LiveWork - Help & FAQs

How do I post a new project?
The "Request for proposal" form is triggered via the "Post Project" button from the LiveWork homepage or from the various locations on the site (e.g., My Office).
This form allows you to define the business process work (called a project) you want to outsource to a virtual LiveWork.

Project Types:

The form has 3 project types that can be posted:

Business Process - Typically an ongoing project that requires a large number of similar task to be performed by a virtual LiveWork (e.g., review and classify 1000s of web sites or images/weekly). Typically these projects do not have an end-date.

One-Time - A one-time project that might have a defined and unique deliverable to be performed by a LiveWork that is due upon completion (e.g., a written article). Typically these projects have a short duration.

Hourly - A project that has a certain number of hourly assignments to be performed by a Virtual Workforce (e.g: handle customer care emails from 3-5pm). This could either be ongoing or one-time

Project Details:

To ensure that your project appeals to the largest number of Providers or Experts, it's important to provide clarity, detail and specifics for each field.

Below are the standard fields and definition of what your project should contain:

Title - This is your project title and visible from the Projects tab or search functionality. It's important to have a clear, distinct and unique title that captures and explains you project in one sentence. This is the primary title that highlights your project in the search results under Projects.

Category - This contains a list of pre-defined or an optional "Other" category. These are the current categories in our system and will continue to expand.

Description - This field should be used to describe your project in detail and give the applicants background and a definition of your project. Focus on providing clarity, what your needs are, clarifying the work and highlighting expectations/deliverables. This will be shown via the search results for a description of your project.

Requirements -This should describe your work requirements in order to be considered for the project. You should consider highlighting skills needed, qualifications, timelines, scheduled and any other detailed requirements in order to properly perform the work. This will be shown via the search results for the project requirements.

Mandatory Skills - This optional selection provides you with the requirement of specific skills for the project. The selection provided comes from the current list of available integrated testing that Experts and Providers can take. Selecting a mandatory skill, will ensure that the Expert has passed the specific skill before they can apply, Experts that either did not pass or do not have this skill cannot apply and will need to take or re-take the test.

Attach Files - This functionality can be used to submit and include files as part of your project posting. This could include work samples, FAQ's, a contract, NDA, W9 or other relevant project and contract information.

Work Description - This section defines the work details, parameters and payment information:

For "Business Process" projects additional fields include the following:

Fee per Task - The Pay per task is the amount ($) that the client should pay for each completed task. Each task is assumed to be identical in nature and will have the same pay.

Approx. Tasks/Week - This field specifies the approximate number of anticipated tasks the project entails on a weekly basis. This is typically a upper-bound providing some expectation of the amount of work.

For "One-Time" projects additional fields include the following:

Fee per Expert - This is the expected pay per Expert for the given project and is typically a portion or the entire budget once the project is completed. The pay is assumed to take place at the completion of the project deliverable.

Approx. Budget - The budget is an optional field that can be used to communicate the weekly budget one might have for the given project.

For "Hourly" projects additional fields include the following:

Rate per Hour - This is the hourly pay, per hour of work completed on the project by the Experts. This assumes that there are a set number of hours (slots) that need to be filled and experts are paid per hourly slot.

Approx. Budget - The budget is an optional field that can be used to communicate the weekly budget one might have for the given project.

For each of these work-types the project can be of set duration or ongoing. This is defined via the Start & End date fields:

Start Date - Using the calendar, select the date by which you desire to start your project.

End Date - For ongoing projects this can be left blank (implying no defined end-date) or a date can be provided to give a sense of the scope of the project or a specific due-date.

LiveWork roles

For the next section the post work form assumes familiarity with the various roles and functions of the system. Below a brief overview of the terms used and a definition of each.

Expert - An Expert is the actual person performing the specific tasks and work in the system. They accept and start tasks, work on completing them and ensure that their expertise and skills are used to meet the client needs. Workers are typically independent contractors but can also be affiliated with a Provider.

Provider - A Provider is the single point of accountability for the client posting the work. Providers can bid and negotiate with clients directly and are responsible for recruiting, qualifying and overseeing the work performed by the Experts. Providers can recruit Experts from the system or might have their own workers (Affiliated) performing the work. A project can have multiple Providers that manage and recruit their own teams.

Client - A Client is the provider of the work and typically the one posting the work in the system. The client sets the requirements for the project, SLA, expectations, terms and pays the workforce for the work completed.

