FAQs

Operations

  • We know that outsourcing is often synonymous with unethical labor practices. Most outsourcing agencies do not pay their team members a fair wage or offer benefits, team members often pay for their own training and equipment, and clients are falsely promised dedicated support. There are even countries so focused on outsourcing, that their governments restrict fair labor practices so that wages stay low while also operating as an oligarchy, with huge wealth disparities funded by this type of work. We’re so passionate about the topic we wrote a blog about it.

    HigherRing was founded with the intention of being the opposite. We hire all our team members with at least a living wage for their region, plus benefits like medical, dental, vision, 401(k) with match, paid holidays, paid volunteer time, and employee ownership. Year over year we aim to increase our benefits offerings for our team based on the benefits they are most interested in. We perform an annual survey to get their feedback so that we remain in touch with the evolving needs of our workforce.

    In addition to our labor practices, we also claim ourselves as an ethical business because of our investment in our environmental impact and the climate crisis. We are a certified B Corp and certified Climate Neutral as well as a 1% for the Planet member.

    Learn more about how HigherRing does outsourcing differently.

  • At HigherRing we truly believe we are a partner to your business. We’re highly invested in your success and will work closely with you to ensure we are supporting your mission. Typically a recruiter or staffing agency will simply supply you with applicants, and their work is complete once they’ve filled the role.

    We recruit talented team members, hire them as HigherRing employees, and then contract them to work with you for your specified time slots. With HigherRing, you’re receiving so much more than a staffing agency or recruiter because we support the ongoing management of your team members. We support them in elevating their skill sets and adding to their knowledge base. We collaborate internally to help troubleshoot and problem-solve for our clients.

  • At HigherRing, we may recommend that you contract two team members who are trained to work in the same role, which we refer to as redundancy. There are many benefits to redundancy including:

    • Increased productivity with more hours

    • Staggered hours for more coverage

    • Team members can consult with each other to troubleshoot

    • Prevents disruption of service if a team member is sick or taking vacation

  • Once you've selected the service you're interested in and a contract has been sent out it is valid until the date indicated. After the contract is signed it will take us as little as two weeks to begin working with you. Please be advised that your specific start times will vary for a number of reasons, particularly if we need to recruit someone new for your specific role, which will be reflected in your contract. Your specific training is part of the billable time and does not begin until the start of the contract.

  • Not at all! Your contract is inclusive of all computer hardware, equipment accessories, and our security system. Any disruptions or damages to our hardware will be handled by HigherRing with no impact to you. That’s just one of the many perks of outsourcing with us!

    For clarity, please be aware that this does not include systems specific to your work. If your team member needs access to a paid system or platform we will ask you to procure a license or other access for your team member(s).

  • While we are happy to customize a package for your specific business needs, it is true that we recommend that you contract for a minimum of 10 hours/week for most of our service offerings.

    We have tested smaller increments in the past and have found that 10+ hours are usually the most successful in allowing us to think creatively and respond thoroughly to your needs. We want to ensure that our team members have enough time to become integrated with your brand so they can perform your work at their highest capabilities.

    As always, please chat with us so we can customize your engagement.

  • Fractional means that we offer contracts in a variety of increments, which translates to the highest level of flexibility for you. For most of our services, we offer increments of 10, 20, 30, or 40 hours/week. You can easily scale your contract up or down to match evolving business needs in real time. You’ll have a designated time slot, so our team members remain focused and dedicated to your work at the agreed-upon time.

Our Team Members

  • Unfortunately, we are not able to offer in-person team members. We are proud to be a remote-only team to remain aligned with our goals for operating with a low carbon footprint.

    Maintaining a fully remote team also allows us the greatest opportunity to find great candidates for you as we can hire from a broad applicant pool across the US and nearshore in Mexico. That being said, our team members have been excited to participate in in-person events or conferences with our clients.

  • We’d love to support the community that you're in! We can accommodate this so long as your preferred state is one that we employ from. We may need extra time to find the right person in your desired area.

    HigherRing will always remain committed to offering a living wage for our team members based on their region. Naturally, that means that some regions have higher living wage requirements than others. Please be aware that hiring in your preferred state might not be as cost-effective for this reason. Additionally, our work will remain 100% remote even if your HigherRing team member is local to your operation.

