Think About Outsourcing IT Solutions 1st

Avoid some of the most troubling outsourcing IT problems by following these do’s and dont’s:

• Don’t accept (and pay for) IT solutions that you’re not satisfied with. Doing so not only misleads providers into thinking their work is up to par, it additionally lowers the bar for quality, online outsourcing service.
• Do refrain from asking for a high quality IT solution in a matter of minutes. You wouldn’t want to have the same demand placed onto you, so please don’t place it on others.
• Don’t let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch. Some outsourcers who’ve had an unpleasant experience discredit the entire industry.
• Don’t try to trick an amateur service provider into providing something s/he didn’t agree to. That’s grounds for arbitration, which consequently, is as available to providers as it is to you.
• Do pay on time. If providers learn you’re slow to pay for completed work (and providers do talk to each other), they may shy away from working for you.
• Don’t dismiss new providers. A provider with little to no real-world experience may have the IT solution you’re looking for after all.
• Do evaluate work when you’re refreshed and relaxed. Testing deliverables when you’re tired, distracted, or rushed causes you to overlook or ignore important project requirements.
• Do remember netiquette. “Please” and “Thank you” are always “Welcome.”
• Don’t guarantee a good rating in exchange for a low quote. Doing so negates the whole value of an existing ratings system which is supposed to address work quality – not low prices.
• Don’t increase requirements in mid-development. Throwing unexpected work in the mix is a business disruption that providers don’t like and legally, don’t have to accommodate.
• Don’t micromanage. Micromanaging is excessively and needlessly pestering a provider for feedback on your project. If you constantly bug a provider with trivial issues, you’ll prevent and/or delay the project’s completion.
• Don’t overwork a service provider. Regular and steady work is fine and appreciated by providers who can handle it. But inundating a provider without granting a proper resting period isn’t. Just put yourself in your provider’s shoes and think about how you’d appreciate a refreshing vacation.
• Don’t promise future work in exchange of “X”. Anything can happen between the promise and the future, and when an unforeseen risk makes future work unavailable, outsourcers who make these promises develop an untrustworthy reputation.
• Do pay fairly. Should you exploit providers with less than minimum wage rates, you build a rather unfavorable reputation for yourself and you ruin your chances of attracting quality providers in the future.
• Do give an unknown provider a small, inexpensive test project first to see how well it goes before hiring the same for a large, expensive project.
• Do provide samples of what you’d like your provider to accomplish. Anyone would appreciate a base idea to start from, so feel free to send sketches of what you want (no matter how bad your drawing skills might be).
• From the vWorker staff: NEVER insult a provider’s work. Remember that different people, different styles, different cultures and different age brackets have different perspectives on what’s “nice”, “appropriate”, “professional” and “clean”.