You hired a part-time tech employee because you needed help in a pinch. But you might be surprised on how much he or she has to offer. Here's how to get the most of the short time your part-time hire is with your company.
A. Motivate Them
Explain the objectives of your company in detail and in an exciting way. Make sure to present your expectations clearly and offer a motivation for great performance. - Evrim Oralkan, Travertine Mart
A. Hold Weekly Check-Ins
If possible, set aside a designated time for that hire to come into your office on a weekly basis. Even if it's just for an hour or two every week, a little bit of facetime goes a long way. It keeps the hire on track and creates a sense of loyalty to your company. - Cassie Petrey, Crowd Surf
A. Make Them Feel Welcomed
Part-time technical hires can feel remote and detached given their temporary status. Make an extra effort to make them feel as much a part of the team as everyone else. If possible, have them meet the team and especially their leader. Part-time hires are effective when they feel comfortable to proactively engage the full-time team to hit their objectives. - Andrew Thomas, SkyBell Video Doorbell
A. Break the Bigger Picture Into Smaller Tasks
Whenever I hire a part-time programmer to work for us, I explain the entire project, including goals, requirements, relevant teams, challenges and timeline. I make sure that they fully understand it. Once they understand, I ask them to complete the project in smaller tasks. This way, they can start delivering faster, and we can start measuring their quality. We increase the task size as they grow but still stay small. - Piyush Jain, SIMpalm
A. Understand What They Are Contributing
It's important that you leverage their time on your team by understanding and quantifying their contributions. The key is to get the most from that resource while you have it available to you. If you hire someone to complete a task over a certain period of time, ensure that's an achievable, realistic goal. Manage your own expectations and maintain structured work environments. - Blair Thomas, EMerchantBroker
A. Learn as Much From Them as Possible
Learn as much as you can from them, and encourage your techs to learn from that person as well. Assigned tasks will be completed, but the knowledge they share can be reused again and again. Also, keep a line out to them for the future. You never know when the opportunity will arise to ask a part-timer to fix something in a pinch. - Zoe Barry, ZappRx
A. Offer Long-Term Possibilities
Even part-time hires should know that they're an investment in your company's future. Let them know that if they perform well and exceed expectations, there could be a full-time place for them in your company in the future. If they do their part and your business grows, make good on your promise. A really valuablepart-timer will be motivated if they see long-term possibilities at your company. - Dave Nevogt, Hubstaff.com
A. Use "Pair Programming"
Pair programming is a software development technique in which two programmers pair together on one workstation (or virtually through screen-sharing). It's a great technique for getting someone new up to speed on your code base quickly, making sure that at least one other person understands any code that they write, and it significantly improves the quality of any code written. - Mattan Griffel, One Month
A. Always Check References
I recommend doing reference checks even on part-time hires. Not only does it help you decide if you should hire them, it also allows you to understand what they're best at so you can target their scope of work accordingly. - Douglas Baldasare, ChargeItSpot
A. Be Specific About Deliverables
Full-time people tend to put a lot more energy into "making the boss happy" while part-time hires don't have as much incentive to go above and beyond. As a result, incentives can get misaligned even if no one is "at fault." The easiest way to avoid that is to be as detailed and specific as humanly possible to ensure that the deliverable is what you're looking for. - Erik Severinghaus, Simple Relevance
A. Treat Them the Same as a Full-Time Hire
A part-time hire should get as much attention and perks as a full-time employee. You shouldn't focus on the amount of hours they work. Instead, focus on the tasks they perform. Make your part-time staff a part of the team. Don't make them feel less valuable than the rest of your team due to their part-time schedule. You hired them for the skill set (obviously not their availability), so hone in on that. - Reuben Yonatan, GetVoIP
A. Get Their Feedback
Pair part-time hires with existing full-time teams, managers and systems, and gain some feedback from your new employee. Discover what their opinions are on office hours and when they feel teams are getting the most done during the day. They may provide feedback that spurs change within the current full-timesystem that you are using -- encouraging more remote or part-time employees. - Miles Jennings, Recruiter.com
These answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.