How to hire the right remote contractors

As retailers adapted to the virtual shopping shift of 2020, it’s now time to think about how you want to manage the e-commerce portion of your business with the help of a contractor. And due to the work-from-home lifestyle of COVID-19, many of these contractors will likely be remote. Katie Elzer-Peters, founder of digital ad agency The Garden of Words, shared some ways you can be diligent about hiring the specific workers you need during her Cultivate’21 session, “Hiring and Managing Remote Contractors.”

“E-commerce is a separate business from your brick and mortar, and you need to have a separate team that is dedicated to running it,” she said.

Think about what type of e-commerce help you need. When it comes to hiring, the scope of work needs to be clearly, painstakingly defined so everyone’s expectations are met. According to Elzer-Peters, this falls between two types of workers: “stay in your lane” worker bees, or “use your brain,” strategists. Worker bees require a lot of training, but they follow instructions, act as an extra set of hands and are usually long-term hires. These workers can assist in data entry, social media or creating newsletters.

Strategists are often short-term hires and will not only help complete tasks, but they’ll teach you how to do something. These workers can be web developers or social media strategists and generally have more defined roles.

How to find them

You can find contractors by utilizing the job site Upwork, industry job boards, community college job boards, referrals and social media. During the interview, here are some questions you’ll want to keep in mind:

“What’s your process?”
This gives you both a clear idea of what you can expect, from start to finish.

“How do you manage your projects?”
With remote workers, it’s crucial to keep tabs on their projects, especially if you’re hiring a strategist position. Free, web-based programs like Trello, Monday.com or even Google Docs easily allow each party to visually track the progress of a project.

“What do you need from us to be successful?”
First and foremost, it’s a partnership — give them what they need to be successful.

Onboarding

Once hired, designate a team member who is going to onboard them and develop a training schedule. Make sure they’re equipped with the proper software collateral needed to do the job.

During this stage, take note of their turnaround times, as well as what their billing and invoicing fees entail. Give them clear roles with established guidelines so they can accomplish their tasks. It’s also crucial to have contract agreements and liability waivers in place to protect both yourself and your contractor, she said.

Introduce them to key teammates and decision-makers and then set your expectations. Establish what metrics you want to measure, communication channels, project time frames and who they can reach out to in times of an emergency.

If you’re hiring a contractor for a consumer-facing product educate them on your company’s voice and tone and provide them with examples and a company style guide. This step is especially important if the person you’re hiring is a marketing team member, she said.

Management

Once they’re onboarded, define metrics and benchmarks so you can track their progress. Remember to plan weekly check-ins to ensure you’re staying on schedule, she said. Put yourself in your contractor’s shoes and think about any barriers they might face, like technical support or communication issues.

“As a contractor, it can be tough to explain what you do. Think about rephrasing questions that don’t get clear responses with more precise language that fits the company culture. Clarifying and rephrasing is a two-way street,” she said.

To prevent confusion, be as specific as possible and centralize communication with project management software. It’s also a good idea to review your reporting templates and schedules. Link any key documents or contacts in your communication hubs so nothing slips through the cracks, she said.

When your contractor’s time is up, make sure you have a plan for a clean handoff. Prepare an exit meeting and request job documentation for a data recovery plan so someone else can pick up where they left off, she concluded.