For solo professionals, small businesses, and even large organizations, hiring freelancers can be the perfect way to save money on getting great support with projects and tasks.
Unlike employees, freelancers are self-employed and generally offer support on a project-by-project basis or on monthly retainers.
And because of the nature of these engagements, they’re generally a more cost-effective option than hiring a full-time staff member. Working with freelancers also affords you flexibility and adaptability in your ability to scale up or down quickly depending on your needs.
While freelancers are generally skilled specialists–whether in web design, copywriting, accounting, or any other number of services–it’s still important to thoroughly vet them before hiring them on, the same way you would with an employee.
But how can ensure the freelancer you find is the right fit and effectively manage the relationship, and where do you even begin to look for them?
We’ve got you covered.
9 Tips for Hiring Great Freelancers
Just like hiring an employee, hiring a freelancer requires a thoughtful search and a thorough process.
When you start looking for a freelancer, you’ll want to consider these nine tips.
- Assess your needs and budget: The first step in the process of hiring freelancers is to get a thorough understanding of your needs and how much money you have to spend. This is critically important because freelancers are available for a wide array of prices depending on their level of expertise and specialization. This means the same project could be done for $100 or $1,000, and it’s going to come down to the freelancer’s experience and expertise.
- Create a job description: It’s vital that you create a thorough job description before you start your search for freelancers. This should include a comprehensive overview of:
- The task or project
- Skills you’re looking for
- Your hourly or project-based budget
- An overview of your company
- The deadline for the project.
Pro tip: make sure to review this a few times before you share it with potential freelancers. It’s always wise to give it some more thought and a thorough review to make sure you haven’t missed any key details.
- Find a good source for talent: Equipped with your job description, the next step is to find a good source for freelance talent. There are a ton of great options online, but we’ll give you some great recommendations in the next section.
- Don’t act impulsively: It’s easy to rush into a working relationship with a freelancer, especially when you’re swamped with work and the deadline for your project is coming up. But don’t rush. Don’t act impulsively. Do your due diligence and find the right person for the job. Why? Because a snap decision now could end up costing you time, money, and a headache down the road.
- Put a contract in writing: While many platforms will handle the contract aspect of hiring a freelancer for you, you’ll want to confirm this detail. And if not, you’ll want to map one out that includes all the key details, such as:
- Payment terms
- Deliverables and project timelines
- Compensation
- How and when the agreement ends
- Policies on cnfidentiality and white labeling
- Relationship of the parties, including the status of each party, liability, and indemnification clauses
- Ownership of work (i.e. whether the freelancer owns the intellectual property of the work or if that ownership transfers to you as the employers)
- Confidentiality and data clauses (we’d recommend a Non-Disclosure Agreement for this, such as this free template from PandaDoc)
- A non-compete clause that determines what types of activities can or cannot do on behalf of a competitor while working with you
- Governing law determining the body responsible in case of any disputes
- Parameters for revisions, edits, and changes to work
- Don’t be shy about quality control: It’s important that you feel comfortable taking the reins when it comes to quality control. Whatever job you’re hiring a freelancer to do, you need to make sure that the final result is something you’re happy with. It’s completely fair to assume that the freelancer you hire will stand behind their work, so make sure you put a quality control process in place to make sure the work’s done accurately and completely.
- Implement the right management tools and software: Finding and implementing the right tools for the job will be important when working with a contractor. You’ll want to consider getting them to use a few key tools like:
- A chat platform like Slack
- A video conferencing platform like Zoom or one of these alternatives
- A project management tool like Trello
- A file-sharing tool like Google Drive
Having these tools in place will help make your work with a freelancer all that much simpler.
- Be honest with clients: If you’re working on behalf of a client, always be honest and transparent when using a subcontractor. While it’s common practice to hire freelancers, it’s always best to let the client know.
- Don’t short-change onboarding: Just because somebody’s a freelancer doesn’t mean you should skimp out on onboarding. It’s going to take some work to find a freelancer, so get them up to speed with your business. Give them the necessary context and background to do the job well. When you’re rushing to get a project completed, it can be easy to overlook these details but they’re an important part of the process.
4 Places to Find and Hire Great Freelancers
Once you’re ready to start your search for freelancers, the biggest question is where to find reliable ones.
Luckily, there are tons of great options, including:
- Upwork: Upwork is one of the world’s largest freelance talent marketplaces. Users create profiles outlining their skills and experience as well as their job histories and portfolios. You, as a client, would post a job listing detailing your project and what you’re looking for. From there, freelancers would submit proposals for you to review and you can hire and manage your project right through the platform.
- Guru: This platform focuses on high-end freelancers. It’s designed to attract a more expert base of clientele and freelancers rather than mixing in a lot of low-priced projects and professionals.
- Freelancer: Similar to Upwork, Freelancer.com lets freelancers create profiles and start bidding on jobs. It’s got a user base of over 29 million people, giving you a massive pool of potential professionals to pick from.
- Fiverr: All jobs on Fiverr cost $5 or are priced in increments of $5. Unlike some other platforms, clients and freelancers can post listings and focuses on microjobs, like writing or editing short articles or customizing bits of WordPress code.
Hiring freelancers can be a great way to save money and get support with projects you either don’t have the time, resources, or expertise to handle–without having to bring on a full-time employee.
Working at a flexible workspace like The Post also puts you in a professional community who are willing to share knowledge and expertise and help each other out.
Want to learn more about how flexible office space can boost your productivity and help you achieve more?
Get in touch with us or book a tour of The Post today!