Ask Anything About Art or Outsourcing!

Hi Matt!

Hmmm, that's a good (and complicated) question!

There is a lot of ground to cover here, so this is going to be a long response. I apologize in advance! XD lol

Okay, let's break this down into parts...
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Project/task Tracking

If by time-management, you're referring to project and task tracking...

Short Answer:
... I usually just use a color-coded Google Doc spreadsheet. I'll have 1 tab for each project (listing the title(s), deadlines, descriptions, and other important info), and my team will color-code tasks and sub-tasks based on their level of completion. Or, you could also make 1 spreadsheet per outsourcer if their tasks are completely separate, so they they don't look at other outsourcer's tabs and get confused. It depends on the project, really.

Long Answer:
I've actually found that any program that I've used for gantt charts and group milestone assignments (like Basecamp) tended to be really hard for some of the outsourcers (or in-house people) to pick up. Some people just have a hard time with organization/management software (and that's okay ^_^). So instead, I usually just use a color-coded Google Doc spreadsheet (as mentioned above).

It's a really basic form of tracking, but it forces you to talk directly to your individual team members when discussing their individual assignments, which tends to boost morale and avoid the "detached boss" syndrome, while also instilling a sense of ownership and responsibility for the assigned task in your outsoutsourcer.

If you export the document to Excel, you can also use the chart/graph/etc. capabilities in the program as well, so while data tracking is not completely automatic, it's still possible.

It's not a perfect solution, but personally, I find that tracking data somewhat manually (or having a VA do it) is a lot easier than getting unhappy and disconnected outsourcers to do good work. ^_~*
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Time-tracking

Now, if you were referring to time-tracking software...

Short Answer:
Instead of tracking an outsourcer's time, I find it better to track their productivity. I like to set goals and milestones, and use them to track how much work is done over a set period of time, and then see if the amount of work remains fairly consistent from 1 time period to the next.

The reason for this is...

Long Answer:
I've found that keeping track of one's working time (based on hours and minutes) often wastes a lot more time than it saves. I know that sounds really counter-intuitive, and that's not to say that time-tracking doesn't have its place, but the methods available tend to produce skewed data and an over-all lower morale, so greater care has to be taken with implementation, and any data gathered needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

For example, when an outsourcer is asked to keep track of their own time, 1 of 3 things usually happens. Either...

• ... they remember to keep track of their hours, but the categories in their activity list are so broad that it doesn't give you anything to work with,
• it's exactly the opposite, where they keep track of their hours in such a detailed manner that it takes an hour or 2 out of their work day just to keep their records straight,
• or more often than not, they forget to do it altogether, and end up estimating after-the-fact, which gives you false data.

In any of these situations, their time is being wasted by producing inaccurate (or overly-accurate) results, and your time is being wasted by trying to analyze the incorrect data as if it were accurate.


When you use a program to track time usage, either they have to remember to turn it on and off (giving you the same estimation problem), or it automatically starts and stops based on what window they have activated on their computer.

If your outsourcer only needs to be in 1 window for their work, this is probably the best method to use. It's accurate, and doesn't require the user to remember to take action. However, some occupations require an outsourcer to switch through multiple windows and view a lot of different things at once (this is the big problem with this method for art outsourcing), so in this situation, oftentimes the data says that they work less than they actually do, so once again, inacurate data.


If you are less concerned with minute-and-hour-based time tracking, and more concerned with the idea that they are working at all, having a program that takes snapshots of the outsourcer's desktop from time to time, like with oDesk, can be really useful. However, once again, it depends on what the outsourcer's job is. Depending on what the outsourcer is doing, they can have windows open which don't look at all useful, and could give the wrong impression, even if they are working (for example, a VA working on social media could have Facebook open all day). So while this can be useful, it doesn't necessarily give you an accurate reading either (and certainly very little data to use).