Team - A project team is the unit performing the work under a specific Provider, this includes the Provider and all their recruited and qualified experts. A project can have multiple teams performing the work, however each team will need to ensure their performance and quality and are independent and have little visibility into the other teams. Multiple teams can be used to manage shifts or schedule needs.

Workforce Description- This section defines the workforce need or teams for the given project and as to whether or not the client or a provider manages the workforce.

Managed By Provider - This option specifies if a provider will recruit, qualify and manage the workforce and project work for the client.

Total Experts - This field will specify to providers a sense of how many Experts they would need to recruit to perform the work.

Total Providers - This field will specify how many teams and providers they would like to have manage the workforce and work.

Provider Fee - Providers are compensated as a percentage (%) of work completed by their teams. This ensures direct assurance that their compensation is rewarded by quality work and performance.

Managed By Client - This option specifies that the client themselves will recruit, qualify and manage the workforce and project work for the client.

Total Experts - This field will specify to experts seeking work a sense of how many Experts the client needs for their project.

Submitting the form

Once the form has been completed it is now ready to be submitted into the system. Simply click the POST PROJECT button on the form.

Congratulations you have now posted your project! At this point the project is open for applications and Providers and Experts can now bid and apply to your project from the Projects section on the site.

Work Routing Rules

Now that you have posted the project into the system, the next steps is the need to configure your projects task routing rules (the means by which tasks are assigned) and the approval rules (how tasks are approved). Work routing rules are configured from My Office within your "My Posted Projects" panel, by clicking the "set rules" link. *Note: These need to be configured prior to accepting applicants, otherwise the project will default to Direct Assignment and Auto-approval.*

Task Assignment

The task assignment rules configure the project task allocation and assignment. The following options configure the task assignment:

Direct - Tasks are manually assigned to experts by the project owner. During task creation you explicitly assign the task to a given expert. Experts will receive a notification that the task has been assigned to them and will need to accept this task directly.

Self - Tasks are made available by the project owner to the whole team via a task queue, visible in the project page. During task creation an expert is not specifically assigned and the task appears in a queue to the whole team. Experts view the queue of available tasks and select and accept a task from the queue, which assigns it to them. Experts can only accept a single task at a given time.

Auto - Tasks are automatically assigned by the system to an available expert as they are created. During task creation the system automatically assigns the task to any available expert on the team not currently working on a task, additional tasks will remain in an un-assigned queue. If the task is assigned to an expert, they will receive a notification that it has been assigned to them and will need to explicitly accept the task. Experts are only assigned one task at a time, once they complete a task, they will be automatically assigned a new task from the un-assigned task queue.

Scheduled - Experts self-select a time-slot/task from a schedule (e,g: 9am-10am). The project owner defines the schedule parameters (Day start time, Day end time, Time interval and slots per interval). Once set, this cannot be modified. Experts view the schedule via the scheduler link in my office with specific time-slots and accept a slot/task for a given date and time and assign the slot/task to themselves. Experts can only accept slots for the given week, slots for the following week are only available starting Sunday's.

Task Approval
Auto - Tasks marked completed can be invoiced by expert. Experts accept the task, start and work on the task and once "marked as complete" are able to invoice the client directly. The client will be able to review the tasks invoiced at time of payment, but not selectively pay tasks for which have been invoiced. The client can decide however not to pay a certain invoice at this stage.

Manual - Each task needs approval prior to invoicing by expert. Once an expert has performed a task and "marked as complete" the task moves into a "Pending" state. The client or provider that created the task, will need to explicitly accept or reject a task. Only accepted tasks can be invoiced by the expert and are an explicit agreement from the client that the task has been performed. Manual tasks are approved from the "completed" section in My Tasks or the Task section on the project page.

Payment

It is recommended prior to posting the work to ensure that you have the appropriate means to facilitate payment by updating your Payment information under the "Account" screen.

In the payment screen you can specify the payment mechanisms you will be using to pay the Providers and Experts for work completed via invoices received (See Invoices under "Accounts").

How do Providers publish their project?

Once Providers are accepted onto a project they will have an instance of your project available to them for management. However, before this project is available to the Experts, it is important to note that they will need to "Publish" the project.

