern growing next to this barrel cactus and here we have the contrast of water and desert life. The fern like the moss fires water for its life cycle and so it waits for the rains. The cactus stores its water in its tissue using it whenever it needs it. These desert survivors are here throughout the year but in the spring when temperature and precipitation are just right these same hills become covered in magnificent color. While the desert bloom of the foothills is certainly a sight to behold it is not what necessarily separates the Chiracahuas from other southwest mountain ranges. Rather it is where these sky islands sit in relationship to four very different biomes or major ecosystems that make it so special. Because of its whereabouts this range is a meeting place for many of the living things that surround it. There are about 20 sky island complexes around the world but the Chiracahuas and other sky islands of the Madrean Archipelago are unique for a number of reasons. Its mid-latitude position on the globe placed it on the edge of the ice age. While sky islands in more northern latitudes witnessed mass extinctions of species the Chiracahuas and the other sky islands in the Madrean Archipelago were relatively untouched. The significance? Ancient species from that time still remain in the Chiracahuas. The Madrean complex also has a north-south axis which spans about 250 miles. Running through it east to west is the deming gap of the Rocky Mountains. The importance? Easier movement of animals from all directions making it a more diverse habitat than many sky island complexes. And lastly the Madrean is the only sky island group which straddles two major plant zones two major animal zones and elements of three major climates which include tropical, subtropical and temperate zones. The result? A combination of plants and animals unsurpassed by any sky island complex on the planet. That's what makes the Chiracahuas Mountains so unique. You've heard the popular phrase location, location, location? Well the Chiracahuas Mountains are the biological crossroads where four major ecosystems come into contact and this results in a very unique plant and animal community that's found nowhere else on the earth. What you have here are the biotic representatives of two of North America's greatest deserts the Chihuahuan from the east and the Sonoran from the west. And then the life forms of two major mountain ecosystems also join here the Rocky Mountains from the north and the Sierra Madre of Mexico from the south. For a forest scientist like myself the Chiracahuas offer an area unsurpassed in the variety of plant forms found in North America. Let me show you some distinct examples from the four ecosystems. Here we have a representative of the Rocky Mountain ecosystem Anglemen spruce. These sky islands are the southern most extension of the species. Anglemen looks very similar to white fir which also grows here and more closely you can identify the species by its sharp pointed needles. Anglemen spruce is well adapted to the heavy snowfalls that can occur in the high peaks of the Chiracahuas. Its branches have a downward drooping look to them giving this tree the ability to shed snow more easily. Here we have an example of a tree from the Sierra Madre ecosystem the Apache Pine. This is at the northern end of its natural range. Probably the most distinguishing feature of this tree is its extremely long needles which add a special look to the Madrean influence forest of the Chiracahuas. Apache Pine with its distinctive red bark graces many of the lower canyons of these mountain islands. The influence of the surrounding desert biomes is quite evident in the dry foothills of the Chiracahuas. A distinctively Sonoran plant growing here is the Cain Choya. This cactus is quite small, only about 5 to 10 inches high but it has extremely long needles in relationship to its size. Like all Choya cacti it has the characteristic photosynthetic stem and reduced leaves. And here, representative of the Chihuahuan ecosystem is the soap tree yucca. This soap tree derived its name from its root. Native Americans would mash the root from this yucca into a usable substance that would serve as soap. The soap tree, like all yuccas, is a member of the Lily family. This dry land relative shows its floral elegance in the late spring with plentiful white blooms. They are so prolific in the Chihuahuan desert that the state of New Mexico has proclaimed the soap tree yucca its state flower. Just like some of the plants in these mountains animals representing the four ecosystems that surround the Chiracahuas are also found here. But locating a distinct Rocky Mountain species one that exists in the Chiracahuas but not predominantly in the other three ecosystems is difficult at best. John Boran explains. Many of the animals here, like the mule deer and black bear, reside in the Rocky Mountains. But they also occur in the surrounding ecosystems in about the same number. Therefore, there's really no clear cut Rocky Mountain animal representative. An ecosystem that contributes a great number of interesting animals is the Sierra Madre in Mexico. The species from that region that is easily seen here in the Chiracahuas is the Coos Deer. Coos Deer are desert white tails. They're well adapted for hot and dry conditions. You'll notice that Coos Deer aren't very large. In fact, they're seldom over 120 pounds in size. In addition, you'll notice that they have relatively large ears compared to the rest of their body. This species is very elusive and quite alert. When the Coos Deer is alarmed, you may see the tail lift upward showing the white underside. You may even hear the deer snort. Coos Deer occur in a wide range of habitat types. But generally, you're going to find them up in the rough, rushy country in the higher elevations of these desert mountains. Coos Deer will prefer oak woodland and oak pine woodland communities like here near this area near Sunny Flat. In spring, these deer consume large amounts of new twig and leaf growth from a variety of woody species. But they also eat forbs and grasses during this time. By the end of the growing season, they're primarily towards brows, such as leaves from oak trees. Another Sierra Madre animal that sometimes chooses the Chiricahuas at its home is a Quata Monday, or commonly called a Quati. It is in the canyon bottoms, like here at South Fork, that you might just have the opportunity to spot one. Quatis are mammals that are about 7 to 10 pounds the size of maybe a cocker spaniel or a really large house cat. Quatis are really a tropical animal. They get down into the tropical rainforest of South America, up through Central America, and they're found throughout Mexico and we're at the northern extreme of the range, some of these sky islands down in Southern Arizona. John Koprowski has been doing research on Quatis here in the Chiricahuas National Monument. By tracking the animals with radio collars, he and his team have discovered some interesting behavior. Quatis here in Southern Arizona are much different in some of their behaviors than the species is in the tropics where they've been probably the best studied. We've had animals go as far as 5 or 6 miles in search of food throughout the course of the day and that's very unlike something you would see in really lush tropical habitats. When you get a good look at a Quati, watch the nose. It's probably the most unique aspect of the animal. The nose looks like another appendage. They're often rooting around under leaf litter. They roll over rocks almost half their size. They can roll them over, find a variety of beetles, lizards, snakes. They'll go after all those things and they're able to find them using that nose. Probably the most striking thing that anyone would notice if you're following these guys for very long is that of their social behavior. They travel in really large groups. The groups can be 15 or 20 animals at times. In the Chiricahuas there have been some reports of groups greater than 40 individuals. You may think that the Quati would be the most unusual animal from the Sierra Madre ecosystem that could be found here in the Chiricahuas mountains. But that's not the case. What about a large spotted mammal? One that we generally picture in a steamy South American jungle. Well that's exactly what one local rancher, Warner Glen observed, about 20 miles from where we're standing. Big head.  What Warner encountered was the largest cat in the Americas, a jaguar. In the last 150 years there have been only 54 confirmed sightings in Arizona. Fortunately, Glen had the presence of mind to photograph this historic encounter. When I looked at that jaguar on that rock it was just this big, just a beautiful cat and kind of a buff cinnamon type of orangish color with the black spotter rosette pattern. I would think that his body was approximately five feet. It was just an absolute thing of beauty sitting there. It's a most, well I've seen a lot of wildlife and it was the most beautiful wild animal I've ever seen. Warner Glen was hunting a mountain lion when his dog first saw this impressive cat. When two of his dogs broke away, Warner followed, hoping to catch them before they would get entangled with the jaguar. He was on a ledge and he was what I called Bade on this ledge. After the second time that the dogs Bade him I got in to take the close pictures that I took of him. I was starting to try to get my dogs away.  