HRM - Outsourcing Programmers / Need help!

I am not sure this is the best section to post, but I guess it is the most suitable.
I am searching for advice on "programmers management". Any advice or good idea is highly appreciated!

I work with programmers that are not in-house and I use rentacoder for finding them. We also tried elance and basically it's the same story there....

I have problems managing programmers that work on projects bigger than 500 or 1000 $- it's fine and going smoothly till they work on a smaller projects - few days work, but as soon as something "bigger" is in the picture - problems appear ... It is not about the rentacoder's system , it is about programmers I get there... they can't handle the work, they don't reply to mails, constantly breaking deadline, bringing up all kinds of excuses why haven't done sth, etc. I even got excuses like my granny died... Can you believe that??
I am finding out it is really hard to find good programmers to cooperate with, if they're not in the house... The problem of control... what do i do if he doesn't return my mails. etc.. The problem of motivation... what do i do to motivate them if they get stuck in the middle of a project and don't give up?

As said before, any advice on managing outsourcing programmers would be highly appreciated!

 

one thing i used to do was promise them a small bonus (sometimes 50% of the project cost) if work is perfect (in time + quality) . if they do they will get it. from few of the projects i outsourced at my workplace like this i used to get the things PERFECT

even giving 50% as a bonus is well worth than not getting the work done on time or not getting quality output

i used to add them to my messenger and stayed in contact as well. and sometimes i asked for daily progress reports

 

maybe you should just get a reliable and skilled programmers

 

Hello!
Coolcode, this is good idea. However, we give bonuses, just not as high as 50%, and they always break deadlines and not only that, they don't get job done... I'll try your idea and see how it goes. And yes, I agree... better option is money spent than not getting the work done on time or not getting quality output.
Scarlett, we are aiming at reliable and skilled programmers. And they all say they can do the job, but when it comes to action, no mail replies... so, the question is - how do you know you got programmer that is skilled? about hiring a firm to take over programming - you also have to control them and the problem with firms is that they usually take too many projects they can't handle... consequently, they too break deadlines and the problem of quality appears... Huh... problems, problems...

Anyway, thanks for your suggestions!

 

How about yourself trying to micro manage , break up the full project in small tasks which does not take longer than a week to complete, and track percentage of completion for each project, you can buy MS Project for the purpose and ask the freelance programmers to also use MS Project and send you report every week.

 

Have you tried searching locally? Might cost a bit more, but if you can meet with them in person on a regular basis, you might get better results. Guess it depends on your location though.
I too have had the same problems you are having and can understand your problem. Even once you think you find yourself a good programmer, they don't always stay reliable either.

 

BrianTT,

You should look for a better and best company that will provide you great services and won't leave you stranded.
It is important that an employee had supervisors who will manage their output.

btw, check your pm.