Enterprise Project Management» Project Staffing

Know Your Employment Law

chris — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:38:27 +0000

Introduction.

If you’re just starting out in your career as a Project Manager or are perhaps working as a Project Manager on a relatively small project, then you’ll invariably find yourself being directly responsible for more and more things, including directly recruiting, managing and trouble-shooting staff yourself. Whilst you will of course want to recruit the best staff and treat them all fairly – are you confident that you know about US employment law and how it could affect your recruitment and managerial procedures and styles?

So what does employment law say?

To answer that question definitively, unfortunately is virtually impossible at any one time – as the law is constantly open to interpretation. That doesn’t mean to say that Project Managers can make their own interpretations of US employment laws, but that as employment law cases are heard by the courts – the subsequent and various rulings can alter the way that US employment law is applied. The result of this is that just reading about US employment law is not enough to keep you abreast of how it is currently being applied. This means that, if you haven’t the time to personally keep track of the latest court rulings; that you can at least refer to an attorney who is an employment law expert.

Where to start with US employment law.

Don’t end up under the judge’s gavel on employment law.

Having said all of that – where should you start your understanding of US employment law? Firstly you need to know that US employment law is enshrined in four main acts: The equal pay act of 1963, The civil rights act of 1964, The age discrimination in employment act of 1967 and the Americans with disabilities act of 1990. These are all federal laws – however, they will all be backed up by local state laws too. As previously mentioned, the wording in all of those original laws will now be open to new and extended interpretations, but the general ethos enshrined in them remains the same. However, say someone with a disability applied for a post with you – you are not restricted to hiring them by anything within the relevant act. What you must do is be confident that, and be able to demonstrate that, you have given them due and equal consideration on their own merit and in relation to other candidates for the post. The simplest way to do this is simply not to ask or say anything that could be taken as being discriminatory. For example – advertizing a job requiring graduate status is fine, advertizing a job suitable for a recent graduate would not be. Why, well quite simply the latter statement implies you’re only looking for young prospective employees.

Know Your Employment Law is a post from: Enterprise Project Management

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Ignore Job Applicants that Ignore Your Requirements

tom — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 00:10:56 +0000

I’ve been increasing the number of hires for my company in the last couple months a lot. What I’ve been looking for is both – freelancers and employees. In Austria, and outside Austria (I don’t care where people sit if they can do the job well)

However, what I learnt over the past couple months is, why it’s said that bigger companies are “arrogant” when it comes to responses to job applications.

I learnt with an increased number of job postings for my company that the quality of the application ABSOLUTE relates to the quality of the person applying for the job.

My submission requirements are not easy, but easy to read.

I want

a CV
some writing samples in german AND english
and recently a filled out form where a couple of questions are to be answered (okok – it’s about 600 words to write I would estimate, but hell – people want a job)

I get

10% of complete submissions
90% crap

Yes, frankly NINE out of TEN persons applying for a full-time job are NOT capable to read a 2-line-requirement of things to send in.

Funny thing is, that in the beginning I started to answer them back to say “hey, please send in a a complete application, or there’s THIS missing or I’m still requiring THAT”… And one guy even wrote back “What’s still missing? I sent you all”

I must admit – I’m anoyed by so many crappy applications especially for full-time jobs located in Austria.

Frankly, today I feel this is in a direct correlation to the

austrian social system (you can get $2500 or MORE for doing nothing) … and I tell you – one lady once had the guts to tell me “If I would work for you, I would no make a profit – I’d rather keep unemployed… what a pest, eh?”

the extemely hot weather currently ( I guess many people go bananas when it’s over 35 degress celsius )

most people are just damn LAZY and think “maybe I would still get an interview with incomplete application, but then THEY’LL see me and hire me rightaway …”

damn… hiring can get frustrating at some point…

I tell you what –
I stopped answering incomplete applications
PLUS
I will stop feeling anoying after today

What’s your hiring and interview experience?

