Companies that properly develop relationships with freelancers can benefit from a committed team of flexible employees, and the standard of their work will improve. Having the above in mind, Useme.ecom presents four principles of successful cooperation with freelancers.
Change the way you perceive freelancers, from an external “resource” to short-term, remote members of your team
Freelancers not only want to work on awesome ideas or projects, but also with exceptional people. Therefore, even if your freelancers are only there for a few days, you should make them feel welcome to the team in with which they will work directly. Getting to know each other is not only an advantage for both sides but also a key factor for better mutual understanding and better management of freelancers.
Remember every employee, no matter if he or she is a permanent or remote one, is a human being who has his or her expectations, needs and requirements. Taking that into account and changing your attitude to freelancers, will benefit you, your organization and remote-employees.
The right onboarding process is the key to fruitful collaboration
Regardless of if you work with freelancers remotely or side by side within your organization, remember to offer them an appropriate introduction to your company. After all, the organizational culture of each company is different.
Try to provide them with proper training from the first day of cooperation, access to necessary information, data and the people in your team. In the case of physical cooperation, also allow them access to the necessary equipment for work.
Also, in the case of remote work with freelancers, it is practised that before the start of a project, a company should presents the freelancer with a comprehensive brief so that he or she can get to know the matters and issues before starting cooperation with your company. Thanks to this approach, external employees will not be bored or ignorant of how things work in your company, and their effectiveness and attitude will be positive. Thanks to this, your company will also benefit.
Explain to them their important role
Even if they have only a small part in the complex task, it doesn’t determine if their job is unimportant. Freelancers are usually responsible for a fraction of a whole project. Describing a compound process and explaining to them their role in it allows them to understand how important their job is and to finish the whole job on time. Thanks to that, they will also change their approach to you, your team and organization.
Take care of money and the appropriate rules of cooperation
One of the biggest team management mistakes in cooperation with freelancers is bad communication about finances. Make sure that contracts with freelancers determine everything in advance, including payment terms and overtime rules. This helps to avoid freelancers’ angry e-mails and negative social media activities regarding late payments or wrongly understood terms of cooperation. If you need co-workers to fill out time cards to ensure payment, make sure they have access and give them a quick guide on how to do it.
Remember, working with freelancers is a great way to optimize company costs. Having in mind the above rules will allow one to have successful business relationships that will support achieving business goals.
