Pay assistant by the lead or per hour (courthouse lookups)?

[Sean Dezoysa]

Do you guys prefer to pay assistants per hour or by some pre-measured task metric? In my case I'd be sending someone to the courthouse to compile lists of probate leads with properties in the estate.

Per hour sounds cheaper to me and more secure to them (people don't know at first glance what the work entails). But the incentives are misaligned as well, plenty of ways to do less over more time especially when your employer isn't nearby.