Now this jaguar didn't do that. He was locked on to my eyes. When I got in close he looked at me and his eyes never left mine and now he came out there and he was the only thing to save me when those two dogs ran in and met him head on. He pulled those two dogs right in there with him. Although Warner's dogs were bitten and clawed they both somehow managed to escape and survive the attack soon after the jaguar sped off. From the spot I saw the jaguar to the edge of the church house it would be approximately 20 miles, not that far. Jaguar could do that one night. It was a wonderful experience for me. One that you may dream of and then it happens so rarely you finally quit dreaming of them and I'm glad I got the photographs of it so other people can just see what I saw that day. Few of us will ever have the rare opportunity to see a jaguar like Warner Glenn did but you may have a little bit better luck spotting another elusive creature that lives here in the Chiricawas. It is a common resident of the Snorin ecosystem. It is the seldom seen heli-monster. Why is this reptile so difficult to observe? Because it wonders above ground only about 5% of its entire life. That's when this colorful lizard searches for food in the lower, drier elevations of the Chiricawas. The other 95% of the heli-monster's time is spent sheltered below ground in its dark, cool burrows.  Underneath each scale or bump is a separate bone plate giving the animal a tough outer hide that protects it from predators. Not only is a heli-monster America's largest and only poisonous lizard it is also our slowest moving lizard. Now heli-monsters have a forked tongue that they use to sense out their prey while most other lizards really rely on their vision rather than sensing with their tongue. The jaws of the heli-monster are extremely powerful to be taken not to get too close to one. Their teeth have sharp cutting edges and are grooved. When it attacks its prey the lizard clamps down and chews. This action allows the venom to flow down the vertical grooves in its mouth and into the wound.  Heli-monsters actively seek whatever foods are available. They feed primarily on small animals such as desert cottontails and squirrels. They also eat eggs from ground-nesting birds and reptiles.  So efficient is this storage system that the heli-monster can sustain itself for an entire year on only three to four meals. The biological crossroads concept would not be complete unless we discussed some animals from the Chihuahuan desert that do reside here in the Chericahua Mountains. A number of Chihuahuan species make the sky island their home but perhaps one of the more fascinating of these animals is Halena. Also called the collared peccary this animal ranges into the Sonoran desert but is widely distributed in the Chihuahuan ecosystem. Halena are generally two feet tall and weigh approximately 40 to 50 pounds. They prefer brushy semi-desert habitats with cacti, oaks, chaparral and mesquite much like here in the lower elevations of the Chericahuas. It is here that they feed on a variety of foods including nuts, berries, fruits, seeds, grubs and bird eggs. An important food source for this species is the prickly pear cactus. In fact, it supplies most of the water requirements for the Halena. With its life sustaining nourishment that it gets from cacti, Halena can go days without any free standing water. The Halena is not the same as a wild boar or wild pig. It is in the Tasasuidae family while the wild boar and domestic pig are in the Suidae family. What distinguishes these two animal groups is the location of their upper teeth or tusks. Halenas are pointed downward while the upper canines of a wild boar are curved or flared upwards. Halena are usually seeding groups of 2 to 25 animals. In fact, they are very social animals and will remain in the same group year round. Obviously, the Chericahuas are a great place to visit if you'd like to see a wide variety of animals. With a little bit of time and patience, you'll have the opportunity to spot creatures from two diverse deserts and two major mountain ranges. The proximity of the Chericahuas to these large unique ecosystems makes it a biological crossroads that just shouldn't be missed. Of all the animals that live in the Chericahuas, none is more sought after than those that fly. Birdwatchers come from all over America and indeed the world to see the different species that reside here in these mountain islands. And as with other animal types that meet here at this biological crossroads, birds from all four of the surrounding biomes are also represented.  Several species can be found throughout the range. A good place to see them are at the feeders at Spofford's Ranch or the Southwest Research Station. The well-watered canyons of these sky islands provide a breeding ground for insects. This attracts a number of fly catchers. Other insect eating birds are also present. The soft wood of pines and sycamores attract different woodpecker species. These trees provide shelter. They also often harbor insects under the bark, an ideal place to find the next meal. There are finches. Warblers can be found throughout the range. Ground feeders are also abundant in the Chiricahuas. But it is the sheer variety of colorful species that attract many birdwatchers here. Over 300 bird species are found in the Chiricahuas. But perhaps the most colorful, the most sought after, is one that resides here in the Cave Creek area. It is called the Elegant Trogon. This neotropical bird ranges from the rainforests of Costa Rica to its northernmost limit, the Sky Islands of Arizona. People come from all over to see this beautiful creature. Understandably so. It is only here in these Sky Islands that Trogons nest in the U.S. But it is the bird's rainbow of colors that makes this species highly prized by birdwatchers. It easily lives up to its name, the Elegant Trogon. Males have eight distinct colors.  And a white tail. On its mostly black face, a yellow bill stands out. Along with an orange eye ring. Depending on the light, feathers on its back range from iridescent emerald green to a shimmering turquoise blue. Likewise, the upper tail feathers appear all of green or metallic brown. Its wings are a dark, smoky gray. The female Trogon, while not as brilliant in color as the male, has its own special beauty.  A more subtle rose-colored breast. Well-defined black bars on the undertale. And a gray brown back. An ordinary metallic brown tail gives this species its former label. The coppery-tailed Trogon. While color makes the Elegant Trogons literally stand out in the Chiricahuas, they have other, less noticeable characteristics. Ones that show just how highly adapted this bird is to its Sky Island environment. The Elegant Trogon, unlike all other species of Trogons in the world, are the only species in the family. Elegant Trogons are the only species that don't create their own nest. The Elegant Trogon lives primarily in cavities excavated by woodpeckers. The primary cavity excavator in the Chiricahuas mountains would be the Acorn Woodpecker. Their cavities are slightly too small for Elegant Trogons. But it turns out that the northern flicker, the red shaft it forms the subspecies that we have here, enlarges these nest cavities to just the right dimensions for Elegant Trogons. So that the Trogons are dependent on not just one woodpecker species, but two, for about 95% of all their cavities. The other 5% are naturally occurring cavities in sycamores. Another adaptation of the Elegant Trogon is its foraging style armed with an effective serrated bill and superior aerial skills the Trogon can get to food that its competitors cannot. They're after a wide variety of plant and animal foods and they're competing with species such as the American Rob and the Mexican J which are both here in abundance in the same area. But because they hover pluck fruit something that neither a Robin nor a J can do and because they're going for larva further out on twigs because they're sit and wait predators looking for extremely slow-moving prey they're able to find plenty of food from everything I've ever observed. It is late May within the Chiracaua Wilderness along upper reaches of South Fork Creek the Elegant Trogons have returned from spending their winter in the warmer climes of Mexico south of the border. This is nest number one. This Trogon pair has chosen a tight-fitting cavity in a dead ponderosa pine for the second consecutive year. The choice is a bit unusual since two-thirds of Elegant Trogon nests are usually found in Sycamore trees. Throughout the day the male and female relieve each other from caring for the eggs. They are extremely nest attentive with one of the two staying within the cavity about 90% of the time. This female has been waiting for over an hour. Shift changes today have been occurring about every 45 minutes. As the heat of the day rises temperatures within the nest can reach maximum levels for an adult Trogon. She calls repeatedly for her mate. After another 10 minutes the male finally returns. The two take turns at incubation throughout the day but it is the female who covers the eggs at night. About three weeks after the first egg is laid the hatchlings will emerge. Several