  • We are proud to say that ALL HigherRing team members are actual employees, not contractors.

    Our founder, Michelle, saw from her experience in big retail and SaaS tech companies that customer support team members who were doing the hard work of keeping customers happy, were often hired as contractors and not given the same benefits and perks that executives received. This led to constant turnover which is the enemy of great work.

    We know that happy, intrinsically motivated team members add significant value to a business. That’s why HigherRing will always prioritize living wages and benefits for our team members. Employees are also offered the opportunity to become owners in the business through our employee stock incentive plan. We are serious about spreading the benefits of our hard work to the people actually doing the work.

  • Our team members are human just like you! They take vacations and will require sick time. We recognize that each of our clients has different needs for coverage, so we will collaborate with you in advance to make a plan for vacations. Redundancy is a great option, depending on the coverage you require.

  • HigherRing team members are lifelong learners! We capture our learnings in a dedicated training platform for everyone to access. We curate thorough learning journeys in each of our service areas including customer support, sales & marketing processes, supply chain best practices, executive assistant guidelines, and more. Of course, we also provide employment and security training for every new team member. If your program requires HIPAA compliance we send our team members through a comprehensive training that covers these important aspects.

Security

  • Our team members receive security training about the latest phishing tricks, overall security awareness such as the importance of strong passwords, 2FA, and password vaults. We also share our knowledge with clients to ensure that our entire community remains vigilant and aware. HigherRing is PCI compliant and relevant teams are HIPAA compliant.

Our Services

  • Yes, our skill sets are comprehensive and can easily transfer from one service area to another.

    Please contact us directly so we can learn more about your needs and customize a package for you!

  • We are systems ninjas and master generalists!

    Chances are we will already have experience with your preferred systems, however, if we don’t we can get up to speed quickly AND document our learnings so that the education is easily available for any future needs. Each of our service pages includes a snapshot of our favorite systems. Even if you don’t see yours listed, that doesn’t mean we aren’t familiar with it.

    Connect with us directly so we can learn more about your needs and customize a package for you.

  • HigherRing is a collaborative team and therefore we love to crowdsource solutions to any challenge that may arise. We have a dedicated internal Slack channel for team members to share the challenges they’re running into so that we can help and support one another and find resolution quickly. Our clients love that they can benefit from the expertise of our entire team, working across a variety of industries and other mission-driven organizations. But don't worry, we know that your information needs to be secure. While we do crowdsource solutions to support one another and expand our shared knowledgebase - we will never share your proprietary data with other clients or team members.

Our Certifications

  • A Public Benefit Corporation is a legal structure that gives a company the right to pursue bottom-line outcomes of social and environmental impact alongside financial profitability. It also requires companies to pursue and deliver a “public benefit,” which in most states (40 now have this legislation) requires the company to use a third-party standard to measure its public benefit and publish an annual benefit report, aka “impact report.” You can learn more about benefit corporations in this blog published by Unit of Impact.

    A B Corp is a third-party certification that essentially proves we walk the talk and live up to all the great impact that we claim. B Lab, the umbrella organization that awards B Corp certification, defines B Corps as “leaders in the global movement for an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy. Unlike other certifications for businesses, B Lab is unique in our ability to measure a company’s entire social and environmental impact.”

    Check out HigherRing’s B Corp profile for more details.

  • We have chosen to authenticate our investment to environmental impact even further by becoming certified as a Climate Neutral brand. Through this certification with The Change Climate Project, we measure and record our carbon emissions associated with all business operations. We then offset 100% of those emissions through vetted carbon offset organizations. We will continue to reduce our footprint year over year in all areas where we can and offset where we can’t. For more details about our Climate Neutral certification, check out our company profile.

    To learn more about our overall impact, check out our impact page, including our most recent impact report.

  • 1% for the Planet is an international organization whose members contribute at least one percent of their annual revenue (meaning total sales not just profit) to environmental causes to protect the environment. Our CEO Michelle has said that this donation is essentially our operation tax for doing business on this awesome planet we all share. We believe that businesses should operate in a way that adds value to people AND the planet rather than operating in a way that is extractive and harmful.

    To learn more about our overall impact, check out our impact page, including our most recent impact report.

