I run a lead-generation business and hired a part-time developer for about 20 hours a week through Toptal at a premium rate of $150 per hour. Their primary task is to create a dashboard web app, handling UI design, data integration using Supabase, and basic visualizations. Since starting on April 1, I've paid for nearly 60 hours of their work, but they've only pushed code on one day (April 9), with just 2–3 commit messages and no pull requests or updates. One of my other developers has had to step in to keep the project moving. I'm concerned about whether my expectations are reasonable for the output I should expect from a part-time developer at this rate. Should I anticipate regular commits, weekly check-ins, and pull requests for each task? Is it typical to see little activity if they're still in the research phase?
5 Answers
Honestly, it sounds like you're overpaying. At $150 an hour, the lack of work being shown is alarming. If they're doing research or prototyping, they should still be sharing updates. Everything they do is your property, and you deserve to see what they've done. It's important to communicate with them that you want regular updates, and if they resist, it might be time to look for someone else.
I agree, you should have some sort of regular communication, like a brief check-in every few days, to see what the progress is. If they're genuinely working on the project, they can still share updates without it taking too much extra time. If they push back against this, that’s a red flag.
I think you should have established clearer expectations before hiring. It's crucial to set delivery milestones and acceptance criteria. If you don't know how long tasks should take, asking for progress summaries and current tasks from the developer might help you determine if they’re using their time effectively.
A month in and only one day of commits? That’s unacceptable. You should definitely be seeing more activity. Regular check-ins every few days and a weekly demo of their progress would be standard expectations. If they can’t meet that, it may be time to move on.
For the amount you’re paying, you should be expecting substantial progress. It’s reasonable to ask for daily updates on work in progress. If they’re not communicating and delivering, you might consider stopping payments until you have clarity on their output.
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