miles downstream near where the South Fork meets Cave Creek a different pair of Trogons are nesting. This is nest number 2 located about 20 feet high in an abandoned cavity of a Sycamore tree. The Elegant Trogons here are also busy with incubation activities each taking turns with the duties. There are only between 20 to 30 Trogons that reside in the Cave Creek area of the Chericoas in any given year with only about 5 to 7 miles of prime nesting habitat here nests can be as frequent as 3 to a mile. On occasion they are as close as 200 yards from each other. Surface water is usually present in the prime Trogon nesting habitat. The stream environment allows for healthy tree growth which provides nesting opportunities. It also creates a haven for other plants which harbor insects that Trogons feed on. Some plants like this green viney canyon grape on the left produce fruit a basic food for this neotropical bird. Elegant Trogons reside in several other canyons in the Chericoas as well as similar environments in other neighboring sky islands. This special mix of water, plants and food are rare however. This bird is one of the rarest breeding species in the United States. Adult populations in these Arizona sky islands are estimated at around 100. It is early July at nest number one. Usually by now the nourishing monsoons summer rains have begun but this year they are late. South Fort Creek is almost totally dry and the day's heat begins early this morning. There is no activity at nest number one. By now the young should be chirping for food but only the sound of cicadas can be heard. The Trogons have abandoned the pine tree here even after waiting hours there is no sign of life at nest number one. There are a number of possibilities why the birds have left. The eggs could have been eaten by a snake. They have been known to climb to such heights to reach Trogon eggs. One of the parents could have been attacked by a predator. Cooper's Hawks are Trogon's chief threat and they often search the canyons of Cave Creek. The incubation duties could then overwhelm a single bird. Or it is possible that there was too much human activity around the nest. Trogons have been known to abandon nests where humans continually get too close. Whatever the reason nest number one will not contribute to the Chiracawa Trogon population this year. But there is good news at nest number two. Newborn fledglings can be heard from the Sycamore above. Both parents are busy gathering insects to feed their young. While Cave Creek is dry right now the area still hosts a number of different insects. The male brings a moth caterpillar and on the next trip an adult moth. The female captures an angle-winged Katie did and later a short horned grasshopper. The male returns minutes later with a cicada. The environment around Cave Creek is producing insects well this year. The Trogons bring a constant stream of fresh food for their young. They arrive about every 5 to 15 minutes with another insect. In less than a week this brood of young Trogons will be leaving the nest. It is now mid-August. Nests number two is quiet now. The Trogon family left a number of weeks ago but remain nearby. On this day the juveniles favor a thick stand of medrean oak. Both sexes of these young birds bear their mother's characteristic teardrop located just below the eye.  It has been suggested that this mark helps diffuse aggression from the father toward the male juveniles for a few months. The parents are still supplying food to their young but the diet now is predominantly fruit, choked cherry, canyon grape, buckthorn berry. Some juveniles though are beginning to forge for themselves. And as the August days roll on the juveniles become more confident with flight. It is certainly time for the family will be departing the Chiracahuas in just a few weeks to find new climates for the winter. While elegant Trogons range from Central America to just over the United States border the elegance from this region are believed to winter somewhere in the northern Mexico states. But for the juveniles who have just acquired flying skills the trip is quite arduous. Only about half of the young Trogons will survive the first year. Of that group nearly 90% are lost to disease or predation. Elegant Trogons are very watchful. They're very nest attentive. The adults invest a great deal of energy in bringing off the two young as the average for most nests. So that the survivorship is fairly high but once again with a single nest and only two young in it you can see the Trogon recruitment into any canyon is very slow. I think that with present habitat management policies by the Forest Service and self governing policies exhibited by this generation of bird watchers that we're not apt to see the Trogons disappear at any time in the near future. It is now fall. The Trogon family from nest number two flew south weeks ago with luck all of them will return again next year to the Chiricahuas but it won't be until next spring that their familiar call will be heard again. Then the process of producing another generation will begin. The Elegant Trogon is symbolic of one of the richest breeding bird communities in the United States. The rhythms of nature in Cave Creek and South Fork are special. The continuity here assures the continuance of the bird from the south. Traveling through the forest trails of these mountain islands one can witness different vegetational zones as the elevation changes. But like so many things in the Chiricahuas the vegetation here doesn't quite resemble other western forests. One of the roles that scientists feel they have is to try and bring order to the apparent disorder that mother nature often presents us. The only way we try to do that is to classify plants into different zones. These so-called zones are often well-defined in many of our western forests with specific trees growing at specific elevations in these forests. However, here in the sky islands of the Chiricahuas all bets are off. The plants do not lay out in neat ecological zones like we might expect. In fact, some people have referred to the Chiricahuas as the vegetation zones. We've got the intersection of the two deserts, the Chihuahua and the Sonoran Desert. Plus we have the forests of the Sierra Madre coming in and the forests of the Rocky Mountains coming in here. So we have a tremendous diversity of plants. In this area alone we've got Arizona Sycamore we have Arizona Cyprus and the Chiricahuas Mountains along two forest service trails and along the way we'll stop at different areas in the forest and try to make some botanical sense of what we find there. So let's get started. One of the fascinating things about the forest during the rainy season is a tremendous bloom of mushrooms that we'll find on the forest floor. This particular fungus that we have here appears to be a wood rotting type fungus. Yes, it's got the gills. These fungi are very important food sources for all sorts of wildlife during this time of year. Let's head on up the trail and see what else we can find. We've only come a few hundred yards from where we looked at the mushrooms along the stream there, but already you can see the tremendous change in the ecosystem here. We're in a much drier site according to my altimeter we're at 5,500 feet as a traditional oak woodland. But there's still a fair amount of confusion in this particular site here. We've got Arizona cypress that's normally found in much wetter sites and over here we've got several species of oaks from the Sierra Madre region and we even have the Chihuahua Pine, which is very characteristic of the Sierra Madres. Now let's go on to the high country. We're on the north side of the Chiricahua Mountains now and we're at an elevation of 8,140 feet. So we're at a much moisture site, it's a lot cooler here and we see differences in the species composition. For example the tree on my right, this is Douglas fir, it's a major timber species in the northwest and it's fairly important here as well. But this tree will occupy the site shade the ground make it a little moisture yet for this tree here will come in underneath it and soon overtop it. Now let's take a walk over to the south side of this mountain and see what species we have occupying the same sites at the same elevation. We've now come around the Chiricahua Mountains to a south-southeast facing slope and you can see we're in a much more open stand and it's predominantly ponderosa pine. We have some very nice old growth trees here and underneath them we have southwestern white pine coming in and also some Douglas fir. As we've seen here in the Chiricahuas there is a tremendous diversity of plants as we increase in elevation and even though these zones don't lay out as neatly as the textbooks describe we've still seen some wonderful micro-environments here in the Chiricahua Mountains. Truly the diversity of the Chiricahuas is outstanding. It's geology. It's abundance of water. It's plants. They all contribute to making this one of the more unique environments in North America. If not the world, the extremes of this region define both its borders and character. The Chiricahuas mark a blending of its surrounding biomes a biological crossroads between the Sonoran and the Chihuahuan the Rockies and the Sierra Madre. They are indeed distinct mountain islands in the desert.


