Why hiring freelancers is the future of business

Why hiring freelancers is the future of business

The gig economy has been growing for many years and like many areas of business, Covid-19 accelerated freelance growth. However, many businesses have not yet taken the plunge to hiring freelancers. This is often due to concerns about work quality, integrating with permanent employees and so on. But, to put it quite frankly, this is an unnecessary worry. With an increase in younger, highly-skilled professionals, seeking flexible alternatives to traditional employment, now is the time to embark on your freelance journey (if you haven’t already!)

So here’s why we think hiring freelancers is a great idea for your business:

Solving capacity issues

Being short on capacity is one of the most common reasons businesses hire freelancers. And for good reason. Freelancers can bolster your existing team and be an extra pair of hands with big projects. But the real benefit of hiring freelancers comes from their knowledge and understanding of themselves.

Freelance talent are in charge of their own time, the work they do and when they do it. They know exactly how long it will take them to complete a myriad of tasks, how to prioritise their time and how to meet a deadline. Making them a great extension of your team when you’re working towards a deadline or if you’re running low on capacity for any other reason.

The best of the bunch 

When you’re on the hunt for a new employee, your options are limited. You can only employ the people that are open to getting a new job. This may mean that you spend a lot of time searching for the perfect candidate (and then you have to wait for them to finish their notice period at their current organisation!) This process is not only time consuming, but it’s also expensive.

But freelancers are ready to start immediately. And, they know how great they are. They know they have the exact skills needed to meet your brief. So when using freelancers, the quality of your output will not be compromised. It’s often an assumption that if someone is good, they’d already be working for a large organisation. But that’s the wrong way to think about freelancers. In fact, many of them have been employed at big companies – and quite simply, they want the freedom and flexibility of freelancing. So scrub that negative thought from your mind, and you’ll be opening your organisation to a huge talent marketplace that you may not have previously considered.

Organisational growth

Working with freelancers often brings an unexpected benefit for your teams: learning. Freelancers bring with them a wealth of skills and experience that they’ve learnt at a whole host of companies. While working alongside your permanent employees, they will be imparting this knowledge on your team. The new skills and knowledge your team acquires whilst working with freelance talent will ultimately benefit your organisation. But this isn’t the only way freelance talent can help your organisation flourish. Often, especially in the L&D industry, freelancers have experience in a wide range of roles, which allows them to look at the bigger picture. By bringing freelance talent into your team, you can benefit from a different perspective to the challenge you’re facing.

Always agile 

This past year, our workforces have adapted to new ways of working. Some of your permanent employees might still be adjusting to working from home and the challenges it brings. However, freelance talent already has the crucial communication skills that make remote working effective, and they’ve probably used all your communication, management and development platforms previously too. Meaning they can come into your organisation and hit the ground running.

So, is hiring freelancers the right choice for you?

The simple answer to this question is: YES.

Businesses are facing turbulent times; whilst recovering from the impact of Covid-19, dealing with the onset of the global skills crisis, and likely unstable sales. So now is a great time to adopt a more flexible approach to getting talent into your organisation. And coupling freelance talent with your permanent employees is a great way to help your business grow.

If you don’t know where to start with hiring freelancers, we’re here to help. Learn more about Jam Pan Enterprise and get in touch today.