Introduction
Would you love to have access to the best talent in the world? Thanks to freelancing, this is a reality for any business owner. Whether you run a small or mid-size business, you can always hire the best freelancer with a great experience for your business projects.
As digitalization continues to advance, remote working has become a viable career option for people. Due to the many job losses because of the pandemic, freelancing became a popular option for many, creating a talent pool of freelancers from around the world. However, not all businesses are familiar with the way to hire the best freelancing talent, and this causes them to get freelancers that don’t meet their expectations.
In this article, we will discuss what freelancing is, the types of services freelancers offer to businesses, places to find them, how you can choose the right one, and the benefits of hiring the best freelancing talents for your business.
Key Takeaways
- There is a large talent pool of freelancers available in any industry or role, so businesses can find any skilled talent for their business projects.
- Not all freelancers provide quality services so make sure you do thorough research on their experience, reputation, and past work before hiring.
- You also contribute to the quality of work you need from a freelancer so take steps to brand your organization and treat your freelancer as a part of your business
Who is a Freelancer?
A freelancer is someone that works for different clients at a time. Freelancers are entrepreneurs and only work directly with the individual who hired them.
The work of a freelancer ranges from one-time projects to recurring assignments that are as long as six months to two years. Due to the large number of freelance workers available, business owners can find the best talent in any industry of their choice.
Several factors differentiate a freelancer from a full-time employee. Some of these are:
- Freelancers can work from anywhere in the world, while full-time employees will need to be in a physical space all the time.
- Freelancers receive payment after they deliver a project, but employees receive salary periodically (per hour or per month)
- Full-time employees get benefits like pensions, tax insurance, and pensions from their employers, whereas freelancers do not receive any of these.
- Freelancers can control how they work in a day, but full-time employees will have to work based on their contractual arrangement.
Types of Task-Based Services Freelancers Offer to Businesses
The following are some of the services your business can hire these workers for:
- Website Creation
- Copywriting
- Marketing
- Customer Service
- Virtual Assistant
Website Creation
Your site is the focal point of your brand identity. On your website, you showcase your logo, color scheme, mission statement, and unique selling point. You also showcase your products and services to your prospects. To execute your vision of how your website should look, you need to hire a freelance web developer.
Copywriting
Instead of hiring an in-house team of copywriters, how about you hire a copywriter to assist you with writing copies for whitepapers, websites, case studies, videos, and social posts? There are many high-quality copywriters you can hire to help you with this. They will deliver on time and are quite cost-effective than having an in-house team.
Marketing
It is not wise to hire a freelancer as the lead marketing strategist in your company. There should be a full-time employee to fill that position. However, you can hire freelancers to assist in some projects related to your marketing campaigns. You can hire one to help you with video creation, graphic designing, writing email marketing copy, and paid ad advertising, to mention a few.
Customer Service
Whether you provide customer support via emails, phone calls, or chats, some well-skilled freelancers can provide the best customer satisfaction services your business needs. They are also easier to manage than having customer support employees.
Virtual Assistant
It is not easy to keep a business up and running. You need to keep up with phone calls, emails, meeting schedules, and other important tasks every day. A virtual assistant can save you lots of time and money. This freelance worker will help you to streamline and manage your to-do list the right way.
Places You Can Hire Freelancers
You can get freelancers from anywhere. Whether it is a social media platform or a freelancing marketplace. Here are some of the places you can find them today:
- Freelancing Marketplaces
- Portfolio Websites
- Social Media Platforms
Freelancing Marketplaces
Marketplaces like Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer, and PeoplePerHour are very popular platforms you can use as a business to find freelancing talents. Most of the platforms allow you to post your job or project with details of the job, skills required, and payment plan, then freelancers with the matching skills will bid for it.
You are to decide which freelancer makes your shortlist. You have the opportunity to chat with the candidates and ask them some important questions before you decide which one to choose. Some of the platforms also offer useful payment tools that help you maintain a professional contract with the freelancer.
Portfolio Websites
Many freelancers take further steps to get more jobs by creating online portfolios or websites that give employers an idea of their previous projects, experience, and skills. These portfolios are especially useful when you want to differentiate the quality of services between different freelancers.
Social Media Platforms
Thanks to social media platforms, you can get hire the best freelancer today. You can post a job bid on different groups on these platforms and get different candidates interested in helping you with your job.
Referrals
If you need a freelancing talent for a job, there are people you could ask in your network to help you with one. It could be your business partners or your friends and family. You can ask them if they have hired a freelancer before. They might be able to refer you to the right freelancer that will do a good job for you.
Helpful Steps to Follow When Hiring Freelancing Talents
Many businesses are hesitant about getting a freelancer due to the risk associated with it. How can you be sure that you are hiring the right person for the job? Here are some helpful tips that can assist you with this:
- Check Their Reviews
- Check Their Portfolio for Similar Projects Done in Your Industry
- Interview Candidates
- Give Clear Requirements and Expectations
- Provide a Contract
- Compensate Your Freelancer Well
- Leave Reviews About Their Services
Check Their Reviews
On freelancing platforms, clients have the opportunity to write reviews and rate the services of a freelancer. If the quality of the job is bad, clients can give a poor review of their experience. Before you hire a freelancer, ensure that you take their reviews seriously. Make sure you check if the reviews are genuine or not. Check if the review is genuine or not. Read through them to see if there was any step taken to correct mistakes and if the freelancer has a good work ethic. If they don’t work through the freelance marketplace, ask them for references or their portfolio.
