How To Deal With Sub-Contracted Employees

Originally Published on January 7, 2010

But treating your “employees” (as we’ll call them for purpose of saving time in this article) with respect is an important aspect of business. These are people who are (usually) freelancers just like you, doing their own thing with their own set of clients. I’m sure you can already see what I’m getting at here – they can get you work if you’re good to them just as much as you got them their latest gig.

Before we talk about how to “butter-up” your sub-contracted employees, let’s go over the advantages of sharing projects:

• Share the work. Sometimes a project is way too large for one person to handle, despite how nice the price tag on it looks for hoarding to yourself. Splitting up the project can save you huge headaches.
• Share talents. You’re not superman and you can’t do everything. Sharing means caring for the client and giving them the best product that isn’t lacking certain aspects.
• Ultimately, a better job means more clients.
• …And so does a happier employee.

Don’t get me wrong – there are some very strong points against hiring employees on your team for projects. For one, since they’re generally not working on-site with you, it’s going to be tough to keep track of them and they may disappear on you. Ultimately, if you go about dealing with them in a professional, friendly manner you’re going to have a happier employee, and more clients.

Understand Their Situations

An important part of my job as a project manager is to understand each of my employee’s situations separately. Doing so helps me understand how to delegate tasks, implement deadlines, etc. Being able to pull an employee aside to ask if certain dates work for them can ensure milestones are met, and the client is happy.

Engage Them In Meaningless Conversation

With understanding others’ different situations, I find it helps to not seem like a boss and more like a friend. Remember, there are definite limits as to how far this goes because you need to be able to work with each other, talking about meaningless things makes projects more fun. I personally don’t like working with employees that I can’t talk to and have fun with. It’s why I either hire my employees through people I personally know, or through others.

If I have to go to job boards to find employees, I make sure that I interview every potential employee. During this interview, I like to say it’s not an interview, but just a little brief on the project. It helps me to hear their voice, sense if they like my jokes, and more or less helps me gauge what kind of person they are. When it comes down to it, I would rather take an employee that was less talented and charged a few hundred more, than one with a bad attitude, was less expensive, and had a better portfolio.

Have Contracts, and Respect Them

It’s very important that you have a sub-contractor’s contract. It helps to outline certain aspects of the working relationship. More than anything, you don’t need to have a full-out professional contract for every project, but a simple one as list points in e-mail format is always useful so there is agreement to simple clauses. I like to outline the following:

• The responsibilities of the employee;
• The responsibilities of the company;
• A standard NDA;
• What their relationship with the company entails (e.g. that they are sub-contracted and not a full-time employee);
• Who owns the work the create;
• Appropriate mark-up for their services;
• When the contract terminates.

In the end as well, make sure your employee gets paid before you do. I’ve had (and we’ll all continue to have) times where my clients have not been able to pay the amount in full on time, and I’ve had to pay my employees out of pocket because I respect them and don’t want to sever that relationship.

Ultimately, Be the Boss You Always Wish You Had

When it comes down to it, treat your employees with just as much respect as you would want from them. If you’re good to your employees, work will be fun and enjoyable, and your projects will only benefit. What suggestions do you have to improve the experience your employees have when working with you?