By: Michael Sharp
vWorker.com Employer and Top 10 Worker
As an employer (and worker), I always want to save money, which is what drew me to vWorker.com in the first place. There's a terrific opportunity to get top quality work here at rock bottom prices, something I find to be quite refreshing in today's high cost technology market. Along with the deep discounts I've found here, by taking advantage of vWorker.com's 'Safe Project Escrow' TM a prospective employer just can't lose!
However, there are some potential mistakes that can be made by both first-time as well as veteran employers that could come back to haunt you ' I'd like to review these with you and offer some suggestions.
Probably the most important concept to understand is that vWorker.com does not ever charge a fee to employers for their use of the service. Why is this so important? Mainly, to avoid misunderstandings with workers about who pays vWorker.com's project fee and the final project cost.
When a worker signs on with vWorker.com, they contractually agree to pay a percentage (10% - 15% or $3.00, whichever is higher) of the total project cost to vWorker.com as a 'Finder's Fee'. Obviously this fee supports vWorker.com's ongoing operational and administrative costs and is based on the type of project that was posted. As far as I have been able to determine, this fee has never increased since vWorker.com went into operation, which is by the way, a great deal for the workers.
In other words, there are no set fees for any particular project ' it's entirely based on the bid amount you accept, and paid for by the worker who won the bid in exchange for them using vWorker.com to find work, maintain profiles, manage an escrow account for them, etc. Unlike other freelancing sites where workers pay a monthly fee as well as a commission for bidding on projects, vWorker.com only charges them a fee when they win a bid and complete the project!
More importantly, since this is a blind bidding system, there is no way for the worker to mark up his or her bid to pass the 'Finder's Fee' back to you as the employer. Any worker bidding on a given project has absolutely no way of knowing of what the 'other guy' bid on your project so every worker has an incentive to keep their bid as low as possible.
Given that, if a worker should ever indicate to you that he or she has to charge you 'extra' for vWorker.comprojects, you should realize that this is something the worker is doing entirely on their own and that perhaps it's time to look for a different worker to work with.
Your First Project and Auction Types
Whether you're a first time or even a veteran vWorker.comemployer, your first project is typically posted as either an Open Auction (where any worker can bid) or a Private Auction (where only those you invited can bid). At this point, let's assume that it's your first project and you've never worked with any vWorker.comworker.
After posting your project, you'll receive bids from all over the world (and I'm certain they'll be as diverse as the workers posting them.) Many workers will offer a variety of incentives for you to choose their bid over any other but you have to step cautiously here.
To a worker bidding on Open or Private Auctions this means that they will be paying a 15% 'Finder's Fee' to vWorker.com when the project has been completed. Because of this, a worker might occasionally suggest having you repost your project for him or her only as a One on One Project/Enhancement Auction (12.5% 'Finder's Fee') or as a Bonus/Other Direct Payment (10% 'Finder's Fee') ' you should never do this because if caught, the worker is subject to strict penalties up to and possibly including being banned from vWorker.com and all Exhedra sites.
Why would that happen? vWorker.com (quite legitimately) views this behavior as the worker attempting to 'cheat' vWorker.com out of it's rightfully earned 'Finder's Fee' of 15%. Once a project has been posted as a particular auction type, you can't repost it without first obtaining permission from an vWorker.com Facilitator (facilitator@vWorker.com).
Among other things, this might mean you have to go back and find another worker to finish your project ' all because you tried to help the worker save a few dollars! If you're at all like me, your time and effort are probably worth a lot more than that. You're much better off waiting until the project is completed and then paying the worker a bonus to make up the difference if they did an outstanding job for you.
Even more importantly, if you send the worker a Bonus/Other Direct Payment before they have completed any work for you at all, you risk losing your entire project cost because this type of auction bypasses escrow and the worker's account is credited immediately. Technically, the worker doesn't have to deliver anything to you at all, which leaves little recourse for you if the worker disappears or reneges on the project.
Lastly, always remember that workers are expressly forbidden from requiring advance payments from employers for any reason. Workers are allowed to request 'phased' payments, i.e.; 25% upon delivery of beta, etc., but only after delivering a commensurate portion of the work they bid on.
Working with Workers Directly on Other Projects
Now let's assume that your first project went well (which is usually the case) and you're thinking about your next one. You may be considering using the same worker, which can work out exceptionally well for both of you because by now you're familiar with each other and probably have a pretty good working relationship.
This is the time to go back to vWorker.com and post your project as a One on One Project/Enhancement type of auction for your worker. This saves the worker 2.5% off the 'Finder's Fee' and is a discount to the worker for bringing repeat business back to vWorker.com.
You might be inclined to work directly with the worker at this point and bypass vWorker.com altogether (sometimes at the worker's suggestion), but in all honestly, I can't emphasize enough just how bad of an idea I think this is!
Aside from the fact that this is a clear violation of both the Custom Software Employer and Worker Agreements and, since using vWorker.com costs you as an employer nothing, there's simply no better reason to continue to use them given the employer protection they have to offer you.
The only person who really stands to benefit from bypassing vWorker.com is the worker and the benefit is usually so small that you should ask yourself if it's worth risking your time, money and effort on.
For example, let's say you have a project in the $100 range (let's keep the math simple). If you posted a One on One Project/Enhancement for your worker, this means that they will pay a 'Finder's Fee' of $12.50 to vWorker.com. But it also means that you can set a project deadline, have the cost of your project placed in escrow until you indicate it's satisfactorily completed, and have someone to turn to (facilitator@vWorker.com) in the event something goes wrong on the project. Additionally, your worker is also aware that you will most likely be rating his or her performance so they have plenty of incentive to do a great job.
Using the same project described above, if you bypassed vWorker.com and worked directly with the worker you'd have no recourse through vWorker.com on this new project! If the worker does not deliver, then you've completely wasted your time. If you paid the worker for all or even a portion of the project cost up front and they don't deliver, you've just lost your money as well, all because you wanted to save the worker $12.50!
Is it worth it? Not to me ' I'd rather send the worker a $15.00 bonus when the project is finished and at least know that vWorker.com was there with me every step of the way through the project, protecting my investment.
The best possible advice I can offer you is for you to put the onus on the worker to deliver a top-notch project, on time and the way you want it, and then use the Bonus/Direct Payment Auction type to make up for any difference. Always remember though that you are never obligated to pay anything more than the amount of the bid you selected.
Lastly, as a very productive worker at vWorker.com, I can say that I emphatically support the 'Finder's Fee' concept. Without it, I would not have had the pleasure of meeting and working with over one hundred clients on my vWorker.comprojects! More importantly, I've had well over a year's experience watching vWorker.com evolve into the comprehensive and premiere freelance site it is today and I can plainly see that every 'Finder's Fee' I've paid has been put to excellent use benefiting both employers and workers alike!
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