Outsourcing to freelancers around the globe is truly “the name of the game” in today’s online world. However, there is not much control on the quality classification for freelancers on various portals servicing these hard-working, diligent, and dedicated individuals. Sure, there is a rating system on websites like GAF, RAC, GAC, Elance, Scriptlance, etc but some of the ratings appear a trifle “made up” or as they sometimes say in the sport’s world - “fixed”! This interpretation could be specific only in a few cases nevertheless it does exist and several freelancers fall victim to an outsourcing “bias” that can be devastating for the growth of a healthy concept.
Bias - Any resemblance to … is purely coincidental
This could be a fairly common occurrence on bidding portals that cater to service buyers and service providers in the form of freelancers. Of course ‘any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental’ and this standard disclaimer applies for the content of this article as well.
Some people are more voluble than others and this is a very common trait of the human race. Perhaps it is also there in many non-human living beings and one has only to understand their behavior under varying circumstances. After stating this let us consider a particular and maybe fictional case of one portal where thousands of freelancers make their bids for projects initiated by hundreds of service buyers. Before we detail this instance it is wise to realize that a significant number of freelancers come from the third word or developing countries. Having said this, let us look at that case since it is of interest to all who patronize the freelance job sites on the Internet. It could be an isolated “happening” or a common event is quite a debatable issue.
No one can control bias - but someone must!
There are many issues in our world that cannot always be solved and one has to accept them as a “necessary or unnecessary evil” within the humane society. Bias of any sort - directed towards anything, practiced frequently in many nations, condemned by all on paper, and decreed as an unfortunate human trait - is considered an undesirable activity. A service buyer could be quite frustrated or even like a “burnt child who …” when he/she states that “I am not interested in those freelancers who are in the category of ESL that means ‘English as a second language’ who write for service buyers”. Or they may like to add to their project the following type of comment –”one does not live in a country where its first national language is English or a version they call English, so to state need not bid, and the commonly acceptable countries whose bid will be considered valid are UK, USA, Australasia The Continent, Canada, and Ireland”.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. We live in an independent world and we are our own boss! Common etiquette or better said ‘Net Etiquette’ is what wins us friends and influences people. These are the service buyers who attract bids from the ethical and excellent service providers - regardless of their race, creed, sex, caste or color - and consequently their ratings are very high in a logical scale the concerned websites introduced some years ago.
Coming back to the title of our article it is normal to be “twice shy” but one must be constructively analytical rather than destructively critical! Maybe a real life (and not reel life) incidence may illustrate this point in a better way. To conclude this article, think of a person who was a native English speaker living in a non-English speaking country like The Netherlands. How would he have felt when the local populace treated him as an alien since he could only talk in broken Dutch (they call it ‘Hollands” in The Netherlands) that was hardly decipherable. But let us know a fact from Holland that the Dutch are extremely tolerant with languages and this is just a hypothetical example to drive our point home!
The morale of the story again reverts to that popular Confucian saying “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”!
Hemant Mehta is a professional copywriter who takes up freelance Writing & Copy writing assignments on the Internet.
Tags: bidding portals, freelancers, Outsourcing, Service Buyer, Service Provider, writing