We frequently use freelance software developers and graphic designers to complement our more permentant staff. For a small business access to quality people able to work on a contract basis can be critical to keepting-the-lights-on as well as working on more strategic projects.
Getafreelancer (or Freelancer) as its now called is a well known one however [...]
We frequently use freelance software developers and graphic designers to complement our more permentant staff. For a small business access to quality people able to work on a contract basis can be critical to keepting-the-lights-on as well as working on more strategic projects.
Getafreelancer (or Freelancer) as its now called is a well known one however we have started to move over to ODesk recently and in general have been more happy with the results.
For those not familar with ODesk it is a platform for matching buyers of services with sellers. Service can include web developers, graphic designers, bloggers, virtual assistants, and online marketers (SEO, PPC, and social media experts).
The process for finding a someone to do your job is simple:
As a buyer you would register on the platform (you dont need to provide credit-card upfront but it can be used as a method of payment later).
You create a posting of your job, it is in your interest to provide a decent overview to get in quality bids. Typically we give a good brief and then a link to a detailed spec for candidates we short-list. You can also specify and amount you wish to pay either fixed or per-hour.
Candidates can then bid to do the work. They would provide a bid amount and hopefully some points which are relevant to you actual job. This last bit is key as it makes a massive difference if the bidder has bothered to read your initial specification and ask decent questions.You can also refine your post to only request users in certain geography if being able to contact them in your timezone is important.
Once you have found a few candidates you like you can then ‘interview’ then. This means taking the process to the next step, asking them more questions and giving them a better idea of the job and your timescales. All this is done through ODesks internal messaging system although in reality you can take it off the platform and do it through normal email, phone calls. So how do you really judge the candidates:
- What questions do they ask your project?
- How do they respond to your questions?
- Look at there score. Buyers are able to provide feedback after completion of a job which is visible to all, have a look at the other buyers coments and scoring (number out of 5).
- Have they taken any tests? A unique feature of ODesk is that candidates can volunteer to take tests in their field of expertise. The results are then visible to all as show below:
Test Scores Of Candidates
Once your ready to go ahead (and theres no commitment that says you have to) you can accept a candidate for work. There is the option here to make an upfront payment if thats what you have negotiated with the candidate. You can also break down the job, if its desirable, into milestones and make payments based on succesful completion of a milestone.
ODesk has another trick up it sleeve which not its a bit controversial with canidates but is certainly interesting to buyers. They call it the ‘Work Diary’. Essentially when a supplier signs-up onto ODesk they install some software locally onto their machine which takes periodic snapshots of their screen.
This then gets uploaded to the ‘work diary’ thats associated with a project. The buyer can then monitor this to get a feel for the progress being made. In our experience it makes sense to use for some projects such as those of a graphic design nature, for coding projects it better to break the project up into milestones and evaluate them as actual usable functionality. As a buyer you dont have to use the work diary feature and once you have built up a relationship with a supplier its not really neccessary.
Big Brother is Watching!
So how much does ODesk charge you may be asking? Well they take 10% of the final bid price from the candidate. This means if you agree a job for $100 with a candidate, they will get $90 and ODesk will get $10. Its a pretty simple approach and means you don not have to think about ODesk charges above and beyond whats already been quoted.
Will ODesk replace the need for permenant staff? Of course not. Can it help business augment their existing fixed staff base with supplemental resources when and if required? Absolutely. There is already a great number of quality suppliers on the platform and features such as candidate ratings, tests and work-diary go along way to take out the obvious risks of hiring someone you may never meet face-to-face. Try it.
