Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
1. When evaluating candidates, ask contractors for sample work or hire them for a small test
job. Tayyab said, "That to me as a contractor is more important than an interview over Skype.
There's only so much you can know about a person's skills from a 10-minute Skype interview,
and you don't want to miss out on a great contractor because they're having a bad day.
It's very important to take the time to work out a small mini project on the fly that they
can do, and use that as a benchmark for short-listing or hiring."
2. Speaking of test jobs, think outside the skill-evaluation box with real-time tasks.
Tayyab noted that one client he has worked with requires contractor candidates to write
code in a Google Doc, so they can observe the coding process in real time. This can
be a great way for clients to get a sense of how a contractor works, and for contractors
to showcase their skills in action.
3. Leverage long-term relationships; they are a powerful thing. Both Peter and Josh
are no stranger to long-term projects. In fact, Josh's oDesk contractors are almost
all long-term, since it's more efficient than finding and training people for each short-term
project, he said.
From a contractor's perspective, Tayyab added that it's important for clients to make their
timeline commitment clear upfront. "What motivates contractors is the promise of a long-term,
healthy relationships," he said. "It's very important for contractors to know that clients
aren't going to disappear. It's good to give people job security, or at least be upfront
about when the project is going to end. Tell your good contractors you want to work with
them for a long time. It's the same whether you're in a brick-and-mortar office or online
— you want to make the people you hire feel secure and enjoy their work."
As a testament to the power of long-term projects, Josh told the story of how, in the early days
of oDesk (when he used to work for the company), he wanted to hire someone for voiceover work
and needed a female voice. There was only one female contractor on all of oDesk at the
time, named Stephanie, and he hired her. That project has long ended (and of course there
are many female contractors on oDesk now!). But eight years later, not only is Stephanie
still on oDesk, she leads a Customer Support team for oDesk itself.
4. Keep an open mind — the possibilities are unlimited. Who says work can't be fun?
Peter talked about one of his most interesting oDesk projects, which involved hiring comedy
writers on oDesk to turn a standard questionnaire into an entertaining experience. He even used
a crowdsourcing site to grade the questions for humor, and picked the 10 most successful
writers out of the original 100 to bring on board.
Or, on a more serious note, Josh told the story of how one entrepreneur decided he wanted
to move on from his startup, and found someone on oDesk to be the CEO and take over the company
reins.
5. Make the job description very specific with clear expectations.
6. Do not hire a jack of all trades. Make sure to break things down and hire for each
piece in a specialized manner.
7. Have a realistic budget in mind, do not try and low-ball, it will only create more
wated time and labor in the end.
8. Test run a small task that you want to scale bigger and assign it to two or three
diffent people.
9. Interview at least 5 people for every large project that you need worked on.
10. Try to find teams that work together on oDesk. A lot of times there are teams that
work together
on projects and have been successful. It is better to find a team where you can accomplish the entire project with a group that has worked
together in the past.
11. Ensure you are specific about when you need them to start and when you want the project
complete.
12. Ensure you are specific that you want updates daily.
13. Make sure
to SET LIMITS on the time, otherwise they
will work for hours aimlessly.
14. Once you find quality freelancers, make sure you recognize them, and make them feel like
they are part of your team.
To To express direction; to identify the recipient
of something