FAQs

Operations

  • We know that outsourcing is often synonymous with unethical labor practices. Most outsourcing agencies do not pay their team members a fair wage or offer benefits, team members often pay for their own training and equipment, and clients are falsely promised dedicated support. There are even countries so focused on outsourcing, that their governments restrict fair labor practices so that wages stay low while also operating as an oligarchy, with huge wealth disparities funded by this type of work. We’re so passionate about the topic we wrote a blog about it.

    HigherRing was founded with the intention of being the opposite. We hire all our team members with at least a living wage for their region, plus benefits like medical, dental, vision, 401(k) with match, paid holidays, paid volunteer time, and employee ownership. Year over year we aim to increase our benefits offerings for our team based on the benefits they are most interested in. We perform an annual survey to get their feedback so that we remain in touch with the evolving needs of our workforce.

    In addition to our labor practices, we also claim ourselves as an ethical business because of our investment in our environmental impact and the climate crisis. We are a certified B Corp and certified Climate Neutral as well as a 1% for the Planet member.

    Learn more about how HigherRing does outsourcing differently.

  • At HigherRing we truly believe we are a partner to your business. We’re highly invested in your success and will work closely with you to ensure we are supporting your mission. Typically a recruiter or staffing agency will simply supply you with applicants, and their work is complete once they’ve filled the role.

    We recruit talented team members, hire them as HigherRing employees, and then contract them to work with you for your specified time slots. With HigherRing, you’re receiving so much more than a staffing agency or recruiter because we support the ongoing management of your team members. We support them in elevating their skill sets and adding to their knowledge base. We collaborate internally to help troubleshoot and problem-solve for our clients.

  • At HigherRing, we may recommend that you contract two team members who are trained to work in the same role, which we refer to as redundancy. There are many benefits to redundancy including:

    • Increased productivity with more hours

    • Staggered hours for more coverage

    • Team members can consult with each other to troubleshoot

    • Prevents disruption of service if a team member is sick or taking vacation

  • Once you've selected the service you're interested in and a contract has been sent out it is valid until the date indicated. After the contract is signed it will take us as little as two weeks to begin working with you. Please be advised that your specific start times will vary for a number of reasons, particularly if we need to recruit someone new for your specific role, which will be reflected in your contract. Your specific training is part of the billable time and does not begin until the start of the contract.

  • Not at all! Your contract is inclusive of all computer hardware, equipment accessories, and our security system. Any disruptions or damages to our hardware will be handled by HigherRing with no impact to you. That’s just one of the many perks of outsourcing with us!

    For clarity, please be aware that this does not include systems specific to your work. If your team member needs access to a paid system or platform we will ask you to procure a license or other access for your team member(s).

  • While we are happy to customize a package for your specific business needs, it is true that we recommend that you contract for a minimum of 10 hours/week for most of our service offerings.

    We have tested smaller increments in the past and have found that 10+ hours are usually the most successful in allowing us to think creatively and respond thoroughly to your needs. We want to ensure that our team members have enough time to become integrated with your brand so they can perform your work at their highest capabilities.

    As always, please chat with us so we can customize your engagement.

  • Fractional means that we offer contracts in a variety of increments, which translates to the highest level of flexibility for you. For most of our services, we offer increments of 10, 20, 30, or 40 hours/week. You can easily scale your contract up or down to match evolving business needs in real time. You’ll have a designated time slot, so our team members remain focused and dedicated to your work at the agreed-upon time.

Our Team Members

  • Unfortunately, we are not able to offer in-person team members. We are proud to be a remote-only team to remain aligned with our goals for operating with a low carbon footprint.

    Maintaining a fully remote team also allows us the greatest opportunity to find great candidates for you as we can hire from a broad applicant pool across the US and nearshore in Mexico. That being said, our team members have been excited to participate in in-person events or conferences with our clients.

  • We’d love to support the community that you're in! We can accommodate this so long as your preferred state is one that we employ from. We may need extra time to find the right person in your desired area.

    HigherRing will always remain committed to offering a living wage for our team members based on their region. Naturally, that means that some regions have higher living wage requirements than others. Please be aware that hiring in your preferred state might not be as cost-effective for this reason. Additionally, our work will remain 100% remote even if your HigherRing team member is local to your operation.

