Worksome hosted an expert meet up recently, focusing on “Operating with Freelancers.” Not theory, ideas, or vision - practical ways that companies can and should be operating with freelancers. I've gathered some of the key highlights and advice shared in the room for companies wanting to support independent workers and bring in the often crucial skills that come with them.
“Come join our team; we’re fast-paced and agile!”
If businesses are actually to be all of the buzzwords they promote themselves as - nimble, agile, forward-thinking - then you need a solid core team. These are your employees. Employees should have a vested interest in the business' success (although, according to Gallup, that’s sadly not very often true). From a talent perspective, they have jobs that develop and remits that expand as you and they see fit; blurring projects, scope changes, and, of course, are deducted tax from your payroll. We must make that distinction. Employees are that. Freelancers and independent workers aren’t.
Without meaning to state the obvious - and it was apparent from the questions we received before the meetup from attendees - freelancers are independent workers. They’re running their own business, on their account. They find their own work, market themselves, handle taxes, and nurture specialist skills.
Reminding everyone of this seems obvious, but it sets the tone for how to go about operating with freelancers.
In simple terms, it's how you bring individuals into your core team, while keeping independent workers just that: independent.
6 Lessons From Talent Leaders Who Are Successfully Running Freelance Programs
#1 Differentiate Core Team vs. Independent Workers
At the heart of any successful business is a solid core team. These are your employees — people who have a vested interest in the company’s long-term success. Employees are committed to the growth of the business, can develop in their roles, and expand their responsibilities over time. Freelancers and independent workers, on the other hand, should be brought in for specific expertise or to meet a skills gap or project need.
And it's essential to distinguish between these two groups clearly. While freelancers don't have the same vested interest as employees, they bring specialized skills to propel a project forward faster and more efficiently.
“Draw the line. Tell the business: This is how freelancers should operate, and if they don’t work in this way, they’ll either cost more or we’ll hire someone permanently.” - Jo Libby, Executive Director of Talent, R/GA
#2 Dedicate Time For Onboarding
Paying for onboarding time gives the worker the best experience, of which the return on investment often comes in the form of faster project completion - and the obvious - access to specialized skills that your in-house team may not have.
“We budget for an extra half or full day to bring the freelancer into the core team meetings and give them time to gel and meet. It’s not about systems setup - it’s about making everyone feel comfortable with what this non-employee is coming in to help with.” - Jo Libby, Executive Director of Talent, R/GA
Even though worker classification is a nuanced area, integrating freelancers like this doesn’t necessarily make them employees - it’s a fine line, but worker classification is a spectrum. This won't automatically tip independent workers into being employee-like.
#3 Managing Change To Scope
Scope changes are inevitable in most, if not all, work - especially with the delivery of projects. When they happen, be prepared to amend agreements and rescope the work. This will also require reclassifying the independent worker’s situation. Doing this effectively across multiple teams and communication channels can be tricky, but with the right technology (I might know a guy for this), changes can be streamlined and take minutes not days.
“If scope changes, amend the agreement. Re-classify the worker and the project. Keep that documentation up-to-date and be ready for audit. These people aren’t employees, remember.” - Ray Walker, Contingent Workforce Advisor, 4 Quarters Consultancy Ltd
#4 Establish Who is Core Team and Who Is Not
One of the keys to integrating independent workers into your team is clearly defining their roles. Bring in freelancers and project workers for their exprtise, and recognize them internally and externally. One excellent suggestion was to avoid using terms like "temp" or "contractor," which can undermine their perceived value. Instead, refer to them as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) or Independent Project Workers to reflect their contributions and expertise within the team, in front of clients, or to your leadership.
One really interesting point was this impact on the core team. It elevates them to being the project leaders, “team captains” who can be made to feel accountable for the delivery and outcomes. They don’t have to succumb to not knowing everything; that’s what the subject matter experts are there for.
For companies struggling to be flexible with freelancers, open an honest dialogue with your hiring teams and ask where they struggle to deliver - then help them bring in the short or long-term experts to deliver. Companies are seeing retention increasing directly because work is more satisfying and meaningful: a) being surrounded by experts and b) delivering good work.
Who knew, eh?
#5 Create Your 'Freelancer Policy'
Having a clear policy in place that defines what a freelancer is and how they differ from employees. How do we work with independent workers? What can and can't they do? Are there exceptions?
Use simple, understandable language to explain these distinctions and outline how freelancers will be engaged within your organization. Communicating this policy regularly, ideally with every hire, is essential to ensure smooth integration and to foster a culture where freelance and core employees can collaborate effectively - while knowing the boundaries of how they work together.
“Freelancers want to be kept at arm’s length to an extent; they want to work using their skills - and employees find it more freeing to have this relationship too so they can get the most out of the freelancer’s time - everyone wins.” - Eryn Peters, Editor, Workforce Weekly
#6 Build On A Scalable Foundation
If the existing process for scoping, hiring, and managing freelancers involves manual workflows that require coordination between hiring teams, legal, HR & talent, and procurement, you're not setting yourself up for any scale with any of the advice given above.
It's essential to build a systematic, robust, and repeatable process. This should be easy for the people who will use it most — the core teams and the independent workers. No buzzwords or industry jargon. By streamlining these operations, you create a framework that supports growth, ensures compliance, and fosters the smoothest collaboration between your employees and the freelancers.
"If the process feels more like mortgage application than shopping online, it's just not going to work long-term for the business." - Me, Sam Orrin, Business Development Director, Worksome
Returning to the "fast-paced and agile" comment at the top ensures that this line isn't a facade for bureaucracy and chaos. Not only will the freelancer suffer, with "50% dropping out mid-process as another gig had come up" cited by one attendee. But as Jo at R/GA put it so well, if you add layers of administration, process, and, ultimately, delays to work, employees won't be happy and will go off work elsewhere, too.
This will hopefully serve as an alarm bell for any large multinational that isn't practicing the above advice, often blaming complexity of scale. It's no surprise that only 10% of employees describe themselves as 'thriving at work’ according to a Gallup report.
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