Top Tools For Managing Outsourcers

When you get good at outsourcing, it can really transform your business - it has certainly changed mine beyond all recognition in the last twelve months. But you need good tools to manage a remote team.

Any recommendations for good tools and resources for managing outsourcers? Here are my top five to get the ball rolling:

Jing (techsmith.com/jing) - quickest and easiest way to share annotated screenshots

Mikogo (Mikogo.com) - best, simple-to-use, totally-free screen sharing system

AgentGuardian (AgentGuardian.com) - awesome tool for knowing exactly what your outsourcers are up to, without invading their privacy.

OnlineJobs.ph - best place to find awesome outsourcers at great prices

ActiveCollab (ActiveCollab.com) - excellent project management system without monthly fees

I agree with those tools you have posted, but I would recommend going to firms with a proven track record of proficiency in offering business consultancy and leased office staffing & management services.

Staff leasing is better than freelance work because leased staff are permanent workers of a company and are easy to reach in case you need them. Freelancers do not have employers so they do as they please and sometimes cannot be contacted for various reasons. Working with a freelancer reduces the quality of your work by 50%. An outsourcing company on the other hand possesses more experience, knowledge and can deliver high output in a limited time.

Sorry, but I have to disagree...

We have used an outsourcing company in the past, and still have one team member employed that way, because we are very happy with that particular employee. However, all the rest of our team were recruited direct...at about half the cost.

All our team members are technically freelance, but in practice act like full-time employees. They work regular office hours, they have to available on Skype whilst working, and we can monitor their activity using the above tools. We give them paid holidays and a generous Christmas bonus, and in return they give us the commitment of a regular employee.

There is no difficulty in finding experienced and knowledgeable staff...and the quality of their work is excellent. I think direct recruiting of outsourcers is definitely the way to go - mainly because of the tools now available to manage them.

I use ASANA.com for assigning and managing tasks to outsourcers and collaboration. You can assign and manage up to 29 outsourcers for free.

the outsourcers will get email task reminders and also be able to see what tasks they have and mark them off when they are complete.

For free, its a pretty good tool to get stuff done and keep track of each of your staff.

I run a team of remote workers (designers mainly) and I strongly disagree with the idea of micro-managing them with a tool like Agent Guardian.

All I care about is output. I need high-quality designs done by certain deadlines, and if the deadline is achieved then I do not care when exactly they worked to achieve it. This mentality has worked well for me over the last 3 years for both design and programming.

As for one of my favorite tools, nothing beats notableapp.com. Check it out if you do a lot of design work.

I am also quite fond of Basecamp for my project management system, but I started using it well before Asana was launched, so I don't know if Asana is better? I'm happy with what I have in Basecamp.