Freelancers may be some of the best possible talents for your business since they are not looking for full-time employment. There are an increasing number of freelancers in the United States, making up one of the fastest-growing segments of the workforce.
Regardless of the size of the organization or the number of members, freelancers can be beneficial to achieving the business goals of any organization. Professionals with experience in IT can provide meaningful and affordable services to businesses as freelancers through a variety of digital services, such as customer support, eCommerce development, content marketing, and even web design.
Learn how freelancers can support growth, how to resource talent when needed, and most importantly, how to secure a working freelancing budget from management to help any organization maximize its productivity.
Freelancing Offers a Variety of Benefits
Slowly but surely, the world is coming to grips with the fact that most full-time workers are not devoted 100% of their time to their work. An investigation found that a full workday is typically productive for just 2 hours and 53 minutes on average.
It has been reported that the average office worker spends three hours of his or her eight-hour workday surfing the Internet, socializing with colleagues, wasting time, and – this is the best part – searching for additional employment opportunities.
Therefore, without further ado, I would like to highlight some of the advantages that freelancers can look forward to:
- Only payment for completed tasks will be made. Furthermore, you will save money on overhead, insurance benefits, and paid time off. Freelancers complete their work within the set deadline and do not waste time in unnecessary meetings or in processes that are clogged.
- A high degree of flexibility. You should only hire them when you need their assistance. With freelancers, new teams are able to complete tasks on a predictable schedule and within a defined budget. With expert assistance, established teams are able to scale their roadmap plans more easily.
- Save on training costs by gaining access to qualified talent. CNBC reported that 59% of freelancers have received skill training in the last six months, compared to only 36% of non-freelancers.
- Capability on demand. When you use freelancers on projects, you are able to match specific talents with specific needs, saving the effort of training your current employees in a new skill for a single assignment.
- Talent pool with exponential growth. Talent can be sourced from anywhere in the world based on their skill set. It is not necessary to limit the number of employees who may visit your office.
- The quality assurance process. It is imperative that freelancers deliver high-quality work in order to retain clients, receive referrals, and continue to operate their businesses. A full-time employee may have less incentive to maximize productivity and produce exceptional work, while a freelancer’s livelihood is dependent on it.
- The risk is low. It is advisable to move on if a freelancer fails to meet your expectations. As freelancing often involves little to no hiring and onboarding costs, you can test whether a freelancer is a right fit for your needs before investing in their services.
A guide to persuading a manager to implement a freelancer budget
Depending on the technology used by the team and the ability to manage online collaboration, you may be able to hire a freelancer to perform certain tasks. The following tips will assist management in getting a freelancer budget when they are new to the world of freelance work:
- Develop a business case. A business case should be made to your manager to hire freelancers if it is clear that they can help your team complete work that your current talent is unable to perform. This will serve the company’s best interests.
- Make sure you have the talent available. A freelancer will be able to help your work be completed more efficiently if you research freelance talent on a network such as Fiverr beforehand, or if you use Fiverr Business to receive specific recommendations tailored to your project.
- An estimate of the return on investment should be made. You should compare the cost savings of working with a freelancer with the cost of training an employee in-house or hiring a new full-time employee to make your point. It is also important to consider the business objectives and the role that freelancers can play. A manager should be able to demonstrate the return on investment if productivity can be increased by X amount through the addition of freelance talent.
- Ensure that your budget is realistic. Despite the fact that freelancing offers a significant advantage as far as value for time is concerned, freelance hourly rates are generally higher than those paid to full-time employees. The reason is that freelancers are business owners who must pay for their own health insurance, factor in paid leave, and include extra costs such as marketing, website maintenance, and home office costs in their rates.
It is important to make it clear in the pitch presentation that the rate is based directly on the work produced. When you work with freelancers, you do not need to pay for insurance, retirement plan contributions, and other expenses related to full-time employees.
Finding, hiring, and managing freelancers efficiently
The freelancer budget has been approved, and it is now time to find the right talent. The freelancer market continues to grow, making it easier to find the right candidate. Here are some tips on how to do it correctly:
- Provide a detailed description of your needs. Before starting your search, be sure to have a clear understanding of what the project entails and what expertise is needed. Look for individuals with a portfolio or previous clients who are compatible with your requirements. You will be able to save more time by being more specific.
- Be wary of the “quality triangle”. To ensure everyone remains focused, the quality triangle states that most employers are looking for three basic qualities: good, fast, and cheap. However, only two qualities can be selected. The cost of delivering a high-quality project on time can be high if you desire a project that is delivered on time. It is only freelancers who know their worth who will price themselves accordingly. There is rarely a better option than the least expensive one.
- Take a few trials runs. Prior to embarking on a larger, more complex initiative, you should test several freelancers with smaller, shorter-term projects. By doing so, you will be able to assess whether their skills match those listed on their resume, whether they work well with the team, and whether they are familiar with your brand prior to making a larger investment.
- Provide freelancers with the tools they need to succeed. By providing freelancers with clear, detailed instructions, you will be able to save them time during the review and revision process. You should provide good examples of the type of work the team is expected to produce. It is important to provide brand and marketing guidelines to ensure that their work is aligned. Make yourself available to answer any questions you may have throughout the process.
- Ensure that the good ones are kept. Good leaders understand the importance of retaining their favorite freelancers in order to avoid having to restart the process over and over again. The choice of clients available to freelancers is as broad as the choice available to companies when hiring employees. If you are able to keep top freelancers busy, you will be able to reduce the amount of training that you have to provide to your freelance team. As a result, they will gain a better understanding of your business and be able to provide you with better-quality work.
Feedback and recognition should be provided with each project. The assignment process should be continually improved.
Make sure you have compensated appropriately, especially if you are requesting a rush project or your direction changes from the original scope. As a client, be sure to communicate clear expectations regarding timelines and establish a regular schedule so freelancers know what to expect.
In Conclusion
Invest in a freelance team to grow your business. It is important to recognize that freelancers can be just as valuable as full-time employees as teammates. In today’s technological age, freelancers are able to collaborate with full-time teams easily through online chat and virtual meetings. By integrating freelance work into your organization, you will be able to accomplish your objectives more efficiently and become more agile.
Utilize Fiverr to access the best freelancers when you are ready to grow your business.