Hello and welcome to the session. In this session we will discuss about inequalities. Two real numbers or two algebraic expressions related by the symbol this, this, this or this form and inequality. An inequality of the form AX plus B less than 0 is a strict inequality. An inequality of the form AX plus B greater than equal to 0 is a linear inequality in one variable X when we have A is not equal to 0 and inequality of the form AX plus BY greater than equal to C is a linear inequality in two variables X and Y when we have A is not equal to 0 and B is not equal to 0. Next we discuss algebraic solutions of linear inequalities in one variable and the graphical representation. Any solution of an inequality in one variable is a value of the variable which makes it a true statement. Then the set of the values of the variable which makes an inequality true statement is called the solution set of the inequality. Then we follow some rules to solve linear in equations like the first rule is equal numbers may be added to or subtracted from both sides and inequality without affecting the sign of inequality. Then next rule is both sides of an inequality can be multiplied or divided the same positive number when both sides are multiplied or divided by a negative number then the sign of inequality is reversed. Times of the inequality 4X plus 3 less than 5X plus 7. First we subtract 5X from both the sides so we have 4X plus 3 minus 5X is less than 5X plus 7 minus 5X and thus we get minus X plus 3 is less than 7. Now we subtract 3 from both the sides so we have minus X plus 3 minus 3 is less than 7 minus 3 which further gives us minus X is less than 4. Now we multiply both sides of this inequality by negative 1 so we have negative 1 multiplied by minus X and 4 multiplied by negative 1. Now we know that when we multiply both sides of an inequality by a negative number then the sign of the inequality is reversed so this sign changes to this and thus we get X is greater than minus 4. This is the solution of the given inequality and the solution set is given by minus 4 to infinity. If we to represent X less than a or X greater than a on the number line then what we do is we put a circle on the number a and dark line to the left or right of the number a and to represent X less than equal to a or X greater than equal to a on the number line we put a dark circle on the number a and dark the line to the left right of the number a. Now the inequality that we had considered in the above example that is this inequality we find that the solution for this inequality is X greater than minus 4. Now let's represent X greater than minus 4 on a number line. Now when we have X greater than minus 4 so in this case a would be minus 4 so we put a circle on minus 4 and we dark the line to the right of minus 4 that is this line. Now this is the solution X greater than minus 4. Now we discuss graphical solution of linear inequalities in two variables. We know that a line divides the Cartesian plane into two parts and each part is known as a half plane like a vertical line will divide the plane in the left and right half planes. Now this would be the left half plane and this would be the right half plane and a non vertical line will divide the plane into lower and upper half planes like this is the upper half plane and this is the lower half plane and a point in the Cartesian plane will either lie on the line or will lie in either of the half planes. Now we have the region containing all the solutions of an inequality is called the solution region. If we have that an inequality is of the type Ax plus By greater than equal to c or Ax plus By less than equal to c then the points on the line Ax plus By equal to c are also included in the solution region and if an inequality is of the form Ax plus By greater than c or Ax plus By less than c then the points on the line Ax plus By equal to c are not to be included in the solution region. Let's try and solve the inequality 2x minus y greater than equal to 1 graphically. For this first we will draw the graph for the line 2x minus y equal to 1. Now this is the line 2x minus y equal to 1 this line divides the plane into two half planes 1 and 2. Now what we do is we select a point say origin which is not on the line but which lies in one of the half planes like the origin lies in the plane 1 and we see if this point satisfies the given inequality like the given inequality is 2x minus y greater than equal to 1. Now when we put x equal to 0 and y equal to 0 in this we get this that is we have 0 is greater than equal to 1 which is false hence the plane 1 which contains the origin is not the solution region of the given inequality. This shaded portion is the solution region of the given inequality including the points on the line 2x minus y equal to 1. This is how we solve a given inequality graphically. Next we discuss solution of system of linear inequalities in two levels. Consider the system of linear inequalities x greater than equal to 3 y greater than equal to 2 let's try and solve this graphically. First let's consider the inequality x greater than equal to 3 let's find out the solution region for this inequality for this first we will draw the graph for x equal to 3 this is the line x equal to 3 now let's consider the origin 0 0 and let's see if this satisfies the given inequality x greater than equal to 3 when we put x equal to 0 in this inequality we get 0 is greater than equal to 3 which is false hence the region containing the origin is not the solution region for the inequality x greater than equal to 3 instead the region which does not contain the origin is the solution region now this shaded portion is the solution region for the inequality x greater than equal to 3 including the points on this line x equal to 3 next we consider y greater than equal to 2 for this we will draw the graph for y equal to 2 this is the line y equal to 2 now again we will consider the origin and let's see if the origin satisfies the given inequality y greater than equal to 2 when we put 0 in this inequality we get 0 greater than equal to 2 which is again false so the region containing the origin is not the solution region for the given inequality but instead the region which does not contain the origin is the solution region this portion shaded in green is the solution region for the inequality y greater than equal to 2 including the points on the line y equal to 2 now this region is common to both the solution regions so this shaded portion is the solution region for the system of linear inequalities this is how we solve the system of linear inequalities in two variables graphically this completes this session hope you have understood the concept of linear inequalities


Welcome everybody. I'm excited to see everybody here and I'm excited to have Chris join us today to talk about some interesting ways to ramp up your resources for some projects you might have on the go. A little bit about me and how I got involved with TechSoup. I've been involved in IT one second. I've got some background noise going on. Can you guys be quiet please? The joy of having kids at home and everyone in small condo. Sorry guys. And so I've been involved in IT for over 20 years. And I've been implementing operational systems for everything from nonprofits to small businesses to large organizations and government entities as well. I'm Google Cloud certified so I've been focusing lately on helping nonprofits get on Google for nonprofits as well as Google's G-Speed for nonprofits. And I know Eli presented a great little package there and the one thing kind of missing from there is the fact that Google for nonprofits is actually free, which is a great resource for all the nonprofits that we need to work more efficiently together. And I've been passionate about helping small businesses and nonprofits work more efficiently and implement better systems because I'm also the president of a nonprofit. So I am the president for the One Parent Families Association of Canada and I've been doing that for about a year but I've had a meetup group for that that's ran longer. One of my love for nonprofits and my love for technology led me to find NetSquared here and I saw they were looking for a Toronto organizer so I stepped up and I'm really excited to be here with everybody. And like Eli said, please reach out to me if you have any suggestions or want to become involved or want to present anything, would love to hear from you guys. So I am going to stop talking now so we can pass this on to Chris who's got a great presentation for you guys. And if you have any questions throughout just pop it in the chat and I'll interrupt him and see if we can get that answered. Thank you, Chris. Thank you, Sandra. And Eli, thank you for that great introduction. Awesome to see all the amazing packages you could give to nonprofits help them save money make things more efficient. I'm going to get started by sharing my screen right away. Super excited today to