Hubstaff

Hubstaff is a remote company that provides staff monitoring through time tracking software. The company was founded after its co-founders wanted a better way to manage their team of freelancers.

Hubstaff
IndustryCorporate transparency
GenreTime tracking software
Founded2012
FoundersDave Nevogt & Jared Brown
Headquarters
Indianapolis, Indiana
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Websitehubstaff.com

The company is an advocate for the introduction of staff monitoring services for United States government roles. This was following a number of large invoices that have been paid by the US government for contracted work, with no proof of the hours spent on the project. Hubstaff was seen as a rising tech company in 2015, when they received a nomination as part of Techpoint’s Mira Awards for The Best of Tech in Indiana.[1]

History

Dave Nevogt and Jared Brown founded Hubstaff after they began to use freelance staff and wanted a better way to manage them.[2] Nevogt was previously the founder of McCordsville-based Innovative Solutions Inc., while Brown had a background as a developer.[3][4]

Following the establishment of the software, the outsourcing of freelance work became more common with the development of sites such as Elance and oDesk.[5] Hubstaff considered that the use of the system allowed for entrepreneurs and startups to focus on the strategic side of the business, rather than operational tasks.[6] The use of freelance management systems became more frequent as web-based startups began to outsource the majority of their operational teams.[7]

In 2014, the company appeared in the Huffington Post as a commentator when looking for red flags when recruiting on LinkedIn. The analysis carried out by Hubstaff included spotting spelling or grammatical mistakes, as it can demonstrate a sloppy attitude towards detail and communication.[8]

Hubstaff were nominees for the Best Tech in Indiana Award in the best Tech Startup of the Year category in 2015.[1]

Service

According to Entrepreneur magazine, Hubstaff matches users with project specialists after each project is reviewed. It was also stated that firms like Hubstaff typically take a commission of the hourly rate, rather than charging for the recruiting and placement of any staff.[9]

Hubstaff also provides ongoing management tools for team projects. This includes time tracking of those involved, an overview of the entire project, and also the ability to send payments.[10] In a post on Inc., Nevogt stated that systems such as Hubstaff gave senior management more freedom.[11]

The service tracks the amount of time contractors spend on tasks, while also taking random screenshots as evidence.[12] For paying subscribers, offline work can also be tracked according to Staffing Talk.[13] Screenshots are said to be spaced at 10-minute intervals, but they are taken at random during each 10 minute segment. Each screenshot can be viewed to get a detailed view of the efficiency of the project.[13]

Reception

Staff monitoring systems or business transparency is said to have both advantages and disadvantages. Early systems were said to be flawed, as the system could be cheated by mouse-wigglers. The underlying criticism of such a system is that planning and thinking stages could be confused for inactivity.[13]

One main issue staff monitoring systems resolve is the payment of contractors fairly for the number of hours they have worked. In one example, Ars Technica reported a United States Patent and Trademark Office incident that cost $12,533.02 due to an individual quoting she'd worked 266 hours, but with no proof.[14] This led to one of the co-founders of Hubstaff to start a change.org petition against the United States Patent and Trademark Office to start using a business transparency system.

Some roles, such as programmers, could have fewer keystrokes, while maintaining a high level of productivity. More code written by a programmer doesn't necessarily mean a higher level of productivity according to Staffing Talk.[13]

See also

References
  1. Hall, Joshua (February 5, 2015). "Nominees Announced for 16th Annual TechPoint Mira Awards Honoring 'The Best of Tech in Indiana'". TechPoint.
  2. "The Hubstaff Story". Hubstaff.
  3. "Jared Brown of Hubstaff". Startup Collective.
  4. Allan, Martha (February 5, 2011). "2011 Forty Under 40: Dave Nevogt". Indianapolis Business Journal.
  5. "Jared Brown – Co-Founder of Hubstaff.com". ideamensch. January 22, 2015.
  6. "Building A Virtual Team That Moves Your Business Forward with Dave Nevogt". Eventual Millionaire.
  7. Gerber, Scott (November 17, 2013). "Does your startup really need to hire in-house developers?". TheNextWeb.
  8. "8 Red Flags to Watch for on a Potential Hire's LinkedIn Profile". Huffington Post. December 26, 2014.
  9. Keener, Matt (December 19, 2014). "16 Productivity Tools Useful for Every Entrepreneur". Entrepreneur.com.
  10. Boss, Jeff. "13 Cool Web Tools to Help You Stay Connected With Your Team". Entrepreneur magazine.
  11. "Best Advice I Ever Got: Find a Hungry Market". Inc. magazine. March 13, 2015.
  12. Samuel, Leslie (March 2, 2015). "How To Keep Track Of Your Virtual Team Using Hubstaff". BecomeaBlogger.
  13. Janssen, Kinzy (December 10, 2013). "It's Not Just the NSA: Employers Adopt Surveillance Tactics". StaffingTalk.
  14. Mullin, Joe (August 12, 2014). "Patent examiners are routinely abusing work-from-home privileges". Ars Technica.
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