Ignore Job Applicants that Ignore Your Requirements is a post from: Enterprise Project Management

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RentACoder gets better, GetAfreeLancer worse

tom — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 20:14:45 +0000

Today I learnt about two changes in the internet outsourcing world

1) RentAcoder.com: implemented a new ExpertGuarantee – which requires the bidders to agree to a money deposit that will be forfeited if they miss the deadline…

this is a great thing if you are in a critical project or just can’t stand those people procrastinating exactly YOUR projects and telling you all sorts of odd reasons for that

2) GetAfreeLancer: implemented new rating rules that are VICE VERSA

today I learnt that you cannot leave negative feedback if a provider agrees to your price and deadline just to drop out of the project somewhere in the middle… of course you’ll get your money back if you were wise enough to ESCROW it (NEVER pay anything upfront as I, the dumbass, did with 2 providers because they told me some weird story… NEVER)

this is essentially the reason why I will move away from GAF. GAF did never implement a proper process for problematic situations and they REFUSE to help you – either if you are the buyer or the seller… they just don’t care

with this recent step they even incentivised or at least no more penalized providers to drop out of a project in the middle… and THAT’S BAD – as you might meet “top-coders” (with all those 5 star ratings for 20$ projects) and they might simply suck and try to get away with low-quality work or bad deliverables… and if not, they drop out and don’t even get their bad rating…

Interested changes, eh?

RentACoder gets better, GetAfreeLancer worse is a post from: Enterprise Project Management

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Working With Subcontractors To Get The Job Done

tom — Sat, 10 Jun 2006 20:31:53 +0000

When working on a wide variety of projects, it is impossible to always have the exact expertise that you need in house in order to get the job done. If looking for outside help on a temporary basis, a subcontractor may be the best way to go. A skilled subcontractor will allow your regular staff to concentrate on projects that they are proficient in, and that can often be the best way to keep your staff on track and working at their optimal speed.

By using subcontractors, usually freelancers, you can allow your team to focus on the things that they do best. This will reduce the stress associated with working on a project that they are unsure of or that they lack the skills or knowledge to complete. Let’s face it, there are bound to be projects that need a bit of outside expertise, and this is especially true with smaller companies. It is not financially feasible to keep a large staff on hand, by using skilled subcontractors, you can make your firm appear much more capable to potential clients.

When using subcontractors, it is a good idea to have a contract that outlines the exact details of the job that the subcontractor is being hired to do. The contract should contain the amount of compensation that the subcontractor is going to receive as well as a non-disclosure statement. When you bring an outsider into your teams environment, you want everyone to feel that you are looking out for their best interests.

Many small companies find subcontractors to be a great resource, including my own one-man show.

Subcontractors tend to be much cheaper than traditional, long term employees and can often be of a great benefit to a company even if only for a very short period of time. You can pick subcontractors based on their knowledge and opt for different subcontractors as the need arises.

However hiring subcontractors is nothing different to hiring normal personell… it’s the “human factor” that should work out in the end… the best subcontractor can be a one-time hire if you find that your personal communication is not effective enough. This especially when hiring offshore subcontractors from overseas…

and for my own company I recently started making my own experiences with off-shore workers just these days…

Working With Subcontractors To Get The Job Done is a post from: Enterprise Project Management

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How a one person company builds a team

tom — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 08:35:11 +0000

Greg “GoodRoi” writes on WMW about How a one person operation can build a team of workers
(that’s a member’s only post)

He again elaborates on Freelancer Portals as I wrote about just some time ago…

I must admit I haven’t signed up with a single freelancer portal as a buyer until today… but that must change…

there are just too many ideas in my head – even if I outsource some writing there’s still plenty of coding to be done for some projects – and after all I still have to complete my studies here

To clarify: I am talking about online programming outsourcing portals like

which are usually used for smaller type of projects, not the “big” fishes in the freelance-broker market

So let me know: what is your favourite freelancer platform?

Where do you recruit the best coders?
Where do you recruit the best writers?
Where do you recruit the best web designers?
Where do you recruit the best hum… community builders?

which other programming outsources portals are there?

Please let me know via comments…
Thanks, Tom

Update 5/29: I finally started testing some of the outsourcing portals… pretty interesting

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Changing Code or Building Code People

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

I always prefer to work with people that are good in CHANGING existing code as it REALLY requires them to understand (other's) code…

there are just too many "from-scratch-coders" out there that are feeling more like "coding artists" and create crap code that does not obey any standards or not to think-of even design patterns…

Those that use available libraries are usually the much more experienced ones..

Brings up a good interview-question: your 3 favourite libs – and why?

so the best team staffing would be to get "Changing Code People" and build your project from scratch (but still based on good basic libs of course) …

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Million Dollar Homepage Follow-Up

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Even the the guy behind The Million Dollar Homepage – the site which made him a million dollars in under 5 months seeks to outsource his next project

No Agencies Please – Freelance Jobs and Projects

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People Management – Ten Steps to Success!

