At the Bootstrapper’s Breakfast last Friday in San Francisco, we had a good discussion on managing contract workers. Below is a summary.
Advantages of hiring contract workers
- Allows you to remain flexible in an uncertain economy
- Can hire contractors with specific skill sets according to your current need.
How to manage contract workers
- Establish Expectations at the onset
- Have clear guidelines on contract duration, nature of the work and timeframe.
- Communicate if expectations are not met
- Be available to the contractor to answer work related queries.
- Train the contractors on your company’s philosophy and goals.
- To attain quality work
- Hire a relationship manager who is responsible for handling the graphic designers.
- Work with a firm who hires and manages contract designers for you. You may have to pay a little more, but a good firm can minimize your pain. At the same time, there are firms that can rip your pocket.
- Test out a small pilot project with freelance graphic designers before putting them onto larger projects.
- Make communication with them as specific and detailed as possible.
- Show contractors how their work is being used to motivate them.
Challenges to be aware of
- Contractor may work well in the beginning but may slack off during the middle or towards the end of a project limited by time. Make sure you have intermediate milestones to help mitigate.
- Your treatment of contractors should not affect your full-time employees’ morale.