Important alert: Feb 20, 2012 12:21:38 PM EDT.
|
Dismiss this alert
|
- We have rolled out another round of enhancements and bug fixes, including: updates to the competitor matrix, contest enhancements, updates to the homepage, design/layout changes, and various other bug fixes. View the Site Improvements Blog for the complete list of changes.
- vWorker is proud to announce that it helped 880 poor entrepreneurs start micro-businesses in 32 countries with $60,000 in training and micro-loans! Click here to learn more.
- Employers: we are considering creating an API that would let you create programs that interact with vWorker to post projects, talk with workers, accept bids, pay workers, etc. If you would like and use such a feature, then please click here to let us know!
|
|
|
Outsourcing:
Many workers / companies compete for the job by bidding. The employer hires one, who then does
the work.
Recommended for:
- Employers who have the technical ability
and time to interview the workers well.
-
Non design projects like programming, writing,
virtual assistants, etc..
How it works:
-
The employer posts a description of the project and
workers bid for the job.
-
The employer interviews them by talking with them online,
as well as by evaluating their bid, resume, ratings (left by
previous employers) and
any Expert Guarantee
they may have made.
-
The employer picks the best candidate
as the winner and then escrows funds with vWorker.com.
This proves to the worker that the employer has the ability
to pay, but protects the employer from having to make a
direct (and risky) advance payment.
-
When the work is completed, the employer releases the funds from
escrow to the worker.
-
If there is a dispute, vWorker.com steps
in with free arbitration.
-
If the worker did not deliver, the
employer receives their funds back via one of the money
back guarantees:
-
If the employer unfairly withheld payment, then the
worker receives payment via the worker
payment guarantee.
More information:
-
What are the
advantages and disadvantages?
Advantages:
- Simplest and quickest.
- Most familiar to anyone who has done traditional hiring.
- Most affordable (cheapest).
Disadvantages:
-
Interviewing: Requires the employer to have the
ability and time to interview well,
which not everyone can do (especially when
hiring a person working in a field outside
of one's own expertise).
Note: if this describes an employer, then they should
consider a different sourcing type (or hire a
'Sherpa'
to do the interviewing for them).
-
Certain project types: Does not work well for certain
project types (like design) where the employer can't
predict in advance how well the person will do.
For example: in design projects, samples of previous
work in portfolios are easily faked, making
interviewing no better than guess work.
-
Click here for step-by-step details for
employers and workers.
|
|
Crowdsourcing:
No bidding or interviewing required. Many contestants compete by
doing the work. The employer awards a prize to the best one.
Recommended for:
-
Employers who want to choose the best
candidate but don't
have the technical ability or time to do it.
- Short projects that take a contestant
two days or
less to do.
(Note: For larger projects, see
"trialsourcing" instead).
-
All categories of work, but especially suited to
short design projects
like logos, websites, business cards, t-shirts,
brochures, architecture,
etc.
How it works:
- The employer posts a description of the work and
escrows funds for a prize.
-
The workers submit their entry(ies) for the prize,
which the employer rates (on a scale of one to five). The employer also gives
feedback so they can refine their submission
(if necessary). If the visibility of the project
is public then the workers can view what other workers
have submitted and how the employer liked/disliked their
worker. This lets them better hone their submission to the
employers' satisfaction.
- PerfectPricing™:
If the worker needs a higher prize to participate,
they post their proposed prize amount to the employer.
The employer can review their resume and qualifications
and then decide whether or not to raise it to get
their participation.
-
After the contest is complete, the employer picks the best
worker as the winner who then receives the prize money.
The employer then receives copyright
to the purchased deliverables. All non selected
contestants retain full copyright to their own
work, and it may not be used by the employer (unless
the two work out mutually agreeably terms).
-
If none of the contestants were good for the employer,
then they have
the option to choose no-one and
receive a refund via the
money-back guarantee. (Note: if the employer
chose to guarantee to award the prize then they
must do so, and cannot get a refund).
Next-generation crowdsourcing:
vWorker.com's crowdsourcing has several crucial
features that give you more power and flexibility than
any competitor:
- Crowdsource every type of project
- Crowdsource every sized project (with either
crowdsourcing or trialsourcing)
- PerfectPricing™
Click here to learn more.
More information:
- What are the
advantages and disadvantages?
Advantages:
- Skips interviewing: Lets the employer see
exactly how the person performs "on the job".
- Best option to interviewing:
Is the only way to truly qualify workers
in fields where the employer cannot predict in
advance how well a person will do
(like design).
Disadvantages;
-
More expensive: With outsourcing the employer pays
the least,
because they only have to pay a single person
who knows they have won the job already. With
crowdsourcing they have to pay a larger prize
amount that will encourage many people to do the
work for free in the hopes of being the one who
wins the prize.
-
Best suited for smaller sized/scope projects:
Crowdsourcing works best on small sized projects that
take a week or so for the worker to complete. Longer
running contests are usually too expensive to
justify. (Note: if this is an employer's case, then
they should see
"trialsourcing" below for a better solution).
-
Click here for step-by-step details for
employers and workers.
|
|
Trialsourcing:
Similar to crowdsourcing but cheaper and
handles larger projects (longer than two days).
Trialsourcing is a
vWorker Best Practice.
Trialsourcing combines the strengths
of crowdsourcing (the ability to
find the best worker via an
"on-the-job trial")
with outsourcing (dramatically lower
cost). Unlike crowdsourcing,
it can be used on larger projects which
run longer than two days.
We are proud to have invented trialsourcing,
and it's also a
vWorker exclusive feature.
Recommended for:
- Employers who want to choose the best candidate but don't have the technical ability or time to do it.
-
Larger projects (more than two days)
How it works:
-
The employer splits their project into two
parts:
- Small trial contest portion:
A crowdsourcing contest used to pick the
best candidate.
- Larger
one-on-one portion:
An outsourcing portion used to do the bulk of
the work with the selected candidate (at a
much cheaper price than crowdsourcing).
- Small
trial contest portion:
The first portion is sized just
large enough to measure the
worker's ability and screen them
well...but no larger than that.
(This minimizes the employer's cost, since
crowdsourcing is more expensive
than outsourcing). Contestants
not only do the work and submit
it, but also place a bid
for completing the one-on-one
portion. The employer awards the prize to
the best contestant and then
the two transition to the one-on-one
portion.
- Larger
one-on-one portion:
The second part of the project
is completed using outsourcing
(to minimize cost). The employer's
money is fully protected
with one of our
money-back guarantees. And if the worker delivers
as agreed then we guarantee payment to them.
More information:
-
Click here for an example...
For example: let's say the employer's project is to have
someone program
"the next Facebook" for them. They'd rather not pick
outsourcing because they're not certain they'll pick the
best programmer. But they also can't pick
crowdsourcing because
the site will take a year to develop, and would be
too expensive.
So they choose trialsourcing and split the project into
two portions.
The crowdsourcing portion is for a programmer to create
a website
that does just the profile page and a wall page (the bare
minimum
functionality in Facebook for the employer
to be able to judge their abilities). Many programmers
do the project
and they easily identify the best one.
Then they complete the 2nd portion of the project
using outsourcing, which is much cheaper.
-
Click here for step-by-step details for
employers and workers.
|
|
|