Freelance work is on the rise in the USA, and it’s benefiting independent businesses. CNBC has highlighted the $1.2 trillion growth of the freelancing industry, its ranks swelled by thousands of formerly salaried employees who are now seeing the benefits of working for themselves.
he work freelancers complete can add another string to the bow of any business. It allows entrepreneurs to bring in ready-to-go talent without all of the rigmarole of recruitment and HR management. However, getting it right is important – plenty of employers make mistakes when recruiting freelancers, and there are simple ways to avoid that.
Establish your needs
Getting your freelance outsourcing right is entirely dependent on your hiring the correct freelancer. This can be more difficult than it seems on the face of things. Freelancers are typically drawn into their role by a mixture of salary, creative freedom, and relaxed working hours, according to AP News. How will that square with your business?
You need to ensure that you ask the right questions. What does your work look like? Will you be able to fulfill x, y, and z? How do you interact with clients? Freelancers can be relatively non-communicative without productivity management systems over their shoulders. Your company needs to make sure you are hiring the right person and that you’ll be able to get the results you need from them.
Expanding a network
While one of the major benefits of freelancing is its transactional nature, that doesn’t mean you need to cut off collaborators after a single project. Instead, consider building a wide network of freelancers. Being able to call on individuals whenever you need work done, and knowing you’ll get quality for your money, is an important way to build resilience in your business and continue positive networking within your industry.
Having the security and consistency from an established freelancing network gives you that opportunity, and also gives you the chance to encourage collaboration in the future – freelancers are always looking for more work, and if they can meet other businesses through an established mutual friend, all the better for it.
Broadening prospects
Businesses that may think they won’t benefit from outsourcing should look to start broadening their horizons. A key trend of the modern freelance scene, according to Forbes, is the propensity for freelancing to take place in industries where perhaps it wasn’t previously thought viable – such as HR, engineering, diplomacy and medicine. Put simply, there’s a huge amount of opportunity to be gained from freelancers and businesses shouldn’t turn away simply because they don’t perceive themselves as being in an industry that would benefit from it.
Freelancing is a huge opportunity for modern businesses, but it can’t be approached lightly. Business owners need to know exactly what they are pursuing, and ensure that their agenda is on the table before agreeing to any work. With that done, however, the benefits to be gained are huge.
