By Michael Solomon, 10x Management Co-Founder
After you’ve made the decision to hire a freelancer (sometimes referred to as agile talent, 1099s, consultants, contractors, etc.) and your team has worked countless hours on the project, it’s time to conclude and evaluate performance.
At 10x Management, we encourage our clients to evaluate performance and conclude on the strongest note possible.
Document The Work
Good freelancers leave a clean finished product.
Great freelancers document their work so that the next team can continue the project.
Having a freelancer that outlines their work in an easy-to-follow fashion is a valuable asset. It is not fun for anyone to have to go through hundreds of lines of code trying to figure out why exactly something is going wrong.
Give the Gift of Feedback
Good freelancers ask for feedback on their performance.
Great freelancers ask for suggestions on how to do better next time.
The best strive to get better and the only way to do that is to find out where there are failings and where they have room for improvement.
Here are some questions to ask yourself in evaluating a freelancer:
Did they deliver?
- Did they give you what you expected, on time?
Were they a solid partner?
- Did they take ownership and responsibility for the project?
- What would you do differently next time?
Do you trust them and their work?
- Would you employ them again?
- Will you retain them to maintain their work?
The Difference Between Good and Great
Ending a freelance engagement on the right note is an important step toward improving as you move forward. Remember to write down lessons learned from the engagement, and to ensure that the work performed by the freelancer is documented and straightforward for the next team to easily take over.
If you like this article, you might enjoy reading I Asked 4 Venture Capitalists: Is the Reputation of Tech Freelancers Changing?