talk to everyone about modernizing your workforce. So there's some amazing platforms that exists like Upwork, Top Talent Fiver, that you could really leverage to be more productive both with your work or even personally and actually save money. So really excited for this chat today and hope ever get a lot out of it. Let's start things off with a quote. There are decades where nothing happens and there are weeks where decades happen. I felt like this really encapsulates the last 12 months well where a lot of organizations had maybe a 10 year plan to modernize a workforce to integrate new technologies, but all of a sudden coven 19 happens. The years were consolidated into what few weeks a few months, and you had to rapidly change the way your business operated the way your nonprofit operated to become more modern but also decentralized everyone's working from home. So there's a lot of implications of this and adapting to this key. And a lot of businesses have so right now 53% of companies and nonprofits have moved to more flexible talent. And what does that actually look like so in America, the number of freelancers that existed well from 2015 to 2020. There has been a 20% increase in the freelancers and that's expected to go up to 80 million by 2025. This is a substantial amount of the workforce. So a lot of these freelancers, a lot of them tend to be a bit younger. So in my age group to 25 to 34s, we're looking for more flexibility on where and when to work or choosing which projects to want to work on, on having direct bosses and more flexibility. So this isn't a temporary thing this is a complete shift and to help businesses operate into who the higher and how they hire. So the knowledge and the experience to understand how to leverage this workforce will be critical. Before we dive into anything I want to give a quick intro about who I am. So my name is Chris I'm from Toronto Canada. I'm a graduate from my top business school here, three time founder. I had one successful exit and one's actually current on on a million dollar revenue pace per year, just great. I work 30 businesses across 15 different industries from nonprofits to real estate to private equity media, food and beverage fashion, I've seen a lot of different industries, which allows me to really distill business principles to its core fundamentals. I understand how to apply it amongst any industry. I'm a Canadian delegate for the United Nations. Most recently, I will prior to Kobe you're able to travel. Most recently I was in Madrid to represent the not the private sector for Canada at the COP 25, which is the climate change conference. So today we're going to look for three key things one outsourcing what it actually is it's how do you figure out what task outsource, then it's finding talent and then finally managing that talent. All three of these are critical. The first outsourcing 101 so why should you outsource. How could you decide which role should be outsourced. And how can you answer some of your own tasks. So going from both business and even person outside of business. So this is a quote from a high level executive from a company called Ranger labs it's a technology company they deal with more business technologies. So just as our success is very much tied to how we use freelancers every day. The cost of savings savings are great but the real value is getting a distributed expertise. I got so many more brains working on a problem that I could never get hiring employees. So two things one the cost savings, but to the distributed expertise. I actually recently worked with a client who was headquartered in Singapore, the CEO was in the Ukraine. Their seat, chief technology officer was in South Africa, the head of product was the United States designer was in Italy, had a workforce crossing entire world. The reason being is because he was just looking for the best talent. So now people who are working previously just competing within your own city now compete globally. So you could find the best talent for the within your price range, making it much more competitive for freelancers, but much more effective for businesses and nonprofits to hire. So how do you decide which roles to outsource. This is a key question to use this I'm going to first walk through an example. Let's say you have a project, and you have a budget allocated towards it let's say it's a $50,000 budget for the year. And it's a fundraising event to throw this event to raise money for your nonprofit. Well, if we were to break that down let's say there's probably more components but just high level, there's money going to people, there's money going to events, the money going to marketing and then money going to admin. Break that down even further, and people you have some bank coordinators you have customer service sales event you have the venue you have food and beverage auction gifts, if it's not donated for the marketing of online offline to measure and report everything to making sure you're reaching your fundraising goals, and then admin you have accounts receivable and payable their software etc. If all these expenses and moving pieces within one thing called a project to eat the budget for. But the thing is within each of these you have a lot of opportunity to outsource and by outsourcing I don't mean completely replace a role. I mean, well that is one option but a second option is to complement a role to make your current employees and team members more efficient and effective. So let's take an example of marketing. So marketing we have online and offline within online marketing let's say we have Instagram Google ads Facebook ads webinars press all these different opportunities there's more. All of a sudden you have the opportunity to find talent to help manage your Instagram your Google ads your Facebook ads, all this talent is easy to find a commodity to get a really good price for high quality. And you could do something as big as high outsource for a marketing manager to manage all the online, manage online and offline or just find a specialist who knows Instagram really well. So let's say we do that let's say we find a specialist who knows Instagram really well. So Instagram has all these tasks, if the design posts to the right captions to organize and schedule posts engage with followers measurement reporting. This is a lot to do for one person. So by hiring extra talent, you don't have to hire a full time employee and all the costs that come with that. You could hire a specialist on the platform like upward which we'll get into later, who could really complement your team to help you allow you to focus on the better move the needle much more but delegate the things that are still necessary to do. And in terms of thinking about costs are saying of course how am I going to save money because I thought I'm paying an additional employee. Well let's say you earn $50 an hour if it were to break it down out. And you hire a freelancer that's worth $20 an hour, hypothetically, one you may think oh I'm spending $20 an hour, but the better way to think about it is actually saving $30 an hour. The reason being is now that hour that you had to do let's say managing that Instagram page, you could reallocate and focus more on tasks that are driving dry progress within your nonprofit or within your personal life. Things that are that are worth $50 now are not tasks that are worth 20. So by spending 20 you get to refocus on things that push or progress you forward and in doing so become more productive and more effective. So now let's go into how you can elsewhere some of your own tasks. So either within your company or yourself. And here there's a framework to use it's a well known framework but I really want to drive it home because of how powerful it actually is. It's called the Heisenhower matrix. Some of you may have already heard of it but it's good walking through. It has two accesses so reporting and not important and how you define important is up to you. So for example in my business I actually define it based on if it's or it could be potentially a revenue driver for one of my businesses or if it's not. And then urgent and not urgent. Does it have to be done today or the next week is there is a time sensitive or not. And with each of these accesses there's a certain quadrant and in that quadrant, it defines tasks differently. So you have the important and urgent tasks. So this is what you actually the focus on what you have to do. They're both add a lot of value to your business and your nonprofit, and they're time sensitive. So for example, let's say you run your nonprofit and you have this fundraising event, and you have a sales pitch next week to a large potential donor. That's very important and it's very urgent that has to go here and you have to do it. You have tasks like this, but the next quadrant is where a lot of the magic actually happens, the non urgent and important tasks. Here you have to decide and do so schedule it. The reason why