Artificial intelligence has already entered our homes and phones via voice-activated assistants that help us in our daily lives, and new AI-powered tools arrive every day. If you’ve ever wondered how voice-activated A.I. seems to get better at understanding people, no matter the uniqueness of their accent or number of walls separating them from their device, look no further than HomeProject .
HomeProject runs crowdsourcing projects to help train different elements of A.I., like machine learning and voice recognition in different languages or dialects. But in order to create accurate modeling, hundreds and sometimes thousands of people are required to collect and validate the endless stream of data coming from users.
Enter the need for a global contractor management partner that moves as fast (or faster) than the evolving field of artificial intelligence. Keep reading to see why Remote was the perfect fit to help onboard, manage, and pay large teams of contractors quickly and compliantly.
HomeProject at a glance
Headquarters: Oslo, Norway
Founded: 2020
Number of contractors with Remote: 462
Industry: Technology
Many users of A.I. technology like Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa aren’t aware of the large numbers of human workers it takes to make these technological marvels smarter. It was this critical element of A.I. that presented a unique business opportunity for Erik Sveen, founder and CEO of HomeProject.
“I was intrigued by the sheer number of ads for participants to help train artificial intelligence systems on platforms like Upwork and Fiverr. It was a eureka moment when I realized that some projects demanded the collaboration of hundreds of people to collect and validate the data needed for accurate modeling. That's when I knew I had found a niche that could drive innovation in A.I. and make a difference in the industry.”
Hiring 200 contractors in a snap
As a relatively new company, HomeProject had a great problem — its first client in Norway needed 200 people to work on a transcription project immediately. The task before Sveen was clear.
“I needed a partner who could support the management of a global contractor base, with reliable invoicing routines and the ability for me to make payments in multiple currencies when the job was completed.”
Having heard great things about Remote’s contractor management and payroll services, Sveen decided where to place his trust for this incredibly important job. It wasn’t long before he discovered the process of onboarding 200 contractors was easier than he’d imagined.
Onboarding contractors is seamless: it literally takes seconds to add new people to the platform, issue their contracts, and request the ID documents necessary for them to get started. It's fair to say that doing it manually would have been so much to manage that we wouldn’t be in business without Remote.
Remote offers a flat pricing structure and no hidden fees when hiring contractors
Remote’s has a seamless, self-serve platform for employers and contractors alike
Remote’s employment and compliance experts on the ground around the world give HomeProject the confidence to onboard contractor talent globally
Flexible payments for happier contractors
An often overlooked aspect of hiring international contractors is the need to offer payment in their preferred currency. Paying contractors in a non-preferred currency makes their lives more difficult and creates tension in the client-contractor relationship. HomeProject, like Remote, knows the importance of getting contractor payments right from the start.
“Our contractors are located in different countries, so they need payouts in different currencies, and that was really difficult to figure out before we found Remote,” Sveen says. “Previously, I looked at various options to pay out, even including using PayPal, but it was just too complex. We wouldn’t have been able to scale as quickly or efficiently as we have done using other providers.”
With Remote, HomeProject can seamlessly adapt payments to the needs of each individual contractor, all while getting a top-level view of their contractor expenditures using Remote’s robust platform.
Managing accurate payments is just one small part of the challenge HomeProject was facing. Sveen recognised the multi-faceted complexity of paying international contractors across several countries.
"We work with 460+ contractors. I’d need to employ 5 or 6 people full time to keep on top of compliance, manage individual invoices, work with accountancy firms and make payments in multiple currencies. Remote has definitely been a timesaver and a money saver for us."
Remote emerged as a seemingly purpose-built solution, allowing HomeProject to stay lean while still minimizing risk.
Remote provides a summary of the total invoiced amount each month. I pay in one currency and contractors have the flexibility to choose what currency they want to have in their account. That means we’re avoiding a lot of transaction and foreign currency fees, while paying our contractors the ways they want to be paid.
Solidifying a reputation among contractors
Sveen discovered that the reputation of a company among contractors can spread rapidly, differentiating those that are reliable from those that are not. Indeed, numerous companies employing large numbers of contractors fail to treat them with the level of professionalism and significance that HomeProject upholds.
Regrettably, there is an abundance of instances where contractors encounter clients who either do not pay or remit less than the invoiced amount. In order to establish an extensive network of contractors, HomeProject understood that it could not afford to be lax in its contractor management or payroll practices.
“It’s helped us a lot having Remote as a partner: contractors see it as a safe brand name with recognition in the market.”
The feedback from HomeProject’s contractors regarding their Remote experience has been clear: the platform is quick, simple, and intuitive. And when they submit an invoice through the platform, they always know that it’s been received.
Cecilia Nilsson-Martin, a contractor at The Home Project, gives her perspective on the benefits of using Remote as a contractor:
"The freedom of being a freelancer is more important than anything else for me. I could never go back. Working with a client that uses Remote is more secure as a contractor because of all the checks and compliance from both sides. And everything is so simple: from agreeing the contract, to raising invoices and getting paid in the currency I want, everything is in one place. It's also easy to pull your own records for bookkeeping, which saves me so much time."
HomeProject’s growing reputation is why they now have 460+ contractors working all over the world. The solid trust Sveen has built with his contractor community is why he gets great photos of workers logging in from beaches, mountains, and the Maasai tribe in Africa.
“We’re creating a global network: it’s pretty cool to see,” says Sveen.
Where HomeProject goes from here
Since its inception, HomeProject has primarily concentrated on helping the world's most prominent brands address extensive Artificial Intelligence projects.
As the company continues to grow, Sveen is determined to aim even higher, targeting direct collaborations with tech giants like Microsoft and Facebook that are heavily focused on AI advancements. This strategic approach enables HomeProject to be at the forefront of innovation and contribute to groundbreaking progress in the industry.
And his contractor base?
He plans to grow it to 10,000 people over the next three years. But this exponential growth is perfectly feasible to him given the confidence inspired by his partnership with Remote.
It's quite difficult to scale a company when you need resources from all over the world and also to be compliant everywhere. It was all quite new to us, but Remote took away all those headaches, and it’s been really useful as we grow the business internationally.
And even though Sveen works in the highly technical field of A.I. and user-generated data analysis, he still has moments of appreciation for how he and Remote are able to coordinate large groups of contractors with such ease.
“Sometimes I can't fathom how it's even possible to build all of these things just with one single computer. For me, it's pretty mind blowing, and I'm very proud of what the whole team has done to be able to create such a large community of people as well. It’s just amazing and this is just the beginning.”
And what a beginning it is. The entire team at Remote is excited to see what's next for HomeProject, and to play a part in supporting the next phase of growth for the business.
"Having experienced significant success utilizing Remote for managing our global contractors, I am thrilled that another one of my ventures, Clickable , will soon be transitioning to contractor management through Remote."
Clickable offers websites as a service, powered by top-notch service from a dedicated team of contractors based across Asia and Scandinavia. That means more opportunities for Remote to connect skilled international contractors up to work with a global industry leader.
As HomeProject’s contractor journey continues, Remote will continue to empower Sveen and his team to reliably onboard, manage, and pay contractors wherever in the world they choose to call home.
Want to take the stress and ambiguity out of using international contractors? Contact us today to schedule a friendly consultation with one of our global hiring experts.
Alternatively, you can get started right away. Set up your profile now, and begin onboarding employees and contractors around the world in minutes.
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