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Are you getting ready to grow your company by outsourcing some of your work to freelancers? If so, you aren’t alone. Reports show that 59% of hiring managers engaged with freelancers in 2020.
However, there are many mistakes with hiring freelancers that you can make. Keep reading to learn what those mistakes are when hiring people for different freelance jobs.
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1. Not Communication Effectively
The freelancer relationship works differently than one where you hire an employee. A freelancer won’t show up at an office at a particular time to do work. That means you have to communicate effectively with the freelancers to know what you expect of them.
Never assume that freelancers know what you need. You need to spell out precisely what work you need done and leave no detail out when doing so. You don’t want to leave instructions for a freelancer and have them do work that doesn’t meet your needs when they finish.
In many cases, you can offer templates to your freelancers. Doing this will give them a roadmap to follow to complete the work the way you want it done.
2. Hiring Too Quickly
Another mistake with hiring freelancers is to do so too quickly. You want to make sure that the freelancer you hire is qualified for the job, so take your time and consider your options. Don’t rush into hiring someone you don’t feel comfortable with or who seems like they will be a good fit.
If the freelancer you’re speaking with has a lot of experience, ask for references from past clients. An experienced freelancer should have no issue providing references if they deliver great work.
Another great way to test freelancers before committing to hiring them is to offer them test assignments. Give them a small task and see how they handle it. If they do a great job, then you commit to hiring the person.
3. Not Firing Quickly
It’s also essential that you know how to fire people. You don’t want to let a freelancer drag out their contract too long because it could end up costing you more money.
A good rule of thumb is to fire someone when you find that they can’t deliver quality work on time. If the freelancer doesn’t provide quality work, there is no reason to be on your team.
Some business owners make the mistake of trying to train people up to deliver better results. However, these efforts don’t often deliver results and will end up costing you more time and money.
4. Failing to Build Relationships
Another big mistake when hiring freelancers is not building a good relationship with them. The chances are good that you’ll be working with your freelancer for a long time. You don’t want to have a strained relationship because you did nothing to build your relationship up.
Building a relationship with your freelancer is essential because it can help them become more efficient on the job, which ultimately saves you money later on. If you can do this, you’ll be able to communicate more effectively and depend on someone sticking around for a long time.
5. Hiring Solely on Price
Many business owners go the freelance route because they want to save money. However, getting the lowest price isn’t always the best way to save money. If you hire the lowest-priced freelancer on the market and they can’t deliver on what you’re asking, you’re going to spend more money on a better freelancer.
Always try to find a good balance in the price you pay for a freelancer’s services and the quality of work provided. You don’t have to hire the top end of the market. However, you can still save a lot of money by hiring a freelancer that charges average hourly rates.
Always try to check the abilities of a freelancer before you hire them and send them a lot of work. As mentioned above, try creating small test projects to see if someone can handle the job.
6. Micromanaging Your Team
You want to eliminate unnecessary work in your business. The best way to do this is to delegate tasks and get other people involved.
If you micromanage every task that gets done, you’re going to lose time and money down the road. Spend that time working on projects that will improve your online business or selling more items. Let the experts you hire do the jobs you give them.
Micromanaging is also an issue that causes frustration with many freelancers. People go the freelance route because they don’t want a typical office job with someone looking over their shoulders. If you try to control everything someone does when you contract with them, the chances are good that they’ll drop the contract and look for other work.
7. Hiring a Generalist
It’s vital that you know what you need to have a successful business. Sometimes you only need a logo for a website, and other times you’ll need an entire website built from scratch. If you don’t want to hire a designer, there are numerous free tools on the internet, such as a free logo maker app, a graphic builder, a flyer maker, and many more, that may help you create amazing designs in minutes.
If the job requires specialization, hiring a generalist that does different freelance jobs is not the best option for your business. You’ll end up spending more money on someone average on many tasks, but not an expert at one freelance job.
Take someone designing creative work for your company, for instance. You want to hire a creative director for this role. A general graphic artist might not have enough knowledge to create effective creatives for your brand.
Make Yourself Aware of All Mistakes With Hiring Freelancers
Finding the right freelancer for your business isn’t that different from hiring someone to work full-time. You’ll need to do your due diligence when interviewing job candidates. There are many mistakes with hiring freelancers that you’ll encounter, so make sure you familiarize yourself with everything that could go wrong.
Once you get your freelance workforce, you can start working on managing your team. Check out the blog to learn more about running an efficient organization.
