RLHF services: what is a staffing service?

What is the short answer for a busy buyer?

Choose the hiring model by deciding who will manage the evaluators. If your team will assign prompts and review judgments, write a staffing scope. If you want a provider to manage that workflow, write a service scope with clear acceptance rules.

For reinforcement learning from human feedback, start with the work the person will actually do. Comparing model responses is different from writing expert answers or reviewing code. A general request for "AI talent" leaves too much room for candidates whose skills do not match the task.

Write down a representative assignment before asking for proposals. Include the knowledge it requires, the expected output, and who will review it. Specify whether workers must explain their choices or only record a rating. If they need to check facts, describe which tools they may use and what evidence they should retain.

Then name your internal owner. Even when a provider runs delivery, someone on your side must approve changes to the task and resolve policy questions. Budget that person's time alongside the provider's charge.

Make the first assignment small enough to inspect. For example, ask a prospective evaluator to compare responses using your written rules and explain a disputed choice. Review the reasoning before discussing how quickly that person could work through a larger queue. This gives the hiring conversation a concrete task to return to.

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What does the data say about hiring and overlap?

SHRM's 2025 recruiting benchmark puts median time to fill at roughly a month and a half for executive and nonexecutive positions. It measures the period from job requisition to offer acceptance. That is a broad hiring benchmark, not an RLHF staffing deadline. SHRM recruiting benchmark.

Use the same milestones when comparing proposals. A shortlist date, an accepted offer, and a first working day are different events. Ask each provider which event its timeline promises. Your launch plan should also include access setup and task training.

Build the schedule backward from the first batch you need reviewed. Reserve time for your team to score work samples and interview finalists. Name who can approve an offer, and check that person's availability before the search begins. A candidate delivery date has little planning value if nobody can review the candidates that week.

Nearshore location can make live reviews practical, but write the required hours into the role. Bogotá is UTC-5 year-round. Buenos Aires and São Paulo are UTC-3 year-round. These cities do not change clocks for daylight saving time. IANA time zone data.

A US team's seasonal clock changes can therefore shift meetings for a colleague whose local clock stays fixed. Specify a named US time zone for the review window. Confirm the schedule with the candidate before an offer, including when they can get answers to questions that block their work.

For evaluator performance, request evidence from work that resembles yours. A sample should expose unclear instructions as well as candidate mistakes. If your reviewers disagree about the expected answer, revise the rubric before treating that item as a hiring test.

Ask how any quality figure was calculated. You need to know which tasks were measured, who judged the results, and whether corrected work counted as a pass. Keep those definitions with the proposal so your team can use the same test during a pilot.

How do hiring models differ for nearshore Latin American teams?

Separate finding people, employing them, and managing their output. A proposal can include more than one of these duties, but each needs an owner. Use the contract to settle those duties before comparing the headline price.

For staff augmentation, check your management capacity before adding headcount. Someone must explain the rubric, answer questions, and review disputed ratings. If that work falls to an already busy research lead, include it in the staffing plan. Assign a backup for days when the lead cannot respond.

For a managed service, describe the output in enough detail to accept or reject it. "Complete the evaluation batch" leaves open whether the provider must fix inconsistent ratings. State how samples will be reviewed and what happens when work fails the agreed check.

Also decide who can change instructions. If your team revises a rule midway through a batch, the provider needs a clear point of contact. Agree on how to identify work done under the old rule and whether it needs another review. Put the cost of that review in the scope.

Professional services may fit a bounded task, such as creating the first rubric or reviewing an existing process. Ask for editable deliverables and a handover that lets your team continue the work. Specify who will answer questions after the project ends and whether that support has a separate charge.

An EOR addresses the employment arrangement. Ask separately about sourcing and assessment if you have not found a candidate. Do the same for daily supervision if you need a provider to manage the evaluators.

A mixed arrangement needs the same clarity. You might hire evaluators while using a specialist to help design the rubric. In that case, name who accepts the specialist's work and who teaches it to the evaluators. Avoid leaving the handoff to people who assume the other party owns it.

What should you ask a provider before committing?

Bring a sample task to the discussion. Ask the provider to explain how it would select someone for that task and how you would judge success. Request a written response that you can compare with the eventual scope.

How will you test the actual work?

Request a work sample that reflects the role's difficulty. For code review, include code. For language evaluation, test the language and register the person will use. Avoid treating a polished interview as proof of careful judgment.

Ask who scores the sample and whether you can review the reasoning. A correct selection with an unsound explanation may expose a problem that a pass score hides. Include an example where the instructions permit escalation, and check whether the candidate recognizes that limit.

Keep the exercise consistent across candidates. Give them the same guidance and access to the same approved tools. If you change an instruction after seeing confusion, record the change before comparing results. Otherwise, you may be judging candidates who took different tests.

Who owns quality after the hire starts?

Name the person who answers task questions. Decide who reviews disputed items and who can change the rubric. Keep a decision record so the team can apply the same rule to later work.

For managed delivery, put review and rework duties in the scope. Ask what happens when instructions change after a batch has started. Agree on how those changes affect cost and deadlines.

Set a review point before expanding the team. Inspect the pilot output alongside the questions workers asked and the time your lead spent answering them. Use those findings to revise the task instructions or staffing plan. Do not expand solely because the queue was completed on time.

What will the full cost include?

Compare written quotes for the same role and work schedule. Ask about equipment, paid leave, onboarding, and training time. Confirm whether a team lead or reviewer is included.

For output pricing, define the billable item. Clarify whether duplicate ratings, rejected work, and corrections count toward the invoice. Ask how the charge changes when a prompt requires more research than the sample task.

Keep your own review costs visible. Record the time your team spends explaining tasks and correcting work during the pilot. Use that record when comparing proposals, especially if one quote includes supervision and another leaves it to you.

Request exit terms before signing. Confirm the notice required to reduce the team or end the assignment. Ask what charges remain due, who completes work in progress, and when your data will be returned or deleted.

How will access and handover work?

Give candidates sanitized tasks. Before production work, approve the tools they can use and the data they can see. Assign responsibility for account creation and removal. Specify whether workers may download files or enter task content into external AI tools.

Ask for a handover plan that covers unfinished tasks and decision records. Keep current instructions in a shared system your team controls. A replacement should be able to learn the job without relying on a departed worker's private notes.

Include the replacement's training in that plan. Name who will explain past decisions, review initial work, and approve access. A new person still needs to learn your task even when the search itself is covered by a guarantee.

Where does Opus fit when you manage the work?

The client chooses the finalist and manages day-to-day work. For an RLHF buyer, that means planning for your own lead to assign tasks and review results. Bring that supervision plan to the hiring discussion.

Opus charges one flat monthly rate per hire. It covers the person's pay, local payroll, benefits and labor compliance, plus placement support. There is no separate recruiting fee. The rate depends on role, seniority and location.

Dollar rates: Not published. Ask for a written quote based on the evaluator's task, required expertise, and work schedule. Describe whether the person will compare answers, write explanations, or review specialist content so the discussion addresses the role you need.

Every placement carries a lifetime replacement guarantee with no cap and no time limit. Ask how replacement would work for your assignment, including training and the handling of unfinished work. Keep those steps with your access removal and handover plan.

Before selecting a finalist, review a task-specific sample. Confirm who will teach the rubric and approve the first completed work. If you want a provider to own the entire feedback workflow, request that scope explicitly and review its acceptance terms.

Talk to Opus about a role.

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