The Ultimate Guide to Working with Freelancers

If your business isn’t already working with freelancers you could be missing out. According to the Freelancing in America 2016 survey, nearly 35% of the US workforce have turned freelance. That’s a huge chunk of the talent pool right there, and it’s only going to increase. Make sure you’re getting a bite.

Freelancers can help your business grow and succeed. Costs can be saved and workflows are sped up by utilising remote teams. Plus, research says freelancers tend to be happier, better trained and have more experience than the average in house employee.

But, we’ll be the first to admit that managing a team of remote freelancers can often be more difficult than it first looks. Especially if you’ve never done it before. Managing a remote worker is a whole different ball game to looking after an in house employee.

So, we’ve compiled a fantastic free ebook – The Ultimate Guide to Working with Freelancers – which talks you through how to manage freelancers in ten easy steps. Our downloadable guide will give you tips on everything from how to judge your freelancer’s abilities to how to ask for revisions.

Plus we’ve got top tips and advice from industry experts. Because we’re feeling generous, here’s a taster of what you can expect from our ebook:

2. What projects are best suited to freelancers?

Not sure what you’d need a freelancer for? Freelancers work in a particular way and so are suited to a particular type of project; they’re not supposed to take the place of full-time employees. At the end of the day, if you need someone full-time you should hire someone. Freelancers normally work on short-term, clearly defined projects.

What do we mean by a clearly defined project? Well, if you need someone to oversee your content marketing or social media indefinitely then that is not a single project. You’ll need to hire either a full time or part-time marketing executive, manager or intern.

Typically, freelancers are hired for skills that companies don’t have in house. So, for example, you might have a designer in house but need an animation or a video for your home page. Hiring freelancers is a great way of getting high-quality content cost-effectively.

You also need to remember that can’t treat a freelancer as an employee. You can’t set their hours*, give them equipment or make them work in your office. You also can’t keep looking over their shoulder constantly. You have to give them the space to get the work done …

Want to read more? Download our free e-book guide to working with freelancers here.