Some hiring managers are nervous about bringing on freelancers, especially if they've only hired permanent staff previously. There are common misconceptions that freelance workers won't work as hard as an in-house team, they will be difficult to manage and will lack brand loyalty. In fact, the opposite is true and enhancing your team with specialist freelance candidates can actually be the perfect way to manage projects, meet deadlines and produce great work.
Here are just a few of the potential advantages of hiring freelance talent:
Hiring is faster
Permanent employees can be very time consuming to hire. Once the responsibilities of the role have been determined and the job advert has been posted, there is a period of initial CV screening followed by a multi-step interview process before a candidate is offered a role. Hiring freelance workers is far quicker, especially if you have a pool of existing contacts that are available and ready to go when you need them. As you can hire on a project by project basis, skill sets and role requirements are far easier to define and therefore make finding the right candidate much less time consuming.
It can be more efficient
Anticipating your business needs can be very challenging. Hiring freelancers means you don't have to know where the gaps in your team will be ahead of time, you can simply hire the right skills at the right time and on an adhoc basis. You can also scale your team up or down as and when you need to, dependant on workflow and budget.
It can cost less
While freelance hourly rates are typically higher than the permanent salary equivalent, you will only pay for the time you need. With a permanent hire, you also have to take into account the cost of recruiting, onboarding and training. Freelancer workers however can be brought in to work by simply picking up the phone, have limited onboarding requirements, already possess all the skills and expertise needed for the role, and are let go easily at the end of their project contract.
They'll have fresh ideas
In-house staff know your brand inside out, but this can sometimes be a disadvantage. They may be so used to the ‘way things are' that they lack the desire to drive innovation. Hiring freelance staff provides you with a fresh pair of eyes and may lead to new ideas and concepts, exposure to different methods and technologies, and new ways of working to best promote your brand to your target audience.
If you find your business has busy and quiet periods then enhancing your core team with freelancers can be a very agile way of working. You won't be paying for staff when there is less work on which means you could save money in the long run. You can build up a pool of trusted and skilled freelancers to call upon at short notice for individual projects and can quickly scale your team up and down dependent on workflow.
Looking for more freelance hiring advice? We've created a whitepaper on everything you need to know to find and secure the top freelance talent. Get in touch with us today if you have an immediate hiring need.
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