Do you hire gig workers or freelancers?
When you have too many tasks within your business you always try to eliminate any hassle and focus on improving the process by making it more convenient. And being able to save more time and effort is definitely something that you want to consider. Which is why hiring someone to do this for you is always a very good idea.
Outsourcing to gig workers or freelancers is the best thing you can do because hiring someone requires lots of extra costs. Health insurance, employment benefits, all of these disappear when you hire freelancers. The costs are lower this way and you can obtain great, if not amazing results every time you work with a freelancer.
According to Tyler Quiel, CEO of Giggster, "The gig economy has boomed during the pandemic as people have been forced to find alternate sources of income. Many people have turned to online platforms like Fiverr and Upwork to find work, and there has been a surge in the number of people offering their services. The gig economy has been a lifeline for many people who have lost their jobs or seen their income slashed."
Why do you hire gig workers and freelancers?
There are lots of reasons why working with freelancers makes a lot of sense. One of the primary ones is the affordability of the entire process. You pay per gig or per project and that’s it. As I mentioned above, there’s no need to worry about any extra expenses and that really helps a lot if you have a small business with a very small budget.
In addition, there’s also the flexibility factor. You can hire people from other time zones and they can easily offer you the work overnight. Most of the time freelancers also have their own team, which means a faster and more reliable delivery. Plus, you are free to work with any freelancer from anywhere in the world. It helps a lot and it also broadens the appeal and high standard you can provide.
Also, many freelancers are innovative. I work with freelancers because they are always up to date with their industry. They use top of the line equipment and software, and I don’t have to pay for any of that.
Do gig workers and freelancers work at a high level of professionalism?
All freelancers I worked with are professionals in their field. Granted, there are scammers too, but if you use a reputable marketplace and you pay attention to who you are hiring you will be good to go for the most part. Having the ability to work with experienced people is always exciting and there’s certainly a lot of value to be found there.
This is why I always recommend working with gig workers or freelancers. They make a living out of this, so they tend to be extremely serious and reputable. For this very reason, you should work with them in the first place. And while some freelancers are busy at times, most of them are always open for new projects and that’s what I really like.
Best practices when hiring freelancers
- Only use only reputable freelancer platforms to avoid any issues or scams
- Use an escrow payment system to ensure that you are not dealing with scammers
- Check the freelancer experience in the industry
- Ask multiple freelancers for quotes, don’t go for a single freelancer as it will be easier to spot the best deal
- Go with the global market, don’t limit yourself to freelancers from a certain region
- Be willing to pay more than the lowest quote just because you might be getting a better value
- Always prepare the project details before you hire a freelancer
Are freelancers and contingent workers less motivated and loyal than full-time employees?
Based on my experience with freelancers I would say that no, they are not lacking any motivation. If anything, the sheer idea that they have to work on a variety of projects to make a living is what motivates them.
And that’s why a freelancer is much better than a regular hire. On the one hand, he knows the industry very well thanks to working in all kinds of projects. On the other hand, he has a great understanding of how everything works and the challenges that come with that. It’s definitely not going to be a walk in the park to find the right freelancer. However, if you take your time and you work with a dedicated and motivated freelancer, then results can be extraordinary.
Additionally, I do believe that both contingent workers and freelancers work really hard and they are always committed to value and success. They do have a variety of goals and they know that the more they work on them, the better it will be.
Obviously challenges can and will arise all the time, so adapting and adjusting the process will be worth it here. You have to motivate the freelancers you work with as well. Without the right paycheck and guidelines, it will be hard for the freelancer to give you the best experience.
Do you think that freelancers having more than one client add-value to the company by bringing in fresh ideas and innovation?
Overall, it’s important to work with freelancers as they are giving you a variety of ideas and innovative systems that you rarely find anywhere else. It’s always easy to say that hiring an experienced person will solve the task at hand.
Freelancers are better here as they have a multitude of clients from a plethora of industries. Also, they are certainly more accurate than you imagine and the experience itself is improved because of that. While not all freelancers deliver the best results, most of them actually do. Moreover, another great thing is that they are very dedicated and committed to helping every client. While they are working with that client, they do get plenty of ideas and they do become quite innovative too. This is great because it helps you better understand what ideas might stand out and others are not using. Or you can work with freelancers that have clients from other industries.
This is also helpful and it does provide you with a simpler way to innovate and bring in ideas from other industries just to make your business more impressive and dependable all the time!