But overall, the biggest problem with time-tracking is that, depending on the location of your outsourcer, they will probably feel watched, or worse, offended or afraid, if they know that you are tracking their time, which is bad for morale. Bad morale means sloppy work and wasted time, so even if you find a good method for time-tracking, because of the excess time and effort that you'll need to put towards boosting morale, it never really seemed like a good option to me.


Instead, as mentioned above, I like to set goals and milestones, and use them to track how much work is done over a set period of time to see if the amount of work remains fairly consistent. The period of time that you choose should be no shorter than 1 week, and no longer than 2 months (the longer the period, the better average estimation you'll come up with).

• If they do slightly less work in 1 month than they had done in the month before, well, some projects have more problems than others and will take a little longer. That's no big deal.
• If the amount that they do is very inconsistent, even with similar tasks, then you'll need to talk to your outsourcer and find out why.

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I'd say that it depends on 3 things:

1. what type of work they're doing now vs. what they've worked on previously
2. the % difference between how much time you think their tasks should be taking and how much time they're actually taking
3. how you came up with your original time estimate

There are some tasks that just take longer than others, and everyone works at at a different pace, so if your estimate for how long it should take is based off of a task that is not similar to what your VA is currently doing, or based on how quickly someone else could do it, that could be the problem right there.

There's also the possibility that some problem came up during the process. People lose power occasionally, websites go down, computers have errors, etc. It happens, and as long as it's not a constant occurrence, it shouldn't be a big deal. ^_^

Now, if those aren't the issues, and if they are doing similar tasks as they have always done, and you are basing your estimate on their past work, then it depends on how much of a time difference there is.

• If they're spending < 25% more time than usual, I'd give it 2-3 weeks and see if it passes. They could be sick or going through a phase, or it could just be a stubborn task. It might pass with time.

• If it continues, and/or if the difference is 25%-45%, I'd check in and see if there's been a problem that they've been struggling with regarding one of their tasks, or if there's maybe a family or personal issue that's taking their attention from their work. In the end, it may not be as bad as you think. They might surprise you and say that they've been distracted, because they've been trying a new method to improve the process, and they haven't quite worked out the bugs just yet! (I've actually heard of similar things happening before! lol) ^_^

• If the extra time is above an additional 45%, or if they just won't talk to you, then it gets a little harder. At that point, all you can do is talk to them 1-on-1 and see if you can figure out what's wrong. They might be afraid to tell you, because they're afraid of losing their job, or because they're bitter. If they're so bitter that it's affecting their work, there's nothing that you can really do at that point. However, usually that's not the case, and it's just a matter of figuring out what's bothering them, and working with them to come up with an actionable solution.

Also, if they seem tired or like they're really stressing about something, I'd give them an afternoon or a day off here and there. Some people are more prone to stress than others, and while it won't fix the problem, it could help to improve their mood, their work, and their morale, which, in turn, should improve those aspects in their coworkers; one upset person can bring down an entire group, even digitally. 0.o
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My personal goal is just to remember that my outsourcers are people like any other, and to treat them better than I would want to be treated, myself. If I can do that and give them the support that they need to work, then I figure that there's not a whole lot more that I can do. ^_^
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I hope that this helped somewhat! Please let me know if I didn't answer your question, and if so, I'll do my best to answer it the next time around!

I think you have a real problem here that began in your selection of VAs. Outsourcing or not, your results with people are always dependent on the kind of people you have. It is more difficult with outsourcing because the personal touch is missing. What you can do is selective surgery. Incise those who are not delivering on time. Period.

Hi Comphics!

That was one whopper of a question!

Please tell me:

• what services, exactly, you want to offer (all of them)
• what design work you've done
• what design work you were taught to do
• if you've done any freelancing before (and if so, what did you make, and how long did you do it?)
• where you want to offer your services (USA, India, everywhere, etc.?)

All of these will be important in giving you an answer.

Thank you! ^_^

Hi all!

I just got a second, so I thought I'd give you an update!

The free document pack is UP, and you can access it HERE.

I hope that you like it!

Enjoy! ^_^