By Goopss Team | November 16, 2022
On-demand workers are an increasingly popular option for corporations.
The gig economy is on the rise, for both employers and freelancers.
On the employer’s side, they see the opportunity to hire on demand (for example for seasonal upticks in work) and effectively cut costs.
On the workers’ side, more and more of them are looking for a more flexible schedule or keeping the security of a permanent position while freelancing on the side.
But when hiring a freelancer what are the things we should consider?
We’ve created a short list of 5 things we recommend you to check:
There’s always been a stigma attached to freelancers, with many believing that they aren’t as skilled as their full-time counterparts. This is not true, especially as of late. Because freelancing offers freedom and flexibility that’s impossible with traditional 9-to-5 jobs, many workers are turning to it as either their sole source of income or additional income. Therefore, the talent pool is rapidly increasing, meaning that people from various fields are using their significant knowledge and expertise in freelancing gigs.
That being said, it is important to make sure that you are hiring the right people. One way to do this is by asking questions in advance about their skills – before hiring them. Questions like “How do you intend to do this job? What tools would you be using?” are extremely helpful. They will help to see the way they think and assess their expertise. The second thing, is to check their reviews. The good thing about the freelancing platforms is that it’s very easy to check their reviews. Look for keywords in their reviews. For instance, if you’re hiring someone to do a complex data mining job, look in the reviews for clear evidence they’ve done this job.
Freelancers can work from home or anywhere else that provides internet connections, which means that they are not attached to a formal structure. This sometimes leans to no contract between the business and the freelancer; leaving businesses without a guarantee that their project will be completed. In other words, freelancers can and sometimes do, simply disappear in the middle of an assignment. You don’t always know what will happen, including the possibility of missed deadlines, low quality work and just disappearing. Although the freelancer can be replaced, it may be a complete mess scrambling to someone else to do the work.
To overcome this, it is wise to set some kind of structure. A good example of this would be to have a daily kickoff meeting at the beginning of the day, as well as wrap up meeting at the end of the day. Inviting them to your Slack will help them as well to be in the loop.
Regardless of how much effort you put into finding the ideal freelancer, sometimes they just don’t meet expectations. Not only is there a risk of them quitting halfway through, but there is a risk of them sticking it out, only to submit low par work. It’s important to weigh the odds when hiring a new freelancer. For instance, be sure to verify their references and consider hiring them on a trial basis before assigning highly detailed work. Usually, experienced freelancers tend to deliver jobs that don’t require much review and QA, while new freelancers tend to deliver less completed job.
One of the downfalls of working as a freelancer means unstable income; they often cannot depend on only one business or individual as a source of stable income. What this means for businesses hiring a freelancer is that they may take on multiple projects at the same time, which may slow down the progress of completing your assignments. In fact, they may be working on your project, receive another project elsewhere and push your assignment to the bottom of the priority list.
You, as the business owner, should always ask the freelancer if they are working on other projects in parallel. If you are happy with your freelancer, a good tip would be to book them in advance for the next projects. If they will know you are continuously providing them with work, they will make sure to prioritize your work.
Although the task of hiring a freelancer may be a fairly quick process, it may take time to find the ideal freelancer for the specific task at hand or if you need something done immediately. For instance, if your business offers services with a 24-hour turnaround, you may be cutting close trying to find a freelancer that can meet these requirements. Here is where goopss can actually help you – if you offer quick turnaround services and intend to use freelancers, check out goopss.