this is a lot of where a lot of the magic happens in terms of growth for your nonprofit in terms of growth for your impact and your or your business is because these are the things no one's watching over you to do. So I'm asking you to let's say, for example, find a create a new fundraising strategy to have a stronger nonprofit. You could always do the same, but to grow your impact. These are the tasks you have to do they're more long term tasks not urgent but very important to do. And these you have to schedule and really prioritize it in your day. The third quadrant is the not urgent and non important these tasks to delete. So let's say it's as simple as scrolling through that your social media page throughout the day. You can be doing that because it distracts another time and it doesn't increase. It has no importance to your business and no urgency. You could always book a specific time to do more relaxing things like watch Netflix or Instagram this is just an example, but it shouldn't be part of your day to day work. And finally, which is part of the topic of conversation is delegate. It's not important, but it's urgent. These are the tasks you give give out to freelancers to work on. They're time sensitive. They don't accomplish any big goals specifically. So for example, I know it's bad timing but travel booking scheduling social content. Amazon purchases, replying to every email not every email is important for you to reply to data entry there's so many potential tasks you could outsource. And these goals in the delegate quadrant. So how do you actually use this. What you do is you take this quadrant you take every single task you have to do within your week, let's say it's meetings or work tasks or personal tasks, and you have to put it in one of these four boxes. And you start to realize how much, how much stuff you were doing that wasn't actually important, because if everything's a priority nothing else. The first time I actually implemented this matrix in my own life. I completely ignored anything below that urgent line. And just to see what my work life would be like just by focusing on the tasks that are truly important and never had a more productive week my life. So by delegating and deleting you individually become more productive and more effective as an employee as an individual to maybe it's in your loved ones or yourself and health and wellness or your business and nonprofit. Before we get into the finding those outsourcing one on one before we get to finding talents. Is there any specific questions we could look into. Otherwise we can leave it for the end it's not a problem I can't see the comments unfortunately. I don't see any questions that have come in yet. So I think you're good to keep going. Let me know what we can always say that for the end if you have. Yeah, so high level now that we know what to outsource so you have you figure out within your organization, what should be outsourced. Why it's important to outsource it's not cost it's an actual saving them to how to prioritize your own tasks or some of your own work. But secondly now it's how do you actually find this talent once you know what to outsource how do you find people to do the work. So we're going to go through the overview of Upwork Fiverr and top tells and great platforms. We're going to use upwards an example and how to hire freelancer just to keep it focused and some tips and tricks to find the perfect freelancer. So I have a lot of experience hiring freelancers with the only platform so I'm excited to share a lot of this with you. So the three platforms you have Fiverr Upwork and top tell and the reason I chose these three because there's much more like in Australia there's freelancer.com which is a very big one. But these are the three I want to focus on because they target different types of work. So the things I want to look over is unique selling proposition, the approval process for the freelancers who are you actually hiring the number of job categories and the deal project type. So first is Fiverr it's a very large and they're going to need selling problems job starting at $5. When it comes to the freelancers that they bring on, it's quite lenient you just got to have proof of identity so driver's license and email confirmation is pretty simple. But they have a vast range of job categories from logo creation, graphic design, maybe business plans, etc. But because they have a they're very lean in the approval process the talent pool tends to be a bit weaker or skew towards the top and those who have a large volume work so it's meant for more short term entry level projects. The second is Upwork and this is actually my favorite platform. And on Upwork you could hire the perfect freelancer for all project types. So as we see later in the job description you could choose between entry level work, intermediate work or expert level freelancers based on your budget and based on your job description. The filtering is actually quite strict so they actually get on as a freelancer you go through a filtering process and if your skill set is in high supply, then you probably won't actually get a profile because they don't need you as an add on.  Do you have a vast range of job categories you could get anything on here so I've actually done data work with freelancers here. I've hired a virtual assistant I've hired developers graphic designers, you can really find someone for anything. And it's meant for all project scope so what I like about Upwork is its flexibility based on what you actually need. The final is Top-Tel. Now Top-Tel is really meant for like they're in the beginning they're geared more towards technology companies, but they're starting to expand outside of that. And their key value proposition is they hire the top 3% freelancers. So they have an extremely strict filtering process that starts with a test to make sure you actually have like adequate knowledge on the topic. And they filter you through various interviews and case studies, until they only get the top 3% of talent pool that actually applies. And they filter job categories so it's more like project management, product management development, etc. And it's meant for mid to long term expert level contracts. So the reason I want to bring all three of these up is there's a platform for whatever need you potentially can have. So entry level ones, Top-Tel being those complex team based projects, you could hire an entire team on Top-Tel, and they have Upwork, which is very, very flexible, you can hire freelancers or agencies on it. It has a lot of power to it. So let's go through an example. Just focusing on one to keep it simple. We're going to use Upwork to source and hire talent. There are four steps so identify your need, create your job posting, filter and invite talent and hire. So let's go to identify your need, taking that example from the beginning of my presentation. So I say you're a marketing manager who needs assistance with Instagram, and you're executing on post planning design and schedule your budget for this is around $20 an hour. Great. Now that you know what you need to get done, then you could have a better understanding what your job posting shouldn't tell to then find the perfect person for that job. So that's your job posting. On Upwork, you have to write, you get started to short term or long term project of your title description details, the experience levels talking about the visibility so you can actually make it private to only those you invite. You can make it available to anyone on Upwork. The budget for the project that's based on hourly based on projects, so you actually choose what your budget is, and then you publish it. So a lot of key tips and tricks I want to walk through later on how to actually write a really, really good job description. Once you have it posted, you have to filter and invite talent. So there's, if it's difficult to see I'll explain what you're looking at so you have a filter button, and you can filter based on amount earned so that's basically a derivative of experience level on Upwork, the success score, hourly rates, talent types of agencies or freelancers, English level because it is an international platform, how necessary is it for them to be fluent in English, and the category. So once you have it filtered, you then search and you can invite talent. So here's a list of all potential talent I could have invited to the job based on my job description and based on my filters. And once you find your talent, you go through an interview process and you hire one.  