10 Tips For Using oDesk

Published June 10, 2010 | By Kathy Dobson

Today we’re going to take a look at another option for outsourcing your online tasks. We’ve covered outsourcing by hiring Independent contractors…which is the answer if you truly want to totally outsource your business. But, there are times when you need a project done.

If you have not already hired a full staff of contractors that can accomplish your task for you then you must entertain the idea of outsourcing the project to a project based/bidding site.

Although there are a few that deserve mention, there is one that is preferred by Filipinos…this site is oDesk. You can find good Filipino workers there that will work on your project for about the same rate as you would pay your permanent Independent contractor.

Check out these valuable tips on using oDesk:

10 Tips for Using oDesk to Scale Up Your Business

A friend of yours may have used oDesk to get their business scaled up, but it’s your first time using it and you want to get in gear. You know that oDesk can offer web developers, software designers and even content creators for your business. How do you get the most from your oDesk order?

Here’s some tips:

List your needs, precisely: oDesk provides coders who can create your website in at least 30 languages. They have designers who can create your logo. There are accounting personnel who are proficient in the latest software. If your company has an international presence, oDesk can provide translations for your site. What’s key, however, is that you decide exactly what you need before you start advertising for it.
Set your budget: At oDesk, you can decide whether your contractors will work by the hour or be paid a fixed price per project. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, so you have to choose which way you want to go. If you have a drawn out project, it might be best to select have a fixed limit. Being billed for the hour might work out for other tasks, like data entry.
Provide detailed project information: You want to give bidders a specific idea of what they’re bidding on. If you don’t know what programming languages are best for your website, state what you want it to do and the right provider will make a bid on your work. If they’re available, give samples of the type of work that you’d like to receive. Basically, give a direct summary of what you need.
Evaluate your bidders thoroughly: Check to see if your bidders have good feedback ratings for the type of work that you want to get done. Are you looking for individual one-off sort of work, or are you looking for something that only another company can provide? Examine their work history and see if your provider has done the type of work that you’re needing.
Provide even more information: Now that you’ve selected your providers or team members, you want to give them in-depth details of what you hope to accomplish. Try to give your contractors more of a feel for what you’re asking. The more information your team has, the better they can suit your needs.
Use the reports and work diary to monitor progress: Once they have all the information they need and have gotten to work, you can monitor their progress using the work diary and reports section. Often, people have no idea of the labor that goes into a specific project and are surprised at the bill. You can keep track of the time that your contractors are spending on your project to get a better concept of what the bill is going to be.
Take a look at the in-progress work: This is where you can see what your people are actually doing for you. You can get an idea of where they are in the project, and also guide them in the direction that you want them to go to. If you see that there is something going wrong, you can correct the course when the error is small.
Answer questions as quickly as possible: If your team members have questions about what they need to be doing, you want to answer them as quickly as possible so you can get the job completed. No question is silly or unreasonable. When you hire someone to work for you, that person needs to have guidelines and boundaries to work within.
Communicate with your team manager: There is a possibility that your service provider is a company in another country. The team leader should be the one who is most proficient in the language that you speak. That leader can properly convey your message to the others.
Give detailed, honest feedback: The feedback process is designed to help both parties grow. If you are pleased with the work that your service provider did, tell them in writing. If you have similar projects that are in the works, you can request them again.If you are not comfortable with hiring them again, tell them in a private venue.This provides closure to the job on both accounts and help everyone’s next job turn out better.
Going to oDesk is a perfect way to get the tasks that you need. Keeping these tips in mind on your oDesk project will get it done faster, leaving you to focus more on your core business.