Vitaliy wrote:

>>> - Communication over a distance is probably the biggest problem.
>>> Phone, email, and detailed specs are no substitute for face-to-face
>>> conversation.
>> 
>> FWIW, most of my contracting is over a (long) distance, with very
>> little face-to-face conversation. So there must be something that
>> makes this work well.
> 
> Note that I didn't say it wasn't possible. I would love to hear about
> what you think makes it work well for you.

Other than when working side by side with co-workers is necessary (like
sometimes during complex integration debugging), there doesn't seem to
be much that would be an obstacle. The ability to clearly express what I
want to convey (both in written and oral form) is probably important for
this, but then this is helpful in any setting. An eye for details also
helps; it's less possible to improvise your way through.

What is it that you think makes this the biggest problem?


>>> - One must conduct the process of hiring a contractor the same way
>>> one goes about hiring an employee. Except it is even more essential
>>> to find the right person to do your project, because it takes
>>> longer to find out that they're lazy or incompetent, or both.
>> 
>> Not necessarily. One main skill that a contractor must have (that
>> is, one who should complete a project by himself, not an onsite
>> contractor that is merely a fiscally different version of an
>> employee) is the ability to organize himself and complete the
>> project. Sometimes you can break out a two-weeks project, and it
>> probably tells you quite a bit with not that much risk. With an
>> employee, it often takes longer until you see how well he fits into
>> the company structure.
> 
> Two weeks is our unofficial "trial period" for employees. It is
> plenty long to figure out if we made a hiring mistake, and realizing
> it sooner rather than later minimizes pain for everyone involved. 
> 
> I don't quite understand what you are saying... I hope you're not
> suggesting that a company should spend _less_ time checking the
> credentials and competence level of a contractor, than an employee.

No, definitely not. In a way, you're checking a contractor with every
new project, so it's different anyway. My reply was to your last phrase
above: "... because it takes longer to find out that they're lazy or
incompetent". My suggestion was a short trial project; not as
substitution for checking references, interview etc, but after all this
had a positive result. It may not show the technical capacities as much,
but it shows the work style, how he organizes the project. This needs to
make sense to you, and IMO usually tells a lot.

Gerhard
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