8 Tips for small businesses to keep in touch with freelancers

Entrepreneurs who start their business on a tight budget often have to think outside the box to make sure operations in their organization are running smoothly. Some business owners choose to do fill multiple roles at the company themselves instead of hiring new people, while others like to outsource certain tasks to freelancers.

The freelance world is rapidly expanding and evolving. If you take a look at current freelance trends, you’ll see that they’re largely based on providing freelancers and clients with more tools to do business more easily. These trends are significant because they attract top tier talent to popular freelancing platforms.

It comes as no surprise that outsourcing is on the rise considering how great the online platforms for finding freelancers are. There are a few quite popular websites that allow you to easily get in touch with freelancers from around the world. If you’re interested in hiring freelancers to work on projects for your small business, here are some useful tips that will help you establish good work relationships with them.

1. Get to Know Them

To ensure that you form good relationships with the freelancers your hire, it’s important to make an effort to find out more about them. It’s a good idea to have a chat via Skype or Zoom when you start the contract to get to know the person you hired. Aside from talking about work, make sure to ask them how they’re doing every once in a while.

Ask them whether they plan on going to holiday anywhere soon and what they like to do in their free time. If you have any similar hobbies, you’ll surely have many things to talk about. Because they often don’t have colleagues to talk to, freelancers are usually happy to have a quick chat and get their mind off work.

2. Make Them Part of Your Team

Unlike your full-time employees, freelancers won’t be able to come to the office every day and get to see everything in action. They’ll also miss out on the fun events you host for your staff. Because they’ll be missing out on many things, you should try to make them part of your team in other ways. For instance, you should let them know when their work contributed to a business goal or milestone that you managed to reach. Filling them in on the current state of your company will help you build a stronger bond with your freelance workers.

Michael Gorman, a professional essay paper writer and freelancer who contributed to this article, notes that business owners who take the extra step to involve freelancers in their company as much as possible often get the best results from their outsourcing efforts. From his own experience as a freelancer working for a popular essay writing website in the UK and a custom essay service in the US, Michael says that he prefers clients whom treat him as a full-time employee.

3. Pay Them on Time

Freelancers don’t have a weekly or monthly paycheck. Instead, their salary depends solely on when clients release payments. Every freelancer expects payments to be released promptly after the work they submit gets reviewed. In case you don’t pay them on time, they might stop respecting your deadlines.

It’s worth noting that the rate you pay freelancers will determine the quality of service you get. Although you’ll be able to find people who’d be willing to work for you at an incredibly low rate, that doesn’t mean that they’ll be able to provide you with the expertise you need. If you pay an above-average rate, you’ll get the services of a skilled professional who will know what to do to help your small business become successful.

4. Make Your Expectations Clear

Before you even send a contract to a freelancer, it’s vital that you make your expectations clear. That means letting them know how long the project is going to last and how much work should be finished on a daily or weekly basis. Make sure to set clear deadlines on each assignment as well.

5. Start with a Paid Test Assignment

You should never give a freelancer you just hired an important task to do. Instead, start with a paid test assignment that’ll allow you to judge your freelancer’s skills. Doing this will not only allow you to see the quality of their work, but their communication skills as well. For the paid test project, give your freelancer a strict deadline and wait to see whether they’ll submit their work on time. If they don’t, it might be best to search for a different freelancer.

6. Outline Your Projects

Before you actually start giving assignments to your freelancer, you should first clearly outline the project. Schedule a chat at a time convenient for both of you and talk about future assignments. Make sure to mention different important details and point out examples that you find online to show them the type of work you expect. There might also be a great example of what you need in your freelancer’s portfolio. If that’s the case, point it out to them to ensure you get exactly what you want.

7. Encourage Open Communication

It’s easy to give your freelancer a project and wait until it’s finished. Nevertheless, that approach won’t guarantee great results. In case you want to ensure that the project is done exactly how you want, it’s crucial that you encourage open two-way communication. Encourage your freelancer to ask for additional input whenever they require it.

Good communication with freelancers also means giving your feedback as often as you see fit. Let them know when there should be a few minor changes made and provide them with clear instructions on how to do it.

8. Don’t Micromanage

Freelancers have excellent self-management skills and know exactly what they have to do in order to successfully finish the projects they’re assigned. That means that they don’t require input from you on a daily basis. Although you should encourage open two-way communication, don’t try to micromanage them. You should know when to take a step back and trust the individuals you hired to do their job.

Final Thoughts

There are several reasons why small business owners should consider hiring freelancers. Not only is it very cost-effective, but this approach will provide with access to top-tier talent and high quality work. However, this won’t be like hiring an ordinary employee. That’s why you should learn how to work and keep in touch with freelancers before you hire someone.

Author’s Bio:

Michael Gorman is a highly skilled freelance writer and proofreader from the UK who works for a popular essay writing service. He has a lot of experience in academic writing, and a PhD in marketing. Michael’s knowledge allowed him to work for a leading dissertation service UK, but he also plans on starting a top essay writing service of his own in the near future.