3 Reasons Why Smart Companies Hire Freelancers
7 minute read
The number of freelancers has been increasing dramatically in recent years, forming a new economic model called the “Gig Economy”, also known as the “Freelancer Economy”. According to the U.S. Bureau of Statistics, there are 55 million participants in the U.S. gig economy, which means 36% of U.S. workers are taking part in it.
The freelance industry is obviously on the rise. Research also finds that over 80% of the talent managers within the APAC expressed their tendency to engage freelancers! How come freelancers have become such a gem on the market?
Overview:
Affordability
Using a freelancer can lower your cost compared to hiring a full-time staff. For example, the average monthly salary of a graphic designer is $18,000 and a freelance designer with a similar background averagely charges $1,000 per project. Let say both of them are producing 12 pieces of work each month, the cost of using a freelancer would be $12,000 while the salary of a full-time employee would still be $18,000.
Sometimes, when there are not many design projects, working with a freelancer can reduce the cost as they are charging per project, but the salary of a full-time designer is fixed regardless of his/her productivity.
Also, don’t forget about the other costs you need to pay for a permanent staff! Apart from the monthly salary, you still have to pay for their benefits such as bonuses and insurances, not to mention the recruiting, training and equipment costs.
But if you are outsourcing some of the projects to a freelancer, you won’t have to worry about all of the extra costs. Most of the freelancers are very well-trained and they have got the equipment needed. Also, freelancers will not take up any office spaces as they usually work from home. In other words, hiring freelancers means you are paying for their skills, services, and of course, the final product!
Specialty
Freelancers are more affordable than full-time staff, but that doesn’t mean freelancers are not as valuable. In fact, freelancers are usually experts in the industry and they can certainly add value to your company. The other reason why companies tend to hire freelancers for specific projects is that they excel in their professions. Many freelancers went into the freelance industry with years of experience and professional skills in a specific area such as web development, content writing, or video editing, etc.
Besides, full-time staff usually have to handle various projects simultaneously, admin work and meetings can be time-consuming and distracting too. But for freelancers, they can be laser-focused on the assigned project, which makes them more efficient and have a higher chance to hit the right note! As long as clear instructions are given, freelancers are good at providing tailor-made products.
Flexibility
Another advantage of working with freelancers is that there is no long-term commitment. It could be very time consuming to find the right talent because employers can be quite selective in the recruitment process. It is understandable that no company would like to waste resources on unqualified staff. It is not an easy task to motivate the employee to improve or even find a substitute for the staff with unsatisfying performances.
But if you are working with freelancers, you have no obligation to continue or extend the contract once the project is over. Surely you can develop a long term relationship if you find the freelancers very helpful and the collaboration has been pleasant. Either way, there is no pressure for you to let go or keep working with the freelancer.
Where Can I Find A Professional and Reliable Freelancer Then?
Apparently, the process of finding a freelancer has become more convenient these days as there are so many job-matching websites. Freehunter is one of them, but more than that.
Freehunter is an innovative platform for companies and freelancers, with the purpose to build a community for the creative industries and assist users to explore business opportunities.
- What makes Freehunter so unique is that they encourage freelancers to create a personal profile and portfolio on the website. It is well-designed for employers to look around and easily find a freelancer with preferred styles and experiences in no time.
- The customer review and chatroom functions provide employers a chance to evaluate the freelancers before hiring them.
- With nearly 20,000 registered users coming from Hong Kong and Taiwan, Freehunter is surely the right place for you to look for talents that can help with your business!
Wrap Up
Most of the freelancers tend to be ambitious, agile, highly skilled and disciplined. In other words, they have got all the attributes companies are looking for in a valuable employee. But of course, company culture and a core team of full-time employees are essential for the long-term health of a business.
There is no way a company’s business development can solely rely on freelancers. We believe having a combination of loyal permanent staff and elite freelancers would be the most cost-efficient and ideal case, especially for SME with limited resources!
This guest post is brought to you by our friends at Freehunter, an online platform where freelancers discover job opportunities, meet collaborators and more.
Find out more on their website!