So it's really simple and straightforward and intuitive. Now top talent I just wanted to bring this up because not all platforms are like this. And I handhold you because they are more focused on bigger projects more expensive projects. Here you actually talk to one of their experts, they figure out what you need for you, and they, they work with you to hand select talents, this has an average of 24 hours to do so, and they have a perfect fit for you. So you have an intermediary finding the talent for you. One leads to less, less choice, which is actually a good thing because you know what you're getting this quality. And to it actually increases the likelihood of success on the project because you have someone filter. So different platforms have different processes but Upwork seems to be the one common and amongst other platforms. So different tricks on this. This is key because I've done a lot of hiring on Upwork for my own businesses. And the key I found is knowing how to write a post and following these tricks to find the best talent. So the first one is writing a detailed job. First off, Upwork has an algorithm on who your talent with the best fit talent is and that's based on a lot of the keywords in your job description. So ensuring that you're writing a job description as detail oriented is key, but also secondly, higher quality freelancers respect job postings that have more detail because they're putting more time into it and it feels like the process is more serious. So writing a detailed job posting is great you'll you'll be surprised at how many job postings are just very general and simple and it's it causes less talent to want to apply. And two, it's a creative test for each step in the hiring process. So the steps that's like the women to be for is first writing a job posting I would usually always put a sentence like if you're reading this right the word banana in your cover letter something random like that to show that they actually read through it in detail. And then once they apply to the job and they pass that test then I get them test based on the job I was firing for. So for example, at one time I was hiring for a data entry job. And the first job posting was to see if they how well they could do managing Excel files. Once they pass that filter at a second task which was finding leads for me in Canada. It was a very small one that says 10 leads and based on the quality of that I had a final interview video interview with the remaining candidates. I wanted to filter talent and not waste my time video interviewing everyone set a step in each stage in the process that filter people out. Third is to start with a small project and then scale responsibilities. So, every time I hire someone I'd always start hourly, see how they work with me see the quality of their work. And then once they gain my trust, then we work into larger projects and integrate them more into my day to day to allow me to outsource roles with them organization or specific tasks that I have. And finally is to standardize the process. These are tips and tricks I'm sharing with you but I have a certain process that I have with myself that every time this is what I have in a job posting these are the things I want to list. I'm searching for talent. This is how I search this way it's scalable and I can, as my businesses or the nonprofit scale, you could also give this sort of playbook to other employees to leverage. So that's finding talents, it's quite simple on one of these platforms they make it easy for you to do, but there are ways to do it on a more expert level to make sure you find the best talent. And now once you have that talent, the final step is managing it. So let's dive into that. So how do you manage freelancer and how do you keep track of outsource talent. So how do you manage freelancers on these platforms, well, there's a tab called my hires and up work and here this is a list of actual hired people that I've hired in the past, and you can see a list of every single person you've hired before. So let's say I had a similar job that I really like the freelancer worked on it, I could click rehire give them the job posting and it's super simple to actually interact with them. There's also leverage outside technology we're talking about G Suite, there's Excel, and there's also a platform that's called air table that I really love. And there you just, you can do it on any one of these platforms you have a list of all your freelancers, you see what department they're in. That way you can see all right I need a developer. And you can see a list of all the developers you have or I need a accountant to list of all the accounts you've worked with in the past or bookkeeper sorry. And with that you could choose your talent accordingly. That's another way to do it. So I covered some of the price, the dollar amounts here but this is a freelancer I actually worked with and currently working with. And here I could see exactly what the budget is, how much has been been paid, what the tasks are and what she has to still do. And I could see, I could see the progress of the project. And then within the same area there's also messages and files so I could attach all files that are that are necessary for this project so here she's actually just redesigning my logo. And I have a logo design brief that I attached we we message here so I don't actually leave Upwork as a platform. They have a great mobile apps that's where I do all my messaging on it. And that's it. So we went through today outsourcing 101. We looked at finding talents, how to leverage these platforms to do so and then managing talent. Once you've hired them how do you actually manage them and control them on these platforms, and all could be done on for example Upwork it's all done in the platform, and you can leverage outside platforms to to enable this. Thank you for listening. I don't want to give anyone zoom fatigue because I know these presentations could be overwhelming if it's longer than 20 minutes so I'll leave it there open up to any questions. If you have or any problems you're facing we could spend the last few minutes discussing. So the last few minutes discussing any problems you have. Thank you. That was great Chris, and a fun fact I actually met Chris through Upwork because I was looking for some help and that's how we came to know each other so it's a great cool. I was really excited that you mentioned air table and somebody else Eli is mentioning air table as well. I've been, I've checked it out a little bit but it's ever you want to do another presentation on air table for us that would be cool. Yeah, no that'd be super fun. It looks really neat it looks really powerful to I just I haven't had too much time to play with it. It's a more of a visual. It's not as powerful Excel is Excel in terms of numbers and managing financials, but it's really powerful if you're trying to manage projects and if you use to use Excel for that eight tables are great replacement because they have cell options that allow for images or URLs or attachments and it all can really really organized and the filtering is really really strong really powerful. I like to do what managing, for example, people I do manage my freelancer through your table because it allows me to organize by department and connect other your table so it's a it's a great platform for sure. Hi there so this is Eli. So I've often yes struggled around the job description part. And then I do have been thinking about but haven't really started doing it is, do you sometimes maybe document out some workflows are like with a quick screen capture and make a quick video or how are you basically documenting out the required workflow so someone who's in a different time zone, maybe English isn't their first language is able to sort of follow through your expectations. And it's very professional. And it's very contextual. So, let's take that exact, let's take an example let's say you have a blog, and you want blog post to be posted. That's a specific process there's no creative thinking in there. What you can do I use some great platforms and I could type them in the chat. So I did your video art is actually a Canadian company moves to American one phenomenal screen reporting apps. So all I do is record my process, and then I write out the process. If it's something that I want to standardize and I don't want opinions or creative thinking on. Because of that, I don't need someone who's fluent in English, I don't need someone who's in my time zone, I could send them the project. I could just get it done with the same process. Right. But now let's say you're hiring someone that necessitates more thinking more delivery, maybe it's strategy work, maybe it's marketing work, whatever it is. What all of a sudden now your job description changes your filtering changes. Maybe it is a, let's say you're hiring a virtual assistant, well, you're going to need someone every day to chat with it makes sense for them to be in North America or with close within your time zone. If you're hiring someone's a marketing manager. Copywriting is a big part of that now it's a necessity to hire someone who's fluent in English, where times are still not a factor. So just think through the job you're outsourcing. And then within that job you could figure out, okay, what do I need within these filters, do they have to be within my country