Updated: May 20, 2023
The gig economy suggests that you find independent contractors for project-based work instead of staffing your office with in-house professionals. It’s one of the most remarkable job market trends of the 2020s and it’s beneficial for both employers and freelancers. In this article, we’ll analyze the advantages of the gig economy for all the participants of the labor market. Plus, we’ll tell you how to find, hire and manage on-demand workers.
When it comes to talent acquisition, employers have at least four reasons to opt for gig workers.
Access to a Larger Pool of Talents
You’ll be able to hire from nearly all around the world. In some regions, skilled specialists might charge considerably less for their work than in your homeland. If you need workers with rare qualifications, you won’t need to limit yourself to your local labor market. You’ll have more options to compare and negotiate the perfect conditions.
Workforce Flexibility
Freelancers appreciate the opportunity to work from any location and at any time they like. When they see a job opening that offers flexibility, they will be more likely to respond to it than to a vacancy with fixed office hours. You’ll be able to find the right candidates quickly, cheaply and hassle-free.
Reduced Expenses
Unless a professional becomes your in-house staff member, you don’t have to pay taxes for them. They don’t need a workplace and supplies in your physical office. They will pay for their lunches, medical insurance and social benefits from their own pocket.
In freelance, the notion of “working overtime” doesn’t exist. It’s excellent for you as an employer because you don’t need to pay extra for that. Paradoxically enough, contractors love it as well. Even though they lose some part of their potential income, they love their flexible schedule. Some people simply adore working at night, when everyone else is sleeping, or wake up and start typing at sunrise.
Higher Performance
When workers are happy, they tend to deliver amazing results. Freelancers can be more productive, inspired and efficient than their in-house counterparts — which creates a win-win situation for workers and their employers.
How to Find and Hire Freelancers and Contractors
Below, we’ll list the hiring best practices that should come in handy for attracting gig workers to companies of any size and niche.
Decide on the Scope of Tasks That Gig Workers Will Focus on
Do you want to contract a freelancer to complete small tasks for which your in-house team lacks time? Or would you like to find an experienced senior-level professional to coordinate your remote team collaboration? Define their scope of responsibilities and the financial remuneration to get started.
Determine Which Type of Contractor You Need
Some professionals have full-time jobs. They join part-time projects to earn more money. They’re dubbed moonlighters.
Others juggle several works and projects simultaneously. They’re known as freelancers.
Plus, there are temporary or seasonal workers who can join you only to complete a specific project.
Prioritize Your Goals
Come back to the list of benefits that we’ve provided in this article. Which of them are paramount for you and which are supplementary? When carrying out the skills assessment of candidates, check how each of them will enable you to achieve these goals.
Select a Platform Where You’ll Be Looking for Contractors
An ideal platform ticks these boxes:
- Has been around for a long time and has established an impeccable reputation for itself
- Charges reasonable fees
- Contains a large database of talents
- Offers handy filters to sort the candidates
- Its support team is helpful and professional
Alternatively, you can rely on the services of a recruitment agency. This should be the most time- and cost-efficient method. Tell the agency about your budget and demands for candidates. The recruiters will start the search immediately, using their own databases of talents and publicly available platforms. They can interview the candidates and forward only the best matches to you.
Start Working Quickly
With freelancers, you typically skip the lengthy onboarding process and start working productively from day one. Make sure some of your teammates always remain available to answer any questions that the freelancer might want to ask.
How to Manage Projects in Gig Economy
So far, companies have had little time to accumulate substantial knowledge on project management in the gig economy, especially when it comes to remote work. Nevertheless, some practices have already proved their efficiency:
- It’s not necessary to introduce freelancers to all your staff. But they need to know at least the people whom they will be interacting with.
- Let a dedicated manager supervise each project. Some business owners think that their developers, designers, marketers and other specialists can coordinate their efforts without a manager. Yet that would be a mistake! The manager will make sure everyone is on the same page, meets the deadlines and is working towards the common goal.
- For the sake of performance management, ask all your teammates to submit weekly reports about the tasks that they have completed in the last seven days or are currently working on. You can create a template for such reports from scratch or find a suitable one online for free.
Consider holding regular meetings with your in-house teammates and freelancers. For instance, you can have a video conference once per week. It’s not absolutely necessary and depends on the specifics of your work. During the calls, your team members can get to know each other better and ask questions in real-time.
How to Ensure Information Security in Gig Economy
Before you get down to work, it’s vital to sign the documents where both parties agree on intellectual property rights, payment structures, tools and techniques used and other legal aspects. Ideally, freelancers should avoid submitting sensitive information through email and casual messengers because they’re easy to hack. However, not every employer can afford to offer well-protected solutions for document submission on their website.
As the golden middle, both parties should agree on which communication channels to use. The IT team of the employer should approve these channels from a security viewpoint.
Contractors should ask legal advisors who aren’t affiliated with their employers to check their contracts.
Final Thoughts
If you haven’t worked with gig employees yet, it’s time to try! Decide which tasks you could entrust to freelancers. Think of the terms of your collaboration and prepare the contract. Search for the right candidates yourself or use the services of a recruitment agency. Freelancers, moonlighters and independent contractors can help you cut down your expenses on hiring in-house staff. In exchange for work flexibility, they will be likely to deliver excellent performance, which will create a win-win situation.
By embracing the gig economy and collaborating with freelancers, moonlighters, and independent contractors, you not only have the opportunity to reduce costs associated with in-house staff but also tap into a highly motivated and skilled workforce. Their flexibility and dedication to delivering excellent performance create a win-win situation for both parties involved.
