Your advice on employers (me) hiring coders

[AstroTeg]

Originally posted by tomld
Being that coding might as well be chinese to me, I almost need to hire an expert hardcore coder who would in a sense be my right hand man in recruiting a quality team.

How will you know you have a hardcore coder? It seems kinda like a recursive loop.

I'd say just cut to the chase and listen to the coders. Are they BS-ing you? Can they or can't they show previous work they've done? Does their personality and work ethic match what you're looking for?

Originally posted by tomld
Is it common to have a sort of trial period for a new employee, in which time they in a sense prove themselves before being hired permanently?

With a question like this, you're bordering on asking for legal advice. You won't find that here, but you will find it with a lawyer who specializes in this stuff. I HIGHLY recommend you find a lawyer to craft up some hiring rules and employee rules/regulations.

In the US, its possible to be on a 90 day "probation" where the employee works for 90 days with the option to walk out the door at any time. Also, it means the employer can let that employee go if it doesn't work out. This usually is at a reduced wage and benefits agreed upon by both the employer and employee. You will want to check with a lawyer to find out if you can do this in your area and what traps you need to watch out for.

[Elizabeth]

Tom,
Before you go and hire your staff, you may wish to do as AstroTeg suggested and enlist the help of an HR consultant or lawyer. If you're contracting work out then there are many issues you don't have to deal with. But once you make someone an employee, you will need to think about:
Health insurance for your employees
Workman's comp insurance for your company
Payroll and tax issues
Employee regulations and policies (such as termination policies or vacation time; all that stuff has to be in writing, and someone has to keep track of it all)

I'm sure there are other issues that I can't think of at the moment... it's been a long time since I took a human resources class. Hope that helps...

[pohopo]

my advice is do not believe most of what you read on resumes, do a phone interview before you spend the time to meet anyone, if using an agency change your questions around for each person as they will prep the person so say what you want to hear.

[Weedpacket]

Originally posted by AstroTeg
Can they or can't they show previous work they've done?

For the most part I can't: I don't own the code I write for other clients and I generally don't have the contractual freedom to show it to other potential clients. I could point them to the site, of course, but what would that prove? If I did my work properly there'd be nothing to see. Instead I end up writing stuff intended for my portfolio - which gives me something to show them, but it's not quite what a portfolio is about.

[Weedpacket]

Originally posted by pohopo
my advice is do not believe most of what you read on resumes.

Of course (modulo local legislation), if you hire someone on the basis of information in the resume that later turns out to be deliberately bogus, then that's grounds for an instant dismissal. Of course, then you'd suddenly be down one developer. So doing spot checks on its claims beforehand would be a good idea. Catch them lying, don't hire them. (Catch them lying, but hire them anyway, and you can't sack them for it later).

[pohopo]

Also, right before you hire a person verify the persons education, gpa, and certificates. They have companies that will also do this for you. It will be well worth the investment.

[tomld]

More great info, thanks. I think my best bet, would be to bring some sort of HR consulting firm aboard to guide my company in it's early stages of staffing.

Are coders usually paid hourly or a set yearly wage?

[Weedpacket]

I've generally been salaried; though the client gets charged by the hour (which is also how I get paid when freelancing).

[onion2k]

Originally posted by tomld
Is it common to hire a coder from a different area and for him/her to relocate for the position?

The chances of finding good PHP talent locally depends on where you are. If you're in a decent sized city (London, NY, etc) then you have a fair chance. Anywhere else and you'll be needing people to relocate.

[onion2k]

Something else..

Before any of your coders start writing anything, make them stick to a coding standard such as PEAR. Seriously. This will save you a fortune in the long run in maintainance..

[Bunkermaster]

PEAR is not a coding standard, it's a set of libraries. When I hire a developer, I look at the structure of his code and ask him to explain me how he designed his systems (I tend to love tiered OO architecture since I use that method myself to enhance readability and maintainability). I also generally try to see if they are fluent with their documentation (knowing how to find info fast beats knowing it all in the long run).

You wouldn't believe how ugly some people's code is when you look at it and yet it works (so far).

[onion2k]

Originally posted by Bunkermaster
PEAR is not a coding standard, it's a set of libraries.

http://pear.php.net/manual/en/standards.php

PEAR has a coding standard. Thats what I meant.