As a business owner, you want to surround yourself with qualified team members who work well with you and each other. You know the importance of being able to trust anyone you outsource work to. Unfortunately, sometimes good help is hard to find, but it’s not impossible.
It would be great if everyone you worked with represented themselves honestly. Unfortunately, some people say they have a skill just to get a job. When you find out they can’t do the job, the situation can turn nasty with a lot of hard feelings and resentment. Not only can this be frustrating, it could cause you to lose business. The following ideas may help you find the team members you need.
Get recommendations from people you respect. If you know someone who is always raving about people of their online team, ask them if they can recommend someone to help you. Be aware, however that there are no guarantees that you’ll have the same type of working relationship.
You may contact the person recommended to you and feel good about them from the initial conversation. Instead of basing the decision to hire them on a feeling, base it on facts. Just because you are online doesn’t mean you have to forgo the precautions and requirements that a brick and mortar business uses.
- Ask them to send a resume with references. While they may have a website that extols their skills, most people are going to put testimonials on their website that are positive. If they won’t give you references, they probably aren’t the person you want to work with.
- Take the time to check the references they give you. You may expect to hear good things from the reference but they will most likely be honest and forthright with you about their experiences with the recommendation.
- Ask the person to provide several examples of their work. You may want to suggest they provide one example from each of the software programs you use in your business. By doing this, you will have a better idea of whether they have the experience you need for the work you have for them to do.
- For both of your sakes, set a trial period with a smaller sized job for them to do. This will give you an opportunity to actually work with them, see whether they meet your deadlines, and determine if your personalities mesh well. A trial period gives both parties the chance to check out the other and allows either of you to back out of the relationship if it doesn’t work.
Good help is hard to find, but it doesn’t have to be impossible. Use these ideas to guide you in finding the right people for your team.
