In a 2021 report on \u201cThe Great Resignation,\u201d<\/a> Upwork Chief Economist Dr. Adam Ozimek noted, \u201c20 percent, or 10 million Americans, are considering freelancing<\/a>\u201d rather than returning to full-time work. As a resut, many skilled professionals are available to offer significant benefits to your business.<\/p>\n Whether you need a financial analyst, a graphic designer, a content writer, a researcher, or some other type of freelancer, you can save money by hiring an expert on a contract or project basis.<\/p>\n Your business avoids having to recruit, train, and retain that particular skilled worker. You typically don\u2019t have to provide technology or office space to a freelancer. At the same time, you don\u2019t offer bonuses or benefits to the freelancer.<\/p>\n With the pool of freelancers growing, you\u2019ll also find it easier to locate talent that suits your budget. Keep in mind, though, that you may be getting what you pay for if you go with the least expensive bid.<\/p>\n Typically, a freelance worker has a specialized skill set. Instead of having the general expertise of a full-time employee, these individuals develop a niche offering. This lets you select the best fit for that particular engagement instead of having to settle for the generalist who offers you the best work as a jack-of-all-trades.<\/p>\n Need someone to develop the back end for a mobile app one month and someone to focus on CX for a microsite next month? You can target that specific need and find a freelancer to give you the highest quality work.<\/p>\n Many times in business there is a lot of waiting around for the next stage of a job. Then, once it\u2019s time to go, the deadline is almost instantaneous. If you\u2019re relying on your stable of full-time employees, you could end up with a bottleneck. That staffer you want to assign to the project is still wrapping up another client\u2019s work. Or they\u2019re going on vacation during the assignment\u2019s peak period.<\/p>\n When you turn to freelancers, you can hire someone who is available when the project needs that skill set. Expert freelancers also understand the market value of being flexible and able to provide quality work<\/a> with a quick turnaround.<\/p>\n Of course, the counterpoint here is that you have to find and onboard the freelancer, and that can be time-consuming. However, with the expanding talent pool and digital transformation of business, there are many platforms focused on matching businesses with the best available freelance help.<\/p>\n When you hire a freelancer you avoid the risk of hiring someone for a long-term commitment. With a full-time employee you need to:<\/p>\n Working with a freelancer you can contain their access to your systems and don\u2019t have to worry as much about how they \u201cfit\u201d with your company\u2019s culture<\/a>.<\/p>\n Contracting with a freelancer for remote work on a short-term basis opens up your hiring options in a new way. You aren\u2019t limited to your locale and can now access the best fitting freelancer wherever they may be. This also helps you get around the habits of hiring the same types of people over and over again, which undermines any company’s efforts to have a more diverse workforce<\/a>.<\/p>\n The diversity can offer a fresh perspective, but that\u2019s its own advantage we\u2019ll talk about below.<\/p>\n You may not want to hire an employee full-time who is working on another continent. Yet that reluctance is easier to overcome when you\u2019re only working with that individual on a short-term basis.<\/p>\n Additionally, you can hire a freelancer for night or weekend work without the same pushback as you might get from a full-time employee. Or partner with someone in a different time zone to ensure that you are always meeting your client\u2019s needs without having to keep your conventional employees working late.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve already discussed the diversity benefit of bringing in freelance help. Meanwhile, your business can also gain an outsider\u2019s perspective by working with for-hire talent. The freelancer is likely to have deep industry experience with a variety of clients. That means they might have a new way of doing things that helps you to break free from the traditional mode of thought about how to meet your customers’ needs.<\/p>\n How does partnering with a freelancer help you engage employees<\/a>? COVID-19 and the move to hybrid or remote environments overwhelmed a lot of individuals. Stress levels went up, and the threat of burnout is real<\/a>. By bringing in freelance talent that is specifically skilled in that unique area, you free up your full-time employees to focus on their passions. Saving them from feeling pulled in several directions by letting them hand off responsibilities to hired talent can do wonders for your retention efforts. It may even give your people the breathing room they need to come up with fresh innovations or brand new ideas to add to your bottom line.<\/p>\n Find out more about your employee engagement<\/a> status with Sogolytics<\/a>. Our platform helps you to understand employees\u2019 perceptions of the workplace to enable you to increase engagement, involvement, enthusiasm, and retention. Contact us<\/a> today!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The freelance workforce is growing, especially post-pandemic with more people looking for greater flexibility and remote work. The question remains, though, why use freelancers? This article shares eight advantages of leveraging the talents and skills of these independent contractors. In a 2021 report on \u201cThe Great Resignation,\u201d Upwork Chief Economist Dr. Adam Ozimek noted, \u201c20 percent, or 10 million Americans, are considering freelancing\u201d rather than returning to full-time work. As a resut, many skilled professionals are available to offer significant benefits to your business. Cost savings Whether you need a financial analyst, a graphic designer, a content writer, a researcher, or some other type of freelancer, you can save money by hiring an expert on a contract or project basis. Your business avoids having to recruit, train, and retain that particular skilled worker. You typically don\u2019t have to provide technology or office space to a freelancer. At the same time, you don\u2019t offer bonuses or benefits to the freelancer. With the pool of freelancers growing, you\u2019ll also find it easier to locate talent that suits your budget. Keep in mind, though, that you may be getting what you pay for if you go with the least expensive bid. High-quality work Typically, a freelance worker has a specialized skill set. Instead of having the general expertise of a full-time employee, these individuals develop a niche offering. This lets you select the best fit for that particular engagement instead of having to settle for the generalist who offers you the best work […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":49242,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[156,75],"tags":[198,724,164,241,385,723,426],"yoast_head":"\n![\"freelancer](\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/GettyImages-1295652617-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCost savings<\/h2>\n
High-quality work<\/h2>\n
Ready access to talent<\/h2>\n
![\"freelancer](\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/GettyImages-723498795-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCuts company risk<\/h2>\n
\n
Greater diversity<\/h2>\n
Increases flexibility<\/h2>\n
A new way of doing things<\/h2>\n
Improves employee engagement<\/h2>\n
![\"freelancer](\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/GettyImages-1291773007-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/p>\n