  • We are proud to say that ALL HigherRing team members are actual employees, not contractors.

    Our founder, Michelle, saw from her experience in big retail and SaaS tech companies that customer support team members who were doing the hard work of keeping customers happy, were often hired as contractors and not given the same benefits and perks that executives received. This led to constant turnover which is the enemy of great work.

    We know that happy, intrinsically motivated team members add significant value to a business. That’s why HigherRing will always prioritize living wages and benefits for our team members. Employees are also offered the opportunity to become owners in the business through our employee stock incentive plan. We are serious about spreading the benefits of our hard work to the people actually doing the work.

  • Our team members are human just like you! They take vacations and will require sick time. We recognize that each of our clients has different needs for coverage, so we will collaborate with you in advance to make a plan for vacations. Redundancy is a great option, depending on the coverage you require.

  • HigherRing team members are lifelong learners! We capture our learnings in a dedicated training platform for everyone to access. We curate thorough learning journeys in each of our service areas including customer support, sales & marketing processes, supply chain best practices, executive assistant guidelines, and more. Of course, we also provide employment and security training for every new team member. If your program requires HIPAA compliance we send our team members through a comprehensive training that covers these important aspects.

Security

  • Our team members receive security training about the latest phishing tricks, overall security awareness such as the importance of strong passwords, 2FA, and password vaults. We also share our knowledge with clients to ensure that our entire community remains vigilant and aware. HigherRing is PCI compliant and relevant teams are HIPAA compliant.

Our Services

  • Yes, our skill sets are comprehensive and can easily transfer from one service area to another.

    Please contact us directly so we can learn more about your needs and customize a package for you!

  • We are systems ninjas and master generalists!

    Chances are we will already have experience with your preferred systems, however, if we don’t we can get up to speed quickly AND document our learnings so that the education is easily available for any future needs. Each of our service pages includes a snapshot of our favorite systems. Even if you don’t see yours listed, that doesn’t mean we aren’t familiar with it.

    Connect with us directly so we can learn more about your needs and customize a package for you.

  • HigherRing is a collaborative team and therefore we love to crowdsource solutions to any challenge that may arise. We have a dedicated internal Slack channel for team members to share the challenges they’re running into so that we can help and support one another and find resolution quickly. Our clients love that they can benefit from the expertise of our entire team, working across a variety of industries and other mission-driven organizations. But don't worry, we know that your information needs to be secure. While we do crowdsource solutions to support one another and expand our shared knowledgebase - we will never share your proprietary data with other clients or team members.

Our Certifications

  • A Public Benefit Corporation is a legal structure that gives a company the right to pursue bottom-line outcomes of social and environmental impact alongside financial profitability. It also requires companies to pursue and deliver a “public benefit,” which in most states (40 now have this legislation) requires the company to use a third-party standard to measure its public benefit and publish an annual benefit report, aka “impact report.” You can learn more about benefit corporations in this blog published by Unit of Impact.

    A B Corp is a third-party certification that essentially proves we walk the talk and live up to all the great impact that we claim. B Lab, the umbrella organization that awards B Corp certification, defines B Corps as “leaders in the global movement for an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy. Unlike other certifications for businesses, B Lab is unique in our ability to measure a company’s entire social and environmental impact.”

    Check out HigherRing’s B Corp profile for more details.

  • We have chosen to authenticate our investment to environmental impact even further by becoming certified as a Climate Neutral brand. Through this certification with The Change Climate Project, we measure and record our carbon emissions associated with all business operations. We then offset 100% of those emissions through vetted carbon offset organizations. We will continue to reduce our footprint year over year in all areas where we can and offset where we can’t. For more details about our Climate Neutral certification, check out our company profile.

    To learn more about our overall impact, check out our impact page, including our most recent impact report.

  • 1% for the Planet is an international organization whose members contribute at least one percent of their annual revenue (meaning total sales not just profit) to environmental causes to protect the environment. Our CEO Michelle has said that this donation is essentially our operation tax for doing business on this awesome planet we all share. We believe that businesses should operate in a way that adds value to people AND the planet rather than operating in a way that is extractive and harmful.

    To learn more about our overall impact, check out our impact page, including our most recent impact report.

  • Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.