Lots of companies have started hiring freelancers as a way to cut costs. But, managing a freelance workforce can be challenging. It’s not easy to find the right freelancer for your project, but it can be even more difficult to manage a remote team.
And if you don’t treat them with respect and pay on time, you won’t find another great candidate in the future. To avoid problems, you need to have a plan for managing your freelance workforce. Here are a few tips.
Manage Your Freelance Team
Freelance workers can be found in nearly every industry, working as designers, consultants, programmers, salespeople, and more. It can be difficult to keep track of all the different freelancers you work with, but with the help of freelance management software, you can keep track of who you’re working with and how your projects are progressing.
The right management software for your freelance workforce will help you get the most out of your contractors by making sure that their skills are being utilized correctly. It will also help you find the right contractors through an easy-to-use interface.
Define the Rules
If you want to have a successful collaboration with freelancers, you need to define some rules. You should make sure that there is enough communication between all of the team members and that they are all working together towards achieving the same goal. For example, you can use Slack or Google Hangouts for communication and Asana or Trello for project management.
Use a Time Tracking App
It is very important to track freelancers’ work time so they don’t do something else while working on your project. This can help you estimate how much longer it will take them to finish their task and if they need more time than initially planned.
Know Your Freelancers’ Strengths and Weaknesses
A good freelancer is a jack of all trades, but even the best freelancers have areas in which they are more proficient. It’s important to know what those strengths and weaknesses are before assigning a new task.
Knowing your freelancer’s strengths and weaknesses will allow you to assign work more efficiently. If you know that one of your writers is an expert in SEO writing, make sure they’re assigned to that article you want to rank well on Google. A writer who is weak in SEO may not be able to give the article the lift it requires.
It also helps to know when your freelancers should use their strengths and when they should hold back. For example, if a design project needs a simple logo or banner, don’t go to your most creative designer for the job—let them shine on projects that need a lot of imagination and innovation.
How Do You Set Milestones?
When you’re hiring a freelancer, it’s smart to set milestones and deadlines for their work. This ensures that you’ll get your money’s worth from the freelancer.
First, determine if the freelancer is hourly or project-based. If they’re hourly, make sure there are definitive times when they’ll be available to work on your project. If they’re project-based, make sure they commit to a timeline in which the work will be completed.
Second, if the project is more than one month in length, set weekly or biweekly payment dates when the freelancer will receive a portion of his pay. It’s also helpful to set up an online system that allows contractors to see their progress and how much they’ve been paid.
Use this information as an opportunity to negotiate with a prospective contractor on price and availability. Once you’ve agreed upon a price and schedule, put it in writing and have your contractor sign off on it.
Be Flexible
When working with freelancers, you need to be flexible and willing to adjust your plans if something doesn’t go according to plan. For example, if one of your freelancers gets sick and can’t finish their work on time, then you will have to find someone else who can do it instead of waiting around for them to recover. This will ensure that nothing holds up your project or delays its completion date unnecessarily.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, this article has provided you with some insight into the importance of taking control of your projects and streamlining your freelance workforce. With the growing number of variables that must be addressed in today’s business landscape, it’s clear that businesses are increasingly dependent upon freelancers to help them operate effectively. The good news is this has created an opportunity for new ways to manage and optimize your freelance workforce, which will ultimately help you improve your bottom line.
