Let's keep something in mind. When you engage an avatar to do work for you in Second Life, it's highly likely that you're employing someone in the real world. Laws apply. Consequently, legal penalties apply for failing to abide by existing laws and policies.
Some time ago, I was interviewed for an article on Virtual Worlds and human resources in HR Magazine. The interviewer began by telling me about a discussion he had with the representative of a multinational consulting company in which he was told that the company had "hired" a greeter in Second Life, to welcome visitors to its facility, and intended to pay the greeter about $100Ls per hour (in USD, less than $.50.)
There's no free lunch. Although I think hiring avatars is a great thing and a great way to infuse an organization with needed imagination and ingenuity, avatars are connected to real people, who are entitled to real life legal protection. Get a lawyer involved to consider such things as wages, benefits, taxation -- all of the things you consider when you hire a real life employee. |
