Working virtually offers many benefits for the contractor, from living where they want, to getting the work done on their schedule. However, employers may worry about whether the virtual contractor will get the work done. As someone that has worked virtually for much of my career in both with a large corporation and as a self-employed paraplanner, I can share some ways to help the employer work and feel comfortable with working with a contractor virtually.
Training virtually
Once you hire a contractor how do you explain your processes to him or her?
Having a couple of meetings is a great way to start sharing your processes and explaining what your expectations are for the contractor.
Another efficient way is creating videos to show the contractor how certain tasks are done at your firm and lets the contractor go back and review the task to make sure it is being done correctly. You can do videos on Loom or Zoom. If you have documentation, you can provide that as well and allow the contractor to follow the processes. If you do not have documentation, allow you contractor to create the documentation which is a great way to understand your process and be able to make suggestions for improvement.
Communication methods
Communication is the most important part of working with someone virtually. You as the employer will need to pick a mode of communication. This can be email, weekly meetings or instant messaging apps like Slack or Teams.
Email and meetings are effective to communicate to your contactor. However, emails can be cumbersome where it is hard to keep track of all the different emails coming through and making sure the work is being done. Meetings are a good way to level set what is happening and where the focus needs to be over the next couple of weeks. However, meetings can be time consuming – from preparing the meeting to going over what is happening. Also, if the contractor has a question, it might be a while until the next the meeting to get the question answered.
Instant apps like Slack or Teams offer a great way to tell your contractor what is needed instantly without waiting for a response from emails or waiting for the next meeting. It also helps the contractor as they can easily search for items needed from prior months, and they can look through different channels to get the information to get the various tasks done. Also, the contractor can ask a question easily and receive instant feedback on what to do.
Contractor feedback to employer
Since the contractor is working virtually, they will need to give their employer feedback such as weekly updates. One way is to send detailed weekly hours report, so the employer knows exactly what you did that week and how long it took you to do a task and will help them manage your time more effectively. Also, when a task or project is done, the contractor can send the employer an email detailing what was done and any other pertinent information relating to the task. This will help you develop trust between employer and contractor and build efficiently together.
Trusting Work is getting done Virtually
You as the employer must get used to not knowing what exactly your virtual contractor is doing at every moment. However, you can check in with your contractor from the items above to see how they are doing, especially if it is a big project. The professional contractor understands that trust is built over time. That is why long-term relationships are better as you will get a feel how the contractor works, and you will be confident from the relationship you form that they will get the task or project done in the time frame that you expect.
In Conclusion
These are just some ways for the employer and employee to work together in a more efficient manner. Making sure the contractor is trained properly and that you communicate effectively are the biggest components for success when working with someone virtually. Also, the contractor must communicate effectively as well to ensure their employer knows what they are doing and how long it will take them to do a task. All these areas will help both of you have a successful relationship for many years.
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