While in the past a business would have only had in-house staff, who came to the office every day, now things are different. You’re more likely to find a business that has in-office staff, staff working remotely from home, temporary workers, and freelancers. This mix gives you a lot of benefits that you weren’t able to get before for your business. Here are just a few reasons to hire freelancers for your business.
Who Is A Freelancer?
If you’re looking to hire a freelancer specifically, you’ll need to consider who they would be. Who is a freelancer in terms of your business?
A professional freelancer is someone who isn’t an employee but instead works independently. As such, they won’t be salaried, but instead will have a business contract with you and be paid either a fixed amount tight to pre-agreed deliverables, or paid per hour based on the hours they have actually worked out. These terms will be agreed upon before they start working with you.
As such, they’re more likely to work with you in the short term, such as on a specific project. They’ll work independently, typically in another location to your office, and meet up with you at specific points to review work and decide on what needs to be done next.
The Benefits Of Hiring A Freelancer
So, why would you choose to use a freelancer in your business? You may want to consider it for a variety of reasons, and above all, the immediate ROI ( return on investment). Here are some of the benefits that you could get if you do so.
1. Find The Expert You Need
Depending on the project you’re working on, you may need an expert in a very specific subject. While you need that expert now, you’re not going to need them in the long term. As such, you don’t want to spend time and money hiring someone who has that specific skill set when you won’t benefit in the long term.
Instead, that’s why a freelancer is the better fit. In the freelance industry, you’re more likely to find that expert, as there are so many out there with specific niche skills. As they’re a freelancer, you’ll be able to hire them for that project without any training or onboarding costs. Once the project is done, they’ll be able to move on to the next job. It’s something that benefits both parties.
2. Save On Salary Costs
On the subject of costs, there are always several costs involved with hiring and training a new employee. They can be substantial, and sometimes you’re not going to want to spend money on the process if you don’t have to. If you only need someone to work on a project for you for a shorter amount of time, then it makes sense to hire a freelancer.
When you hire a freelancer, there aren’t going to be any onboarding costs. You’ll simply agree on a contract with them, and they’ll start working. There’s even less costs involved as they typically work remotely, too.
3. Wider Talent Pool
If you’re looking for someone to work with you in-house, then you’re going to need to look closer to home. That’s going to narrow your talent pool considerably, so you may not be able to find the right person for the job. You could offer to pay moving costs for someone living further away, but that’s more expensive and there may not be that many people willing to do it.
Hiring a freelancer will add flexibility, optimize costs and provide immediate access to a niche skill set you might not have in-house.“As freelancers work remotely, you can take your pick from pretty much anyone in the world,” says Niamh Harrison, a tech writer from Lucky Assignments and Gum Essays. “That allows to choose from a wider talent pool and find just the right person for the job.”
4. Shorter Turn Around Times
Your staff in the office are working on several jobs at once. As they have so many different things that they’re responsible for, you’ll see that they have longer turnaround times. For some projects, this may not be a problem, but if you have something that needs to be handled more quickly, that’s when you’ll want a freelancer.
As they aren’t part of the regular team and don’t have those same responsibilities, then they don’t have anything distracting them from the task at hand. As such, you’ll be able to get the best work from them, more quickly.
5. Save Time With Onboarding
Onboarding was touched upon above, as it’s an expensive process. Also, it’s a process that takes time, too. If you’re bringing on a new employee full-time, it’ll take a few weeks at least to get them up to speed with everything. Depending on what you’re working on, you may not have the time to wait for them to get up to date with what you need from them.
That’s why a freelancer is a good option. When you hire a freelancer, it’s a much smoother process overall. You’ll be able to offer them a contract that lays everything out that you need from them, so everyone knows where they stand. That allows them to make a decision quicker, and if they accept they can start working as soon as possible.
6. More Flexible Working
If you’re relying on your in house team to work on a project, you’ll be restricted in some ways by their working hours. If they’re only going to be in the office from 9 to 5, then that’s when they’ll be working on it. Depending on the project though, you may need someone who’s more flexible to handle it. That’s where a good freelancer can come in.
“When you have a freelancer on board, they’ll typically have much more flexible working hours” says David Gardner, a HR manager from Draft Beyond. “Because of this, they can work around your team’s working hours, giving you more when the team aren’t available.”
7. Reduce Risks
When hiring anyone, you’re taking a risk with them. You’ll invest time and effort into that person, and you’re doing that in the hope that they’ll stay long enough to make it worth it. However, the job won’t always be the best fit for them, and they could decide to leave.
If you want to reduce risks to your business, then you can hire a freelancer. The nature of their work means they aren’t going to be with you in the long term, so you’re not having to invest a lot in them, beyond the payment that you agreed on beforehand.
8. Get The Best Quality Work
One of the top reasons why businesses look to hire freelancers is because they want to best quality work possible. Freelancers typically have to be excellent at what they do, in order to keep work coming in. When you hire them, they’ll be motivated to put in their best effort for you, too.
You can often check out their previous work through their portfolio, too. You can browse through and see what they’re capable of, so you don’t have to hire anyone unless you’re sure their work meets your standards.
These are just a few of the reasons why you should look into hiring a freelancer for your next project. They bring your business a lot of benefits, so it’s time to consider bringing them on board.