Table of contents
Table of contents
Lots of businesses choose to hire freelancers on an ad hoc basis, rather than taking on additional full-time employees to do the same work. Outsourcing comes with a whole host of benefits, from more choice and flexibility, to accessing specific skills when needed.
In this article we’ll explain exactly what outsourcing is, why it can be a good strategy, and what you should look out for when choosing freelancers to work with.
This is kind of important to understand. Outsourcing work means specific business tasks or functions are given to external service providers to handle, instead of them being completed in-house.
Yes, and one of them involves outsourcing business-related functions like marketing, logistics, and procurement.
Some other forms are:
Now that you’re up to speed on what outsourcing actually is, let’s take a look at why a business owner would choose it over the more traditional method of hiring employees to carry out tasks within the organisation.
Outsourcing tasks can be more cost-effective than taking on a full-time employee – particularly for short-term projects – because you won’t need to think about all the additional costs and responsibilities.
As well as paying an employee a regular wage, you’ll have to make pension payments and National Insurance contributions, arrange Employer’s Liability Insurance, and there are also general health and safety requirements to consider. You should probably try and be nice to them as well.
In contrast to this, when you’re working with a freelancer, you only need to worry about their one-time fee. You can still be nice to them.
Another benefit of outsourcing is that it can (not always) significantly speed up the completion of tasks and projects. Freelancers tend to be highly experienced in their respective areas, meaning they can work quickly and efficiently.
The flipside of this is that they might not be familiar with your way of doing things, so it can take a while to get up to speed.
In all honesty, it really depends on who you’re hiring for the job.
Hiring one person to come in and cover a role might sometimes limit your access to other specialties unless you have the budget to outsource specific tasks as well as having someone in-house.
In this sense, outsourcing gives you access to a large range of skills which may not be as readily available if you were to try and recruit someone in-house.
Hiring a freelancer is a bit like hiring anyone to do any job. Your Nan’s best mate’s nephew might be put forward. You might suddenly remember someone you met at a conference a while ago, when you definitely weren’t skiving with a coffee. You’ll probably have a look online.
Most online jobs sites will let you advertise for freelancers or temps. You could also have a look through the many versions of freelance marketplaces which exist online.
A bit like a big supermarket of freelancers, they can be a great resource, providing access to hundreds – if not thousands – of available freelancers looking for work. These are ideal for quickly finding freelancers to complete one-time or rarely occurring tasks.
You have the flexibility and the freedom to trial as many people as you want without being locked into anything long-term.
Most freelance marketplaces even allow you to filter your search results for the exact skills and experience level you need, which is certainly very helpful.
It’s also important to consider factors like cost, quality, reliability, and flexibility. Ultimately, though, you want someone whose business goals align with yours, and who understands what it is you want from them.
Beyond finding someone to do the job, how do you actually tell them what needs doing? And what should you expect? We’ve collated some of our top tips.
No freelancer likes a woolly brief. Now I know what you’re thinking: surely many do, because then they can just run with it and use their creativity.
Well that’s great, if you don’t mind what the finished result is. But if you have even the slightest expectation, then all those stipulations will be very helpful.
List the must-haves and the do-nots. Talk about the purpose of what they’re doing and its intended audience. Ensure they know how and where it will be published, presented or constructed.
It’s important to be clear about when and how your freelancer will get paid for their work, and if that pay is intended (or not) to cover any specific expenses they incur while working on the project (travel, access to materials or places that incur a fee etc.).
Will you pay on completion or in stages; by the hour or by progress? What will you do if you’re not happy with the work; how many alterations are included in the original fee? These are all things to consider – and then put in writing. It’s better than endless tense emails.
Make it clear that you’re open to suggestions and feedback (but that you want to hear and approve them before your freelancer goes ahead with any changes). Your freelancer may be far more experienced than you in this particular area, and their feedback and suggested improvements could be invaluable.
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A content writer who enjoys writing in a way that’s fun and engaging, while still being informative and useful to everyday people. I also enjoy writing creatively.
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