To Publish a project go to the "My Office" tab , select your project in the "My Posted Projects" section by clicking on the title of the project. Providers from this screen can modify their project title, details, descriptions and requirements prior to publishing it for recruiting their team.

To publish click the "Post Project" action in the bottom right corner of the Post Form.

NOTE: Once the project is published only parts of it can be modified and will be available to Experts in the Projects screen.

How do I hide or show a project in the Projects section?
Published projects by default are visible to any user on the system. Published projects appear in the Projects section and available for review and application by users.

To hide (make private) a published project from the "Projects" screen, go to "My Office" and in the "My Projects" panel click the "Hide" action for your project. The project is no longer visible in "Projects" but is still available for invitation, for view by the project team or yourself. To enable the displaying of your project in "Projects" click the "Show" action and the project is again publicly visible.

Saved projects are not visible to users and will not appear in the Workforces section until the project is Published.

How do I require mandatory Skill Test completion for a project?

To help pre-qualify applicants to your project, you have the option to require that applicants pass specific Skill tests prior to applying. To set up mandatory Skill test requirements for a project:

1. Sign-In to LiveWork
2. Select "Post a Project" from the homepage or "My Office"
3. In the Project Description, Mandatory Skills section, select the required Skill tests from the pull-down menu

Experts that have not passed or taken the given test will not be able to apply to the project.
Please Note: For best results, also list mandatory skills in the Requirements section of the Project Description. For additional testing requirements you'd like to see, please email support@livework.com.

How do I add tasks to a project?

Task can be added to a project after Providers or Experts have been accepted to your project. To add tasks to an existing project on LiveWork:
1. Sign-In to LiveWork
2. Select the "My Office" tab at the top of the page
3. Select the project from the "My Posted Projects" section
4. Click the project name to view your project details
5. Click the Add Task button at the lower right of the page
6. Enter a Title for your New Task
7. Enter a detailed Description for your New Task
8. Enter a note (optional) for the task
9. Select / Confirm the current project for your New Task
10. Assign an accepted project team member to perform your New Task (this field cannot be blank)
11. Enter a Due Date for your New Task by typing in the text field or clicking on the calendar icon at the right to select a date
12. Attach relevant files and documents by clicking the Browse button to select a file located on your computer, click Upload to attach/save the file for your New Task. Repeat as needed for multiple files
13. Enter a URL related to your New Task, if applicable
14. Click Post Task to save and assign the New Task to the selected project team member
15. The New Task will display in the Available tab in the Tasks section of your project until the team member assigned to the tasks accepts it

How do I create bulk tasks for a project?

The LiveWork platform support bulk addition, updating or removal of tasks via a .CSV (Comma Separated Values) file. For more details, please review the bulk upload help page.

How do I add a bonus to a task?

LiveWork provides the ability to add an incremental bonus, commission or reward to new or existing tasks. In order to specify the bonus value in addition to the task value, as the project owner simply edit an existing task and modify the "bonus" field at any time prior to invoicing. A bonus can also be assigned during the task creation process.

How do I set the task value for a task?

Tasks on LiveWork are assigned a unique value as defined during the project posting phase. When new tasks are created for the project, they are assigned the default Task Value as defined during project posting and can be modified during creation. Tasks that are not yet accepted by experts can be edited via the Task Page and the Task Value can be modified. Once an Expert accepts the task it can no longer be modified. If there is a need to increase the amount for a given task, please see the Task Bonus Question.

How do I edit the schedule for a scheduled project?

In order to edit a schedule for a scheduled project (as defined during the work routing rules), go the "My Office" screen in the "My Projects" panel for your project and click the "scheduler" link. This opens the project schedule, from which you can view the overall schedule and all the available and taken time-slots. To edit the schedule, click the "Edit" link on the top for the given day you'd like to edit. Modify the schedule as needed and save the changes.

Tips for creating a successful Project?

* Name your project in a descriptive manner that will attract the interest of qualified workers
* Accurately list the details and requirements of your project clearly defining your expectations for services to be provided
* Set a competitive and reasonable budget and compensation amounts for your project.

How do I create a company profile?

Clients can create a company presence on Livework via the Company profile. The first and best step toward getting your project noticed, is to stand out with a complete and professional LiveWork Company profile that highlights your company and your team.

1. In the Account screen (Account link on top) within the "Personal Info" tab, edit the "Business Info" section. Select your Business Status as "Incorporated" and enter your full company name (e,g: Client Inc.). Save the changes.

