Planet CakePHP

Category: Business & Management Tags: Business, Management

A freelancer on a mailing list I'm part of has to make the leap to hiring his first employee. This is obviously a good time for him, but it also can be challenging because he now has another person to consider while doing his work:

"For anybody who has had an employee, any advice? Any things I should be concerned about? I'm a little nervous about it but all in all feeling more relief than anything."

My response was received well on the mailing list, so I figure I'd share it with you as well.

#1. Make sure your expectations are clearly laid out before you start a project.

If your expectations of them are clear up-front, then there will be very little miscommunications through the project.

#2. Incorporate their input into making deadlines.

Never enforce a deadline without negotiating with them up-front. They will own up to the deadline if they had say in making it.

#3. Setup payment terms ahead of time.

Be clear and concise when they will get paid.

#4. Do some of the work yourself (if possible)

This way you will know exactly what is behind the scenes of the project and will be able to better communicate to your client what they've done.

#5. Give them benefits.

I just sent one of my contractors to SXSW and paid some of his room & board. He was thrilled, and as a result did very great work directly after I gave him that bonus.