So what's the difference between the two groups? And how do you make sure you're one of the "champs" in arbitration and not one of the "chumps"? Fortunately it's very easy, with the following tips.
Part 1 of this article talks about the best ways to do work before the arbitration even begins. Part 2 (published next month) discusses how to conduct yourself once arbitration begins.
Before Arbitration
80% of arbitrations are decided based on something that happened before the arbitration itself ever started. So the most important thing you can do to win an arbitration is to work professionally and competently with the employer. This might seem obvious, yet we see the same mistakes being made over and over again. Here's how to avoid making them.
- Clarify vague contract terms…
- Ask questions:
If you don't understand something in the contract – ask. Ideally, you should ask before you place a bid on the project. If a contract term is vague and you have already accepted the project, you are putting yourself at risk. That vague requirement could get clarified to be a lot of work, which you did not anticipate. Also, asking questions is a great way to show employers that you have read their requirements and want to meet their needs.
- Pros and Cons:
If there are multiple possible implementations for the requirement, then inform the employer about the pros and cons of each. Don't just pick one (such as the easiest, the cheapest, or the one you're most familiar with). If you do then you take a big risk. If your choice causes problems for the employer, you will be responsible in arbitration. You may have to redo your work, or could even lose the arbitration. The employer is the one paying for the project, so make sure you give them the choice they are entitled to.
- Don't underbid:
The more you clarify the requirements, the better you can accurately estimate the time and effort the project will take. And that is the only way to accurately estimate how much to charge. Don't get in a situation of underbidding just to win the project. Workers who do this often get demotivated because they are working for too little money and don't do their best. If you do this and get into arbitration, the arbitrator won't accept it as an excuse for sloppy work or not delivering to the contract. You are responsible for estimating and bidding properly. If you have a continual problem estimating, then consider switching to pay-for-time projects so you can avoid this situation.
- Explain copyright when using 3rd party or open source materials…
- Disclose it:
If you use 3rd party components of any kind (or in the case of graphics projects – 3rd party images) it is your responsibility to explain:1) What in your deliverables will be 3rd party.2) What are the copyright consequences to the employer of what you intend to do.
If you do those things, you will be covered.3) Get the employer to agree to it (onsite).
If you don't, you will lose the arbitration. Why? Employers expect to own full copyright to what you produce (and the standard legal wording gives them that right). If you skip doing one of the above steps, they are not getting what you promised. Worse, perhaps they are going to resell the work. They can end up getting sued for your actions, and not even realize it.
So that's why doing the above is important. It's also why you can lose your account if you don't do it.
- Example:
Let's say you want to use open source libraries. So you inform the employer: "I am using the 123 graphics library, which uses the GNU Lesser General Public License. I’ve included a copy of the license.txt file in case you have questions. Please let me know if this is acceptable." If you do this, you are covered on all three steps and fully protected.
However, if you just say "I am using the 123 graphics library" or "I am using open source", there will be many employers who don't realize that this action has legal/copyright implications. You are the one selling the product, and are responsible for informing them of this. So make sure to follow all three steps to fairly inform them, as well as to protect yourself.
- Handling employer requests for additional work…
If an employer asks for additional work that is not in the contract, you have several choices:
- Accept the additional work:
You can do it for free, or ask for more money. Remember that when you agree to implement something for free, you have amended the contract. That new thing is now a part of it, and you must complete it. And if the deadline comes and you haven't delivered it, then you are just as responsible for it, as if it were a paid item that you missed. So don't agree to something for free, unless you really intend to finish it on time.
- Decline the additional work:
Inform the employer politely that this is additional work and you would need either additional time and/or additional money to complete this task. If the employer won't accept it, then vWorker will step in on your behalf to clarify the scope of the contract. Place the project into arbitration for "contract clarification" and we will help determine if it is or not.
- Do nothing:
This isn't a good choice, but unfortunately some people do this. If you are not going to do it, then say it explicitly on site. If you ignore it, your silence may come across to a competent person as implicitly accepting it. And if so, it will become part of the contract and you will be responsible for it. For example, let's say your project is to design a logo and no mention is made of where to put the logo. While you are working, the employer says, "Oh, I need you need to place the logo on all my web pages too, because I don't know how". If you just respond with, "Everything is going great and I’ll let you know when everything is done", then a competent person would believe you were implicitly accepting the new term. You then become responsible for it. To avoid this, make sure you explicitly reject anything that you disagree with it.
- Manage your deadlines properly…
- When the employer stops you from meeting a deadline:
If you are waiting on the employer for an answer to a question and the deadline is approaching, notify the employer that they are preventing you from completing the work (and what they need to do to correct this). If you do this, you are covered and not responsible for the deadline. But if you don't do this, then you become the one at fault for the missed deadline…not the employer. Always give the employer a reasonable amount of time to respond to your requests.
- Upload, upload, upload the deliverables:
As a good customer service habit, you should be uploading the deliverables regularly to the vWorker site regularly (at least once a week). But you absolutely MUST upload 100% of them to the site before each deadline/milestone.
We cannot emphasize this strongly enough! If you don't upload work, then you have no proof that you delivered to the contract. We can't let you upload later, because a cheating worker could use the extra time to do additional work. So you will lose the arbitration.
We send out numerous informational messages about this and alerts as well, and yet still see this problem over and over again. Don't make a dumb mistake that unnecessarily costs you money. Upload your deliverables.
- Nothing to upload?
Please note that if you work directly on your employer's server, that does not mean you can skip uploading to the vWorker site. A cheating worker might miss a deadline and then use the extra time in arbitration to fix something on the employer's server that was broken before. So even if you work directly on the employer's server…upload to vWorker too. Otherwise you will lose arbitration unnecessarily.
If you are doing something (such as a server configuration) where there are no deliverables, then tell the employer to switch it to pay-for-time instead (where we take screenshots of what you are doing and you don’t have to prove delivery to get paid).
- Respond promptly to employer questions and provide status updates…
- Communicate problems promptly:
Communicating with the employer can really prevent a lot of bad situations. For example: Let's say you know you are going to miss the deadline for a personal reason. If you tell the employer 4 weeks in advance, this gives them plenty of notice. They have time to adjust the expectations of their customers and many are willing to work around the issue and extend the deadline. However, if you say nothing (or wait until the last minute to tell them), they are going to be caught in a bind. Most are not likely to give you an extension.
In Part 2 of this article, we will discuss how to handle the remaining 20% of situations that happen during arbitration. Part 2 will be posted within the next few weeks. Make sure to check back for these useful tips on how to become an arbitration "champion".
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