Outsourcing Lessons Learned
It didn’t take long into my first attempt at outsourcing some work to make some initial mistakes. You can think you have it all down, but the only real way to learn is to do. So that’s what I did, and it wasn’t a nightmare, it certainly wasn’t what I was expecting and that was partially my own fault.
I signed up for a few of the popular sites, and put my job out on www.freelancer.com and www.odesk.com. I found them fairly easy to navigate both, but one clear difference in my experience was Freelancer offered jobs with a flat rate and odesk consisted of jobs by the hour. I decided to go with the ‘job’ rather than by the hour. I was looking for someone to customize a Thesis theme for a blog I was working on.
Selection
I selected the candidate based on their price as well as the portfolio of work they provided. You can also see a track record of the number of jobs they have completed/worked on through the outsourcing website. I picked one that I saw had a great portfolio as well as a few jobs under their belt.
I didn’t want to select by the hour, I wasn’t ready to trust someone with the amount of time it really took. I have two differing opinions on that. If by the hour, they work and get it done the way they want and like and do their best (I would hope). If by the job, they’re incentive is to get it done as fast as possible in order to maximize their hourly rate. Flat rate doesn’t really push anyone to do their best, but at the same time, hourly can make people slow and lazy and over charge. Hard to say, so there is definitely a certain amount of trust that needs to be established.
Laying Out The Requirements
The emphasis is on providing very clear requirements of the job. I wanted a WordPress theme customized. I didn’t have any specific design in mind (which could have been the first problem) but I was hoping they would use some of their artistic ability, as I had originally requested. I provided several example blogs and outlined in detail why I liked them and what I like about them (to help inspire the developer). I was very specific about what the blog would be used for, and who the audience was. So I believe I provided a great amount of detail without knowing exactly what I wanted it to look like. I provided details on:
- Widgets I wanted installed
- 2 column layout
- Header graphic ‘wants’
- General colors
- Example blogs and pointers to elements I liked
In my mind, that appeared to be enough, as I let the developer have some freedom to apply some of their artistic ability, afterall, I went to them because they’re the experts in that area, not me.
Communication
I have a web office application setup Feng Office , this allowed me to provide all the details of links, passwords, tasks, comments etc. to the developer. I didn’t want to lose email, I wanted something that I could track each individual task I wanted to comment along the process. Email can become very cluttered and you lose track of what is required etc. I highly recommend some form of task management such as OpenGoo.
Problems
I got the inital draft completed and was completely disappointed. It was an absolute joke! I may not be able to do website design, but I do ‘know’ about it. I installed the original Theme and know what the default looks like. The developer basically didn’t do anything, a crappy graphic at the top (fonts with a drop shadow and lens flare) and literally cut & paste the widgets and the descriptions from the example sites I provided, didn’t even try changing some of the text.
I wrote back and ripped into them for their terrible work. I was either being taken for a ride, or they were hoping I was an idiot and was going to be tickled pink by my very own ‘website’. Naturally the response came back saying this was only a draft, they wanted to see if we’re on the same page etc. The 2nd draft came back and the difference was night and day. Although I still wasn’t terribly impressed, it was light years ahead of the first draft.
Biggest Lessons
You have to try them out first, don’t trust a portfolio. I did, and what I got compared to what I saw in their portfolio they presented wasn’t anywhere near the same quality. Maybe it’s the ‘you get what you pay for’ or their portfolio isn’t really a true representation of their work. They could make a 1000 websites and have 5 good ones they put in their portfolio, or maybe their portfolio isn’t even really theirs. A few pointers:
- Have a simple task lined up to give them. Something easy to complete and then they provide a quick write up on it, 30 minutes tops. You want to see if they communicate well, completed the task and did a good job.
- Write a detailed description (attach the description as a file as well). Put a code word within your description and ask them to repeat that as part of their application.
- If they haven’t put any hours in, remove them.
- Don’t be afraid to reject, if someone messes up, move on, there are way too many people trying for that job, no point in dealing with those that have already not followed instructions.
- Outline how they will report their progress and work to you. For example odesk allows you to monitor screen shots (which can become a pain in the ass).
- Pay by the hour, paying by the job (in my opinion) only makes them do it as quickly with the least amount of care and effort. They have their money, now do it as fast as possible.
- If you you believe a job to be 10 hours, and they bill 12, let it go it’s questionable. If you believe it’s a 2 hour job and they bill 12 hours, you have a problem.
- Be generous with any bonuses or pay increases. You get what you pay for, and if you have put time and effort into finding someone, reward them and keep them working with you.
The saying you get what you pay for is always true and this is no different. Do a little homework, but don’t be hasty and jump the gun too early, and don’t believe everything they show you, trust other peoples reviews and trust YOURS!
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Filed Under: Outsourcing