Check Their Portfolio for Similar Projects Done in Your Industry
Because a freelancer offers a particular service doesn’t mean that they work in your niche industry. For instance, a freelance writer might decide to focus on only one niche or several niches related to a particular industry. If you need writing services in an industry that is different from that of a freelancer, it won’t be wise to hire such a writer. You need to hire someone that has done projects in the past related to your industry.
Interview Candidates
Just because freelancers are not full-time employees doesn’t mean you should not interview them before hiring. If you want to get the best services, you need to be sure that the worker is worth hiring. Ask questions and give the freelancer a short, paid task to do to get a good idea of how they work.
Give Clear Requirements and Expectations
The worker can not know what you require if you do not communicate clearly. Let the freelancer understand what your requirements and expectations are. For instance, if you hire a graphic design freelancer to assist you with a social media design, you will need to provide important information like your brand’s logo, color scheme, the dimensions of the design, and the duration of the project.
Provide a Contract
Always give the freelancer you hire a contract after you decide to hire them. This contract will contain important information and clauses required. It will also be helpful for you if anything goes south during the project.
Compensate Your Freelancer Well
Make sure you compensate the freelancer well. If they exceed your expectations, you can choose to leave a tip as a token of appreciation. Many freelancing marketplaces provide escrow accounts that keep the payment for the freelancer. So you do not need to pay the freelancer in full until the work is done.
Leave Reviews about their Services
Many freelancers will appreciate a review or feedback about their services. It helps them to build a good reputation and get more customers. Provide them with these reviews so you can help their future employers know what it is like to work with them.
How to Prepare Yourself to Attract the Best Freelancing Talent for Your Business
The following are other important tips that can help you attract the best freelancing talents for your organization:
- Pay on Time and Compensate Fairly
- Provide Clear Requirements on Time
- Give Creative and Engaging Projects
- Remain Professional
- Provide Resources
Pay on Time and Compensate Fairly
Some organizations make the mistake of treating freelancers as second-class workers. They find it hard to pay them well and on time. They could provide extremely unfair wages to them because they believe that the freelancers should be at their mercy. This is not good at all because it ruins the reputation of the companies and makes it hard for them to get quality freelancing talents.
To avoid being in such a situation, make sure you draft out a formal contract that explains in clear terms what you expect from the worker and how you charge. The freelancer will appreciate you more if you provide a wage that corresponds with the quality of service you want.
Provide Clear Requirements on Time
You cannot expect the worker to do a good job without having clear directions on what to do. If you want a talented freelancer to agree to do a job for you, provide as much information as possible about the project and what it involves. Doing so helps them to do the project better and faster.
Give Creative and Engaging Projects
Many talented freelancers love to upskill and do projects that are exciting and engaging. If you give them such projects, they will always want to work with you.
Remain Professional
It is important to have a professional relationship with your outsourced worker. This ensures that you are provided with the best and most professional services. You want to share important documents that can help your freelancer do a good project for you.
Provide Resources
Does the project require a specific software or tool? If so, provide the outsourced worker with this promptly. Do not assume that the freelancer will have access to such tools. If you don’t provide important resources on time, you might not get the best services.
Benefits of Hiring the Best Freelancing Talents for Your Business
For the past few years, more businesses are seeing the need to hire freelancers. Apart from the saving costs, here are some of the advantages of hiring these remote workers:
- More Cost-effective than Full-time Employees
- Easy Access to the Talent Pool
- More Scaling Flexibility
- Professional Services and Good Work Ethics
- Access to a Global Talent Pool
More Cost-effective than Full-time Employees
Although the rates of freelancers depend on their services and niche industry, they are generally more cost-effective to hire than full-time employees. Since freelancers do not need special benefits like insurance or pensions, you wouldn’t need to spend more than the agreed wage for their services.
Easy Access to the Talent Pool
There are different channels or freelancing marketplaces that allow business owners to find skilled workers to take up different projects. You can always check these marketplaces to find the best workers in the industry of your choice. Furthermore, it is possible to streamline this process by filtering your search based on the number of projects the freelancer has done, the ratings given by their former clients, and how long they have started freelancing.
More Scaling Flexibility
You are not under pressure to hire freelancers when you do not need them. You can always cut ties with a freelancer who doesn’t provide the best services to your business. You can also choose the budget of your business and how much you will pay the freelancer.
Professional Services and Good Work Ethics
If you need a project delivered within a limited period, hiring a freelancer is a good idea. Since freelancers rely on positive reviews and income from clients, they are likely to provide professional service and have good work ethics in terms of work quality and communication.
Access to a Global Talent Pool
Freelancers can work from anywhere in the world. You might live in the US and hire a freelancer from Germany. This is one of the best benefits of hiring remote workers. You get access to a global talent pool which is impossible if you own a business in one location.
Conclusion
While it might seem a little intimidating to hire freelancers for your business, the benefits you will get are undeniable. You not only get the best talent, but you also save money and enjoy some flexibility. However, you do not need to hire freelancing talents for every business. There are several online businesses that don’t require you to spend money at all. If you do decide to hire a freelancer, following the above-mentioned tips will help you get access to the best talents in the community!
Frequently Asked Questions
What factors should I look for in a freelancer when hiring one for my business?
The following are some of the factors that can help you choose the right freelancer:
- They provide reviews or portfolios on time
- They ask important questions
- They are good communicators
- They live in a compatible time-zone
- They have a large number of repeat customers
- They understand how to use certain important tools