Company and Subcontractor Management

Company and Subcontractor Management

Susan Fennema, Chaos Eradicating Officer (CEO) of Beyond the Chaos, and I discuss the ins and outs of company and subcontractor management in the third video in our 6 video series.  There will be three more videos in the New Year.

 

Today, we talk about communications, on boarding, and helping subcontractors manage their time and obligations:

[embed]https://youtu.be/P_YwvHZzqxg[/embed]

What are the communication requirements for the team?

• Should a sub speak to a client without you or a team member present?


• What internal software tools does your team use that a sub might need to be involved in and how much do you WANT them in it? (Slack, Basecamp Chat, etc)


• Separation between employee-conversations and sub conversations


• Recommend against ever giving out personal cell phone numbers - set up conference calls or use Slack to call out


• Consider setting up a company email address that subs use to communicate to clients or all written communications go through project management tool

How do you bring a sub on board?

• Explain the company structure


• Training vs jumping in


• Senior vs junior devs


• On boarding process (and off boarding process)


• rReviewing work before sending to the client (Q/A)

As a sub, how do I manage working with different clients and keeping time obligations?

• Blocks of time on the calendar


• Confidentiality - especially when working with some of the same people at other shops


• Multiple project management packages? Set them as your startup pages on the web and go to your tasks for that client


• Explain what happens if a client puts something on hold


• Ask for more work if you have a gap


• Understand expectations and COMMUNICATE - over communicate your availability and how you can be contacted

Join Susan and I in the New Year with three new videos:

• Communicating with your Project Manager


• Meeting Expectations 


• Being Responsible as a Developer

Hiring Subcontractors - Setting Expectations

Hiring Subcontractors - Setting Expectations

This week Susan Fennema and I get into the details of Hiring Subcontractors in our second video: Setting Expectations

[embed]https://youtu.be/AGP7bFV91NE[/embed]

What to Expect

What forms should a subcontractor sign before beginning work - and can you even hire a subcontractor?

• Why you ned an NDA


• Why you need a subcontractor agreement


• Non Compete: they can’t work for your client for at least a year


• 1099 or W2


• Why subcontractors should be working for others as well, not only you


• They need to not be full time


• You can hire as a part time employee, instead


• If you hire as an employee (even as part-time), you have the different state’s workmans comp, taxes, etc to take care of (but Quickbooks can help

How are you going to track their time or pay them?

• What software, if any, do you use a software to track time to the client


• How will the sub access it


• Do you want invoices, or do you just pay from your time-track software


• Will you do flat fees from subs or time-based


• How quickly do you pay?


• How to handle training, coming up to speed, and executing for billing

What kind of commitment do you need from them?

• Be clear about how many hours you need from them (and expect to get less)


• Set expected availability to answer questions/attend meetings


• Talk to them about ghosting - be proactive

Thanks for joining us today and be on the lookout next Monday, December 18th, for the third video in our series:

Company & Subcontractor Management

The Function-Separation Model, 5 Lessons Learned by Almost Dying

A novel twist on the Separation model:  The Function-Separation Model

John Renfrew, Director at Attitude in the UK, wrote about using the new FileMaker 16 Card window function in a unique way:  Add new functionality by calling a separate function file that does all the work (you send it parameters), returns the info to the calling file, and then goes away.  He calls it the Function-Separation Model:

Keeping the functionality in a single place means that when improvements or fixes are added, they can be inherited by every single file that uses the Function-Separation file without any alterations to the calling file. The method outlined is also lightweight in your solution and leaves little visible trace of where the functionality originates.

Free Demo File

There is a free demo file at the link to help you get your head around this concept.  Basically, to add new functionality, you would do what most programmers in other computers languages already do:  call an external function with parameters, let that function do it's magic, grab the results, and process them using JSON parsing tools and such.

This makes it easier to add functionality to already existing solutions, but also raises questions about data security:  How do you limit who can call the action or see the results?  And does it open a path back to the main solution?

I like the path this is taking, and want to see more along this line.  FileMaker is changing - mostly catching up - and it's fun to be part of the experience.

Source: (19) The Function-Separation Model for FileMaker development | LinkedIn

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5 Lessons Learned by Almost Dying

Inspiring, spiritual Tedx video of a woman who miraculously survived cancer on her death bed. She went from there to healed in very short order and is now sharing her experience:

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhcJNJbRJ6U[/embed]

The five lessons she shares are worth your time.

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How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.

Wayne Dyer

Managing SubContractors (Videos)

Managing SubContractors and Project Management

Join Susan Fennema – Chaos Eradicating Officer, Beyond the Chaos , Brandon Hayes (Director of Business Relations – Kalos Consulting, Inc.) and me in the first of six videos on Managing SubContractors and Project Management.

The video series started today on Facebook at 11 Eastern...and I have shared it on YouTube, as well:

https://youtu.be/NJ5GtgGutlk

In the first video, Brandon joins Susan and me to discuss finding, vetting, and integrating subcontractors or employees into your business.  Among other things, we talk about the following:

Vetting: Finding and onboarding subcontractors

1. How do I know who I am looking for?:
   
   1. Think through what your desired qualifications are:
      
      1. Do you need someone Certified?
      
      
      2. How accessible do you want them to be? Remote? Come in to an office? Moonlight or dedicated contractor?
      
      
      3. What other skills/languages do they need experience in?
      
      
      4. Balance budget vs skill
      
      
   
   


2. Great, so where do I find this person?
   
   1. Kalos has the luxury of referencing a network of contractors and developers, but if you don’t, go where the developers are:
      
      1. FM User groups
      
      
      2. Job boards (though we know that the best employees are not there)
      
      
      3. Networking/referrals
      
      
   
   


3. So I’ve found someone. Now what?
   
   1. Communication, communication, communication
      
      1. Make sure you set a clear outline of what you’re expecting from them, when you have deadlines, when they’ll be paid, do you provide an FMP license or do they need to bring their own?
      
      
   
   
   2. Backend setup (preview for next week)
      
      1. Paperwork, contracts, NDA, payroll
      
      
   
   
   3. Sound like a lot? Kalos will take care of it for you
   
   

And lot's more.  Watch the video to learn more.

Join us next week for Part 2

Join Susan and me next Monday at 11 EST for the second video in the 6 part series when we discuss:

Setting expectations:

What forms should a subcontractor sign before beginning work - and can you even hire a subcontractor

• NDA


• Subcontractor agreement (non-compete?) They can’t work for your client for at least a year


• 1099 or W2


• Full or Part Time


• Part time employees?


• If you hire as an employee (even as part-time), you have the different state’s workman's comp, taxes, etc to take care of (but Quickbooks can help)

How are you going to track their time or pay them?

• Do you use a software to track time to the client (Slack, Trello, FileMaker?)


• How will the sub access it


• Do you want invoices, or do you just pay from your time-track software


• Will you do flat fees from subs or time-based


• How quickly do you pay?

What kind of commitment do you need from them?

• Be clear about how many hours you need from them (and expect to get less)


• Expected availability to answer questions/attend meetings


• Ghosting (as in disappearing)