• Taskenator
• Oct 02, 2019

5 Key Tips For Hiring Talented Taskers

5 Key Tips For Hiring Talented Taskers

Nowadays, with advances in technology and the internet as a whole, it is simple and easy for companies to find and hire the services of freelancers. The problem, however, is that finding the freelancer that is the best fit for your task can be time consuming and difficult. So how can customers be sure to hire the freelancers that best fit your task’s criteria.

There are millions of skilled and talented freelancers out there, worldwide, who could be a great asset to a business. It can be very tempting to assume freelancers know what they are doing without spending the time to extensively assess a CV/Cover Letter, etc. However, without these checks and appropriate vetting, customers run the risk of spending extra time and resources retraining or recruiting new staff.

So, here are five top tips to follow to ensure you hire the right taskers for your task through our platform, enabling the taskers to be of great value to you and creating a long lasting contact for those other tasks that you need completed.

- Know your expectations

Before you even think about finding and hiring a freelancer, know what you want to accomplish. It may be helpful to write down your needs and expectations, not only so you know what you require from a freelancer, but to also ensure you can clearly explain the task requirements to them.

Some questions to ask yourself:

• Do I need a freelancer for short-term or long-term work?

• What hours do I require them to work? What is my budget per hour/project?

• Will they work remotely or locally?

With this information at hand, you can be clear on what you expect with regards to hours and payment. Setting standards and expectations from the start is crucial. But naturally, do not be unreasonable - you should not ask a tasker to work for 80 hours per week, at £3 per hour. Bear the national minimum wage in mind, at the very least. Developing a good working relationship with freelancers creates a better environment for them and ultimately the opportunity for a better outcome for everyone. Create an open, honest dialog to ensure the freelancer learns what’s most important about the task for you. That way they’ll better understand your expectations of the task.

- Know your prospective tasker

So, you’ve put your task up on the website. Great. As the bids come in, it is important to use this time wisely, to ask your prospective taskers any questions you may have. Hell, you might just want to have a more general chat to gauge their personality, manners, response times, etc. Here are three questions you might want to ask your potential taskers:

• Whether they are committed to any other projects. Some taskers only work online part-time because they have a full-time job. Depending on the scope of your project, you will need to know about their availability.

• How they might handle challenging projects and how they intend to meet deadlines.

• If they will need anything from you to make the project a success and/or to speed up the project’s completion.

With any job, the interview (or bidding, in this case) process is the most important stage; it allows you to meet your potential workers to find the perfect fit. A customer and tasker who are incompatible, will not produce work of a high standard, so use this time effectively.

- Check previous feedback

It may be beneficial to visit taskers’ profiles, where you can read any reviews left behind by previous customers. This is an excellent way to validify their ability via real clients who have worked with the tasker. In the freelance world, having a positive reputation is a very good indicator of a professional worker.

TIP: Do not let one negative feedback prevent you from contacting a tasker.

You should also remember that even freelancers are only human. They can get poorly, they can have family crisis’, medical problems or accidents. If you see a freelancer with a multitude of positive ratings, do not let isolated negative feedback put you off too much. To put you at ease, if necessary, you could ask the tasker how that feedback came about. Ask how did they learn from that feedback. “Do not judge a book by its cover” is very important here; discover the facts before potentially losing out on a great tasker.

- Ask for a Reference

Sometimes, particularly for long-term or high-paying projects, it may be reasonable or even advantageous to request a reference. When stakes are high, it is beneficial to get all the guarantees you can get. You will want to ensure that your tasker will provide the performance and skill set they claim to provide; references from previous customers can do just that. For a small and/or short-term project, references may not be a suitable request.

- Test Taskers’ skills

With certain projects/jobs, it may be appropriate to ask taskers to do a ‘trial task’, to ensure they are capable of the skills they claim to have. The trial does not necessarily have to be similar to the main project you want completed, it simply needs to show their skills, their ability to communicate, etc. Following the trails, you can select the tasker who most suits your needs.

TIP: Pay taskers for any trial you ask them to do!

Expecting taskers to do a trial with no pay or incentive is unlikely to produce a positive or productive response. Offering a paid trial encourages the tasker to work hard, as well as showing them good faith and that you are able to pay them well. The trial task could form a small part of the task providing them with some knowledge to move forward and complete the task should you like their work.

- Hire Your Tasker

With all that in mind, you are now ready to hire your perfect tasker. Know your expectations, know what you are looking for in a tasker, interview taskers, ask for references if appropriate and run a  paid trial with potential candidates.

Following this, you will be ready to choose the tasker perfect for the role.

Live it, Love it, Task it!