Around 36% of the American workforce is made up of freelancers, according to current data. As with the last statistic, this one is predicted to increase by a factor of two during the next few years. That simply implies that businesses must learn how to handle freelancers as soon as possible if they want to prosper. In 2020, the gig economy was already worth $1.3 trillion.
While freelancers may offer value to your company, you must have a clear and well-defined solution on how to manage them.
We’ll outline a few tried-and-true techniques for managing freelancers below. Let’s get started.
Provide a Well-Defined Project Scope
Clearly articulating the project’s scope, objectives, and deadlines from the outset can help ensure a successful partnership. Detail your quality assurance measures to guarantee the delivered product lives up to your standards.
By implementing a professional freelance management system, you’ll find that using a systematic approach to project administration is a breeze. Reduce the overall scope into manageable chunks and assign specific dates to each step. Establish the broad parameters first, then drill down into the finer points, and make sure you include this information:
- Skills and expertise necessary for the project;
- Equipment needed for freelancers, such as software and hardware;
- Your brand’s preferred writing style manual for uniformity of presentation;
- When your team’s leader or members may expect to speak with the freelancer;
- Achieving goals and meeting deadlines for projects;
- The final approval procedure.
Create Connections With Freelancers
Even if the freelancer is just an individual offering service to organizations and businesses, they should be perceived as a business partner. Create a network of freelancers the same way you would a network of vendors, suppliers, or regular consumers. The longer you plan to utilize their services, the more important this becomes.
Consider the freelancer to be a member of your in-house team even though they are not a regular employee. Knowing them on a personal level will pay out in spades in the long run. It also facilitates the freelancer’s incorporation into your operations.
Appreciation is another powerful motivator. Show your freelancers some love for a job well done. As a team member, you should be involved in ensuring their success. This necessitates supplying them with whatever they may want.
It’s important to connect with someone, so it’s helpful to look for shared interests. The freelancer’s responsiveness to your demands, as well as the timeliness and quality of their work, will improve with more interaction.
Establish a Goal and a Budget Limit
Your freelance contract should include details like the project’s goals, scope, and budget. This prohibits the employer from adding more work to the project, which is beneficial from the perspective of freelancers. When seen from the perspective of the business, it specifies due dates and other important dates.
In the event that more work is needed, a reputable company will be considerate of the freelancer’s time by adjusting the agreed-upon costs and deadlines. Your budget has to reflect the aforementioned aspects of the project for the sake of consistency and agreement.
Freelancers may be paid on an hourly basis by certain businesses. When the project’s scope changes, the schedule must be updated accordingly. So, the freelancer has to be paid for the additional time if the original 40-hour assignment is extended to 42.
When estimating how much of a project can be completed in a certain time frame, it is up to the hiring company and the freelancer to come to an agreement. In the event that there are going to be any delays, the freelancer may discuss the problems in advance.
Fill Out the Necessary Paperwork
To ensure the correct completion of your job, be sure to give the freelancer all the necessary materials. For example, an editorial guideline outlining expectations for things like typeface, punctuation, and tone is crucial when dealing with freelance writers.
Meanwhile, developers and web designers could use some help with the documentation. Another option is to include aspects into the code that will allow your development team to use and upgrade the code in the future.
The transparency of your documentation removes any possible points of misunderstanding for freelancers and makes it easier for your staff to do any necessary follow-up work.
Final Thoughts
Although streamlining how to handle freelancers might require time and planning, the benefits are substantial in the end. If your organization plans to employ freelancers on a permanent basis, this is of great importance.
It’s also important to set aside yearly funding for freelancers after you’ve come to terms with the numerous advantages of using them. Take extra care while interviewing and hiring freelancers, because managing freelancers becomes simple if you recruit the right people.
