Finding freelancers: the basics

Using freelancers or volunteers is a great way to tap into a wealth of expertise and talent. And they’re on the rise, with the number of freelance workers expected to increase to more than half of the total US workforce by 2027, with similar numbers in the UK.

 

In this article, we look at the pros and cons of using freelancers and volunteers. We also offer charities some advice on how to get started.

 

 

The pros of using freelancers

 

Cost-efficiency

 

Charities and not-for-profits are having budgets squeezed, especially as we (hopefully) ease out of the pandemic. Coupled with that, many charities have had to make redundancies, cutting the expertise and skills-base within their in-house teams.

 

Hiring a freelancer means paying for exactly what you need – without needing to pay for sick leave, holiday pay, or pension contributions. And there’s no paying for ‘sitting around’ time, unlike the potential peaks and troughs of permanent colleagues’ workloads. 

 

Short-term expertise

 

Sometimes you may need specific experience for a one-off project. For example, you might be setting up new social media reporting and need someone with those skills to come in and establish new processes, then pass them over to the in-house team to maintain. Hiring a freelancer gives you access to that expertise, but only for the time you actually need them.  

 

Streamline your work

 

Having a pool of freelancers to call on can be a huge benefit when smoothing out workloads. When teams are overstretched, having an extra pair of reliable hands in the short-term can help make sure deadlines are hit and targets met.

 

 

The cons of using freelancers

 

Costs can stack up

 

It’s easy to underestimate how long a job will take, which is why giving a clear brief and having regular and honest conversations is essential at the start of a contract. It’s also useful to have a cost bracket from the start, so there’s some wiggle room depending on how long the job actually takes.

 

Extra support

 

While freelancers are professionals in their own fields, they won’t know your charity as well as you do. Give them access to branding documents, tone of voice guidance, background information about the charity and its goals and, depending on the job in hand, carve out a few hours for them to get to grips with the information. It’ll be money well spent in the long run.

 

Communication issues

 

With remote working in particular, it can be easy for communication to get clunky – especially if you’re under time pressures yourself, or rushing in and out of meetings. Depending on the job, having a regular check-in with the freelancer can be helpful for both parties or, if the project has a tight turnaround, make sure that there’s someone on the team who can answer questions that might otherwise hold them up.  

 

Reliability issues

 

When working with colleagues long-term, you build trust. With short-contract freelancers, there’s no time to build that relationship, so doing your homework before hiring them is key. Get hold of a reference or two, talk to two or three freelancers – and then trust your instincts on who is the best fit.

 

Contractual issues

 

With the government’s introduction of IR35 in April 2021 there are certain rules that larger charities need to be aware of when hiring contractors. We talk about this more in our article on finding freelance designers.