How to properly organize work with freelancers: a 5-step system

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

This approach will help to establish effective collaboration with "free artists" and get good results.

The number of freelancers is growing - there are already 162 McKinsey Study: Gig-Economy Workforce Is Bigger Than Official Data Shows in U. S., Europe million in the US and Europe, and in Russia, according to experts, from 15 to 25 million. And if you haven't worked with freelancers yet, now is the time to start.

Step 1. Select a task

It is better to start working with freelancers with a project task. In this mode, you will be able to understand whether you are suitable for each other, whether it is possible to establish mutual understanding.

Choose a project that does not require access to important internal information: start not with developers and accountants, but with designers, layout designers, PR specialists, copywriters. A good option for the initial assignment is to typeset a presentation or make a landing page for a project.

Even with deadlines, you should not leave the preparation of the marketing budget or contracts in the hands of a freelancer. Everything that has to do with money or confidential information is best left inside the company.

Tip: it is better to choose a task with a comfortable deadline as a pilot project - this will provide the employee with freedom of action, and you will see what he is capable of.

Step 2. Choose a performer

There are three main ways to find performers for one-time tasks: recommendations and word of mouth, work sites, freelance exchanges.

My experience suggests that it is best to choose an artist from the exchange, since these sites allow you to see real customer reviews. They cannot be faked, unlike a portfolio of works, which, unfortunately, is found everywhere.

Tip: It's best to double-check all portfolios. Freelancer sent a poster? Search for the photo on Google, it may turn out that it is just a copied work.

Step 3. Formulate a specific task

"Blurred" tasks such as "I want a nice logo like company X" don't work. They can be interpreted in different ways, so the final result and your expectations, most likely, will not coincide.

Form a specific technical assignment with details: “The logo should be in corporate colors and rounded, contain the full name of the company. Don't use red as it is a symbol of our competitors. Yes, it will take time at the stage of setting the task, but it will save it at all other stages of work and reduce the risk of getting a poor-quality result.

Advice: after a freelancer has studied the terms of reference, always say orally what you expect from him and what result you definitely do not want to see.

Step 4. Adhere to the "white" cooperation scheme

When hiring a freelancer, the employer must take care of his own interests. There are scammers who trick companies into cooperating and then disappear along with the prepayment.

In one-time projects, it is more rational to use the mechanism of a secure transaction; this function is available on various freelance exchanges. It protects against fraud and hack on the part of the performer.

When switching to permanent cooperation, enter into a contractual relationship. The contract establishes clear criteria for completing tasks, a scheme of work and payment, and disciplines both parties.

Tip: enter into a formal relationship, even if the associated workflow looks complicated. The thought "This is definitely a conscientious freelancer, he will not be lost on the last day" is better to back up with something tangible.

Step 5. Build a feedback and motivation system

Divide the global task into daily challenges and record the progress status. Otherwise, there is a risk of finding out on the day of the deadline that the person has been in the hospital for three days.

You also need to give feedback to the freelancer constantly. We work with people, and they need not only monetary motivation, but also ordinary human praise or adequate criticism.

Advice: write down the system of penalties in the contract. Estimate each day of delay, for example, at 3% of the amount of the fee. This is not a very large amount within one day, but a delay of three days or more will ultimately result in a tangible penalty.