Odesk Webinar - Building Your Workteam

QuickTime™ and aNone decompressor

are needed to see this picture. 1

Online workteams 101

Building your team

Presenter:

Brian Goler, VP Marketing, oDesk

Moderator:

Orie Zaklad, Sr. Marketing Manager, oDesk



Housekeeping

Buyer oriented webinar

Audio is muted

Q&A at the end– Use the ‘Questions’ section at the bottom of your

GoToWebinar application. – Brief survey at the end to collect your feedback

Slides available in the Learning Center later today



Agenda

What is an online workteam?

A process that works

Sourcing:– Posting the job – Searching for talent

Evaluating candidates:– Sifting through the candidate queue – Initial screening– Interviewing– The test drive

Q&A


are needed to see this picture.

Poll



See http://www.odesk.com/w/case_study_odesk

About the oDesk Online Workteam



What is an online workteam?

A team of people from anywhere in the world, who work together online



Why an online workteam?

It’s flexible

Cost effective

Assign jobs to experts only



What are the challenges?

Finding and hiring the right talent

Working with someone you’ve never met

Managing a remote workteam



First Principles

Good talent is hard to find

You’re both buying and selling

Hiring the wrong person is a tax you pay everyday



4 daysThe median time it takes to hire a provider

Use an efficient process to improve the outcome



A process that works

Post jobInvite/ share

Email screenInterview/ test

drive

Source Evaluate

Hire



Posting the job

Objective:– Attract talent– Collect screening info

Detailed job description– Paint the vision– Terms and potential duration– Deliverables, expectations, examples– Action request in the cover letter

Use the ‘preferred qualifications’ tool

Post job Hire



The higher the quality of your job description (length of job description and estimated duration)

the higher the fill ratio (and # of candidates)

Post job Hire



Job post formPost job HireMy Jobs > Post a Job

http://www.odesk.com/c/?action=Openings&do=new_opening



Job post formPost job Hire



40%

Percentage of providers hired

through “provider search”

Invite/ share Hire



oDesk provider search

Over 325,000 providers on oDesk

9 categories

Why?– You know best who you are looking for– The best providers are the busiest

Invite/ share HireFind Providers & Jobs > Find Providers

http://www.odesk.com/users?g=



oDesk provider searchInvite/ share HireSearch results



What to look for…Invite/ share Hire

Self description:Does he describe himself as the person you are looking for?



What to look for…Invite/ share HireSkills

Are the skills he lists focused on what you are hiring for?

Are there many other skills that are irrelevant to your job?




Work historyDoes his work history match your job requirements?




Tests and portfolio



Share your job postInvite/ share Hire



Sifting through the candidate queue

Objective: narrow down to 8-12 candidates

Eliminate templated (cut & paste) applications

Use ‘preferred qualifications’

As courtesy to thoughtful candidates, tell them why they were rejected

email screen Hire



Round 1 – email screen

Objective – narrow down to 3-5 finalists

How?– Over email– Identify 8-10 applicants – Send the same message to all– Questions are a prelude to a real-time conversation

Why email screening?– Time saver– Asynchronous– Candidates are motivated to provide information

email screen Hire



Sample email questionsemail screen Hire

“What experience do you already have building this type of technology?”

“How do you like to interact with your clients? How often do you do builds that we can see and test?”

“What factors will determine the actual amount of time? Where is there risk? Where do you need more info?”

“What's your availability to work on this?”If a provider company: “Which of your team members will be doing the work?”

“What is it about your work that most differentiates you from other providers?”

“What questions do you have for me?”



Round 2 – real-time interview

Objective – narrow down to 2-3 great candidates

How?– Skype– Phone– Chat

Why?– Find out if you connect– An opportunity to get unscripted answers– Probe areas that require additional discussion

Interview/ test drive Hire



The test drive

Objective – find the one(s)!

How?– Hire to team– Set a maximum number of hours they can bill– Assign the exact same project to your top candidates

Why?– See the candidates in action - gain full visibility into their work diary– An opportunity to see if your working styles are compatible– Competence evaluation– A small cost that signals to the providers that you value their time

Keep the most promising providers




Sample test projects

Analysts: – Analyze a data sample and present their findings

Software developers: – Port a small open-source program from one language

to another

Customer service/support reps: – Assign 3 support tickets to candidates and listen in on

their phone conversation or chat with the customers




Hire

Congratulations!

Summary of this presentation could be found at the oDesk blog:– Hire a Better Online Team in Less Time, Part 1:

http://www.odesk.com/blog/2009/08/hire-a-better-online-team-in-less-time-part-1/– Hire a Better Online Team in Less Time, Part 2:

http://www.odesk.com/blog/2009/08/hire-a-better-online-team-in-less-time-part-2/

To get started, sign up at www.odesk.com

Check out the oDesk Learning Center: http://www.odesk.com/help/help/learning-center/learning_center_buyers

For help, contact Customer Support: http://www.odesk.com/help/ticket

Hire

Business

Odesk Webinar - Building Your Workteam