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

I found a nice guest article today….
—-

People management skills are vital for managers – it may sound simple, yet some managers find it so challenging.

But there are just a few simple ideas that you can start to incorporate.

To get the best results you have to be very good at people management…and it's not as hard as you might think.

Here are the secrets of the very best managers:-

The best at people management…

1) Manage!

They focus on getting their people to deliver the key activities and don't attempt do too much themselves. The best managers delegate widely, using the ethic 'Ask for forgiveness, not for permission' to free their people from blame or wrongdoing.

2) Build the Best Teams

Leveraging the exceptional talents of all the people around them, managers develop and utilise capability fully – and glue it together.

3) Focus on Delivery

Managers are there to deliver the day to day tactical results the business or organisation needs. Here, there is little space for strategy or vision as such, but those great at managing peoplewill keep a reference point there. Every manager's defined goal is measurable results.

4) Build Relationships

As it's all about people, great managers build relationships easily and make it a priority, day-in-day out. They spend a lot of time with and listening to, their people.

5) Accept Feedback

Actually, they don't just accept it, they suck feedback in – they use their excellent listening skills to seek out feedback all the time – in every interaction.

6) Develop Others

Grasping the opportunities, the best managers quickly link them to those who can make progress in their own development – and in line with ongoing Succession Planning, prepare for the future well in advance.

7) Are Accountable

They are very clear that they are 'where the buck stops'. No blame elsewhere, not upwards deflection of decisions; no 'someone else's fault'. They are where the action is and they accept it. It's down to them.

Set Standards

To ensure that everyone is clear, great managers have simple and clear standards throughout their area of operation – ideally created in collaboration with their people.

9) Are Determined

Focusing entirely on value-creation, they stick to plans, policies and change programmes like glue. They have a skill to know and deliver what is right, without veering from their Vision.

10) Can Be Trusted

The best managers are ethically sound, fair and honest. They make promises only when they know they can deliver. Everyone is treated equally and their own behaviour models fairness and transparency.

Simple steps, using them can make 90% of your management very, very effective. Checkout the website below for key information in 40 different people skills to develop your management skills fast!

People Management – Ten Steps to Success! is a post from: Enterprise Project Management

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Project Piece outsourcing over the net

tom — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 23:34:16 +0000

Just by chance I noticed I was researching a couple of those coder-outsourcing sites like

and I spoke with some people that made exceptionelly nice deals there, were very happy – AFTER weeding thru a bunch of crap-heads that just could not deliver…

so the general question now is – what – except from the “community” rating on those boards can help select the right coder…

the thing portable reputation is another buzzword I heard recently… not sure if that will help… a simple number doesn’t scale well to the wide differentation in software projects…

any helps and inputs appreciated…

Project Piece outsourcing over the net is a post from: Enterprise Project Management

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Do you want Coder Artists or Working Dogs? – Google’s Summer of Code Contest finds out

tom — Sun, 05 Jun 2005 15:05:10 +0000

Google again engages in acquiring new talent the other way round with a contest for all IT students in the Google Code: Summer of Code

I already enjoyed, back in summer 2003 Google’s Code Jam as a recruiting innovation and have since not seen any really big players to follow…
The Summer of Code is Google’s program designed to introduce students to the world of open source software development.

This summer, don’t let your programming skills lie fallow. Use them for the greater good of open source software and computer science. Google will provide a $4500 award to each student who successfully completes a project by the end of the summer.

They not only benchmark your technical skills but also your soft skills to commit to a project in a time schedule, IMHO one of the most important skills of any worked, let alone a programmer – who ALWAYS can find ways to introduce more work and length into a task by improving code, refactoring code, just working with it’s masterpiece… and I agree, being a coder myself – improving your code, making it pretty and working even better is a very nice work – you can do that work weeks without deadlines or the skill to just make it fit at 99%.

Google put up a

Google Code Discussions list
Mentoring Program where big OpenSource entities shall support the applicants (and probably also provide good feedback on their skills for future hires – and they get $500 for that

Be able to tell us about the developer, how they worked with the group, if they should be invited back should we do another summer of code, etc..

Again this is a fantastic large scale recruiting project and altough I had no time to research about Google Code winner Yarin from 2003, I am sure it paid for him and Google.

I wish I would have access to similar recruiting data for my own projects to pick only the cherries

Do you want Coder Artists or Working Dogs? – Google’s Summer of Code Contest finds out is a post from: Enterprise Project Management

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