How Businesses Can Hire the Best Freelancers and Manage Them the Right Way

While running a company is as challenging as ever, it comes with certain advantages. A notable one is keeping hiring costs low by working with freelancers. This is something to consider before launching your business as it is your employees who will be running it for you on a day-to-day basis.

With remote working now becoming the norm, you can source global talent and find an expert who is the right fit for your business at affordable rates, whether it be in marketing, product management, or accounting. But, it’s important to remember that freelancers often work with numerous clients and need to be handled differently compared to in-house employees.

In this article, we’ll explore the best practices business owners should follow to successfully manage a team of freelancers.

Hire the Best Freelancers and Manage Them the Right Way

Keep the Onboarding Process Simple

Create a standardized onboarding process for all freelancers, which can include:

● Uploading a job posting on your website and freelance marketplaces such as Toptal, Upwork, and Fiverr, as reported by Webdew.

● Sharing time-bound assignments with qualified candidates.

● Scheduling a video interview and making the hiring decision.

While the assignment and interview format can be tweaked based on the role, the overall structure should remain the same. Not only does this make it easy for human resources to fill positions quickly, experienced freelancers appreciate companies that follow structure over those that don’t.

Discussed below are three important things your onboarding packet should contain:

● The Contract: A written agreement, to be signed by both parties mentioning the scope of duties, pay rate, length of contact, and other important information about the role, as reported by Panda Doc.

● Payment Instructions: Whether you pay through apps or direct bank transfers, clearly state your payment method and collect necessary information from freelancers such as signed forms, account information, etc.

● Project Briefs: Share instructions regarding how and when project briefs will be shared. This can be done via email or a third-party tool. The brief should include all details regarding the project, such as timeline, deliverables, milestones, and special instructions (if needed).

Use a Project Management Tool

Individually managing freelancers is an ineffective and tedious process you should steer clear of. Instead, use a project management tool providing you with a centralized dashboard to assign, track and review the work of all freelancers. Additionally, this will streamline collaboration among freelancers who are working together on one or more projects.

Most project management tools, such as Asana and Click Up, include the functionality of adding comments and links within projects. Encourage freelancers to use this feature to ask questions and clarify concerns. This will avoid confusion regarding expectations and ensure teams remain productive and happy.

Prioritize Efficiency

While using a project management tool is a good start, you need to go further and curate all project documents to ensure the freelancer can spend the majority of the time working on the project rather than investing time towards finding documentation.

Instead of sharing project requirements, updates, and notes in separate emails, opt to collate them in a PDF which can be shared with freelancers. When updates are needed, the document can be edited and re-shared, ensuring that all project-related information remains in one place. This will lead to increased efficiency for your business and high satisfaction levels among freelancers.

Keep Your Business Protected

Working with freelancers comes with a few risks as well, such as bad actors, data theft, etc. While these can be minimized by working with a lawyer and creating a strong contract, here are additional steps you should take for safety:

● Establish a Limited Liability Company: A limited liability company (LLC) registers the business as a separate legal entity. As a result, you, as the owner, cannot be held liable for business-related liens and liabilities. As there are numerous formation services, like ZenBusiness for example, in the market that can help set up an LLC, read the reviews before making your decision.

● Purchase Liability Insurance: You can further protect your finances by purchasing business liability insurance which will cover the costs of lawsuits and settlements if the need arises.

Freelancers can be a tricky bunch to deal with, but by following these steps, you’ll be able to manage remote teams easily and finish all projects on time. Additionally, to minimize the risk to your business, establish an LLC before building your team of freelancers.