Studies show that the job market has shifted dramatically in the last decade. One trend that is certainly impacting the workforce is the rise of freelancers. In one study from Fieldglass on the rise of the Gig Economy, the data indicates that future of the job market lies in non-employee workers. Close to 95 percent of businesses now view this new workforce as a key element of developing and running a successful business.
So, what does this shift mean for you?
Background – Why the Shift to Freelancers?
Historically, most of the workforce was composed of full-time professionals. However, many factors are leading the shift to a non-employee workforce, or freelancers. These factors enabling the growth in freelancers include abundant availability of internet access and cloud-based software, online hiring platforms, and shifting mindsets on the acceptability of a freelance lifestyle by millenials and older generations.
Another huge factor impacting the growth of freelancers is the war for top talent and the need for highly specialized and skilled employees. As the competition for this talent grows, workers gain leverage and many are using that leverage to demand flexibility and projects that challenge them to do great things.
How to Hire Freelance or Contract Employees
As in any recruiting, selecting the freelance talent that matches your needs requires 4 key things:
- Access – do you have a database and contact details for qualified, vetted candidates?
- Time – to build a database and then reach out to candidates that meet your needs takes time.
- Selection Skills – do you have an expertise and a set of interviewing and screening skills to properly select top talent and rule out poor talent?
- Marketability – do you know how to position the opportunity and the compensation to attract the talent that you need.
If your company is large enough to have dedicated, experienced recruiting staff to do the work, there are sites such as LinkedIn and Upwork that you can use to gain access to the talent. The key then is whether or not your team has the necessary selection skills and knowledge of the market to vet and attract top freelance talent.
Many companies elect to work with specialized staffing firms for freelancers. These staffing firms are setup to handle all the employment issues of a contract workforce, including insurance, taxes, workers comp, and multi-state tax jurisdictions and generally have built a network of candidates in their area of specialty – such as a creative staffing agency for hiring graphic or web designers.
Benefits of Freelancers versus Full-Time Employees?
There are many benefits of hiring freelancers, one of the most appealing being a flexible talent pool. For example, you could hire a graphic designer on a 2-month contract to update the graphics on your website and marketing collateral. Or, you could hire a UX/UI Designer for a year to research and redesign the user experience for your enterprise software product. The key is hiring the specific skills for the specific timeframe and project you need. This flexibility ultimately saves you money and delivers a better outcome as you can hire top-notch specialists for defined periods of time, without carrying them at other times and underutilizing their talent on other tasks.
Onsite or At Home – Where Should Freelancers Work?
The work location for freelancers is often a heated debate. Candidly, the ideal location depends heavily on the culture of your work environment. Many firms have already shifted to remote worker environments as studies show that they create a happier, more productive, employees at a lower cost. Further, by not restricting hiring to a specific office location, companies can expand their talent pool and hire the best person regardless of location.
However, the challenge with remote work is maintaining accountability for results. With full-time employees that concern is highly valid as people are often paid a salary regardless of their output. With freelancers, that challenge is a little easier to manage since the work is often for a defined project and timeline. Also, freelancers can generally be switched out easily if they aren’t meeting the objectives for the project.
What’s Next?
Ultimately, hiring freelancers can save you money, increase your hiring flexibility, and enable you to target specialized, talented professionals. If you feel that you don’t have the access, time, selection skills or knowledge to market your roles to the freelance workforce, contact Creative Compass by Naviga at 844.900.8787 to discuss our creative staffing services.
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