2. Click the "Edit/Create Profile" button next to the Company Name to setup and create your company profile.

3. Begin by adding information to the Overview, Services, and Portfolio sections of your LiveWork Company profile.

4. Ensure your affiliated/company employees affiliate themselves with your established company. They do this from the Account screen (Account link on top) within the "Personal Info" tab, edit the "Business Info" section. Selecting their Business Status as "Affiliated" and entering the exact full company name entered in step 1 (e,g: Client Inc.). If typing a partial match the auto-complete should provide them a list of available companies.

5. You should receive a system alert when Experts request their affiliation. To Approve or Reject affiliation from the My Office - "My Affiliates" panel, click on "Pending" and either approve or reject the Experts.
NOTE: In order to remove affiliation for Experts you will need to manually remove them via this screen.

6. Update your Company Account Information including your Company Contact, Communication Preferences and Payment information.

NOTE: Once you have affiliated members you can no longer modify your Account Status or Company name unless you un-affiliate the members via My Office. In addition you can now decide to "hide" member profiles from your Affiliate panel in My Office by clicking the "hide" button.

How do I upload documents or attach files for my Project?
Attach relevant files and documents for your project by clicking the Browse button to select a file located on your computer, click Upload to attach/save the file for your project. Repeat as needed for multiple files. Note only the project owner is able to upload and delete files, any project member can view them however.

What are appropriate documents or files to attach to my Project?
The appropriate documents to attach to your project would be supporting or background information necessary for the execution of your project. Attached documents might include FAQs, spreadsheets, image files, text files, etc. Do not upload content that is not allowed under the LiveWork Terms of Services, including copyright protected documents or images, sensitive information, adult or obscene content.

How do I select & hire a Provider for my Project?
After publishing your project, you can select and hire a Provider from the pool of applicants who have applied. Review and accept Provider applicants by selecting the Applicants tab located in your project details area. You can also search LiveWork for available and qualified Providers by selecting the Workforces tab. You can contact, hire or invite Providers to your project from the Provider profile page.

Begin the hiring process by contacting applicants to interview, screen, and verify qualifications. Negotiate terms and detail project requirements. Accept the desired candidate when the qualification process is complete.

Tips for selecting a Provider for a Project?

* Review Provider profiles for work experience, self-declared skills and certifications that are applicable to the services your project requires.
* Select Providers with a good feedback score
* Contact and interview each Provider online or over the phone to further assess their qualifications

How do I specify or update the number of openings for a Project?

You specify the number of openings for a project during the project Posting process, as defined by the number of experts required. This will be reflected as the number of openings for the project in "Projects" and will be decremented each time an Expert joins. If the project openings is 0, the project will no longer appear in "Projects". In order to increase the number of openings after experts have joined your project or as you need more Experts, go to the project details page. Click the "Edit" button and edit the "Total Experts" field - the number of openings will now be reflected in "Projects".

How do I remove a Team member from a project?

To remove a Team member from a project:
1. Sign-In to LiveWork
2. Select the "My Office" tab
3. Select the desired project listed in the "My Posted Projects" section
4. On the Project Details page Select the "Team" tab
5. Click the "Remove" link associated with the Team member

* Please send a courtesy message to the Team member upon removal.

How do I view the status of a Project?
To view the status of an active project:
1. Sign-In to LiveWork
2. Select the "My Office" tab at the top of the page
3. In the My Projects section select the Current or Available Tab to review active projects

Why should I leave Feedback for LiveWork members?
Leaving Feedback provides information vital for the success of everyone participating on the LiveWork platform and the ongoing performance of projects. Feedback scores help Clients determine which Providers and Experts are a good fit for projects. Providers and Experts benefit by knowing a Client's feedback score prior to applying for a project.

Feedback scores distinguish applicants who provide quality services and provide and create an ongoing dialog between clients and the LiveWork to improve quality and project performance.

How do I pay my workforce when a Project is complete?
The LiveWork will submit invoices to the client for work completed. To view invoices pending payment:
1. Sign-In to LiveWork
2. Select the "My Account" link at the top of the page
3. Select the "Invoices" tab
4.Review UnPaid and Paid Invoices on the page
5. To remit payment for an invoice click "Pay" beside the appropriate invoice.

Note: Paypal account information is required for payment.

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