to my time zone. Do they have to be fluent in English, or, and do they need me to handle them within the process. So it's really contextual. Well, yeah, thank you I think that's right there are different kinds of work styles. And to this point, I've only done the, here's a very set process thing because it's easy for me just to offload that and say like, here it is, and it had done many times over, bringing someone in to be a more full partner and really like get what you're trying to work with I think it's a struggled with that and I'm curious I'm like optimistic to hear that you've had luck finding partners for that kind of work. Yeah, so I've actually for person I hired a virtual assistant, which seems like a lower entry level role but whoever had one has one knows how important is that they could really execute well because a lot of times they're writing emails for me. If I don't deem it necessary. And, and within that they got to really have strong writing skills have good thinking skills. So what I do there is I give them easy tasks to start with and then I scale up from there as they continue to gain my trust. So I ensure that the tasks in the beginning are more repeatable, systematic like you mentioned. And then I say, Okay, I could trust them there. Let's give them a bit more and then give them an inch of time, as opposed to just give them everything. But then again, Sandra mentioned that she met me and that was actually for a large marketing project. And there she would have to give a lot of trust to me as a potential marketer because she couldn't if you she was hand holding me she's not. She's wasting a lot of money on because I would charge a bit higher. She would waste a lot of money hand holding you should just have to trust within that, then you use other tips and tricks which is better filtering give them some tests, have the final interview at the end and to test for personality. So really, it's contextual but there's ways to do it where you could gain trust from people outside of your organization. Yeah, that's really helpful. Thank you. So if there's any more questions Matthew Linda Alex Laurie happen to answer. I think I'm through the chat. So many volunteer managers in the room because you know this this graduated level of scaling up responsibilities, you know, rings a lot of bells to me given the work that I've done which is always to say like, bring someone in for something that is safe and not time bound like, you know, if it goes wrong, it's okay.  I know I did try to hire some admin staff through, he goes to work as well.  And it was a good thing I did because it didn't work out.  And then I realized how much stuff I was doing that in half. But again, anything within delete or delegate I just ignored for five days. It's, it's not going to ruin anything with my work. I said I'm just going to ignore it and see what happens, instead of hiring someone to do it the short term. And like I mentioned, most productive week of my life because I was able to really focus on what matter and figure out what is a priority instead of just doing busy work to confusing progress with motion as I say. So once you could figure out what the delegate to be easier to figure out right now I know who's the first hire that I need to take a lot of these tasks off my plate. Absolutely. I think there's a quote I read, never mistake motion for action. Exactly. That's another version of it for sure. We have a question here from Lori. What about privacy and security issues with data entry, how can this be insured, or I guess what she means is how can you trust somebody. How can you do sensitive data entry for you when you don't know them. Yeah, so let's say you're working with something like it's a great question because it can be very valuable information. If it's something in the past when I've worked with data entry people. I tend to whenever I work with freelancers I tend to work with shared sheets at Google sheets for example. The reason being is you can really manage access to that information. So in the beginning what I always do is create a separate sheet that replicates what they would be seeing but removes a lot of that private information well, and then once they can gain their trust and their talent. Then I usually have them sign a privacy agreement in DA sometimes it's not really binding but it usually has a mentally known they can't take any information. And then from there I give them more access to the sheets but at any point I want I can revoke their access immediately. There are also ways within Google sheets where you could have privacy settings and what people can or can edit can and can copy. There's a lot of things you could do within sheets to help manage privacy for freelancers, which is a big reason why I work with work in it when working with others. I'm mistaken. Upwork has some sort of feature that it's got a screen recording I think so when the, the persons logged in it's recording their screen doing the work for the period they're building you for I think. Yeah, so that's for hourly work only and it's optional. Right, so it's a great point bringing up Sandra so let's say you want data entry work and you're paying hourly. So if you require your freelancer on Upwork to use the Upwork feature and like Sandra said it literally takes a screen capture every 10 minutes to see to show that they're actually working the project they are. So they're building appropriately. But that's also optional like I've worked with clients and I trusted them with the hourly wage they built before. And I mean anything can happen within those 10 minutes to. But yeah it's Lori it's always a concern, but that's why you inch your way into trusting anyone, just like you would an employee. I liked your suggestion there especially if it's a Google sheet. Lockdown like certain cells and stuff so that they can only edit those cells you want them to edit. Yeah, like I did one day and look at all of our revenue they get access to all of our revenue numbers cash numbers everything in one of my businesses, which is sensitive information but I locked all those cells, and only unlock the one column I had him work in every month. So he had specific access. Any other questions. No question to the line said will everyone have the presentation deck afterwards is that a possibility. If anyone does want the presentation deck they can email us or you can either email Chris directly or myself and we can send it to you. We don't by default have everyone's email addresses here. No, but what I can do Chris is if you send Sandra or me the slide deck, I will embed it into the blog post with the video, and then we'll send that link to all the members of the meetup and so we'll be and make sure that people have access to that. Okay, I'll definitely do that. Because a lot of these things sometimes can only be internalized when you look over it again or actually try it. My suggestion to everyone if you're willing to try it go on Upwork hire someone for something super small. Even if it's a task you don't need like design me a logo. I just they see that the process is like you spend $50 doing it, because you can get it for that cheap. You spend the dollars learning saying oh now I could get what I could actually use this. You start trusting people a bit more understanding actually outsource a lot of things I was doing. And to always keep in mind you're not spending money you're saving money because your time is worth more than what you're paying. That's true. All right, I guess that that wraps it up I don't see any other questions coming in. So thank you Chris again for everything that was amazing. And I dropped Chris's email and contact information in the chat earlier, as well as mine. If anyone wants to reach out and feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or want to get involved. Happy to connect with anyone on LinkedIn as well. And then assume not speak to for you but I assume Chris is happy to connect with you as well. Happy to connect with anyone, ask any questions. I'm here to support the community as Eli said and anyone who's looking to progress individually or within the orgs. Excellent. Thank you guys. Thank you. Lovely, thank you so much y'all. Have a great day. Bye.


Then the teaching has to happen through the right side. So we always have to sit on the right side. And this also shows like why one day Akhil had a meltdown in Ababa's and it was a major meltdown when he came home. And we all were upset and I asked him, Akhil, what happened? And he just said one day, he made a statement, you have to teach the world how to read my mind. Because he says I have to read people's mind. That is his operating system. Now imagine a challenge to his world when his operating system is like that. This is how he operates. And now on the other side, we are fighting with the whole world and telling. And again, coming in from a mother's perspective, like, who are you?  Where is the research? So this is the beginning.