Almost 1.57 billion people work as freelancers currently, which is approximately half of the world’s employment. Employing freelancers or a freelance team helps both freelancers and businesses. Simplifying procedures, lowering expenses, and saving time are just a few of the numerous advantages of working with a freelance team.

Let’s be honest, though: the freelancing industry is a minefield, and it’s not uncommon for clients to not get the outcomes they were promised. And with millions of freelancers to pick from, how can you be confident you’ve chosen the right individual for the task, much alone manage them effectively?

Here are six tips to help you manage your team properly so that your company can start enjoying the numerous benefits of outsourcing work to freelancers.

Invest in a Freelancer Management System

As a company owner or manager, you understand the importance of having a dependable team of freelancers and contractors. Still, it might be difficult to coordinate a group of freelancers working on separate projects remotely. That’s where a contractor management platform comes in handy.

Using a freelancer management system can make your life easier in several ways. To begin with, it lets you keep track of all of your independent workers and contractors in one place, eliminating the need for you to maintain several email threads, lines of contact, and payment systems. You can quickly establish projects, assign work, set deadlines, and monitor development using a freelancer management solution.

Moreover, onboarding is simplified, and international payroll issues are eliminated. You can also save hours of tedious administrative work each week by integrating the system with other programs you currently use.

Create a Project Plan

Planning is likely the most important step in managing a freelancer. You can very much count on failure if your project lacks a solid framework. You must decide if you require a monoline freelance team or a cross-functional one. Regardless of which structure best suits your company’s goals, there are five critical elements to consider at this stage:

• Project requirements
• Project expectations
• Project due dates
• Project meetings agendas
• Project reports

Provide Supporting Materials

It’s crucial to offer as much direction as possible, not only in the form of meetings or verbal talks but also in the form of written documentation, to guarantee that the intended outcomes are achieved. Make sure that your expectations, brand identity needs, directions, and so on are as clear as possible. This can help you avoid being let down by the project’s final output by dispelling any doubts or misunderstandings you may have had.

Establish Your Expectations

Expectations can include everything from project expectations to financial ones. Making sure you and your freelancer or freelance team of choice are on the same page from the beginning is essential. Respecting the freelancer’s fee will be advantageous in the long term, even if the budget is vital to all sides, particularly if you’re a startup or small business with limited resources.

Of course, you want to make sure the prices you’re offering are fair, but if you attempt to save expenses by offering lower rates, you can drive away the best freelancers and end up with mediocre or even unacceptable work. Timelines and lines of communication should be established so that, should problems or complications emerge, everyone is kept informed and mistakes are avoided.

Convey Company Standards

When managing freelancers, there’s an additional crucial step that shouldn’t be overlooked. It is essential to define not just the goals of the project, but also the criteria for success. So from the get-go, walk them through your brand’s vision, strategy, and business standards and norms. This will ensure that your freelancers are on the same page as to what is expected of them.

Check In Regularly, but Not Too Much

While it is extremely important to keep the lines of communication open, be cautious not to check in too often or when it is not required, as this might throw off your freelance workforce and have the opposite impact than what was intended. Hitting that sweet spot is essential to the efficacy of your project and for keeping your freelancers relaxed and focused on their work.

Final Thoughts

Although working with independent contractors has its fair share of difficulties, doing so may provide many rewards, particularly for the development of your company or brand. It allows access to some of the brightest minds in the world, which may boost productivity and sales. Still, you need structure, clarity, and preparedness to use a freelancing workforce or outsourced service effectively.

If you and your freelancing staff start off on the same page, have open lines of communication, provide constructive criticism, and stay out of each other’s way, you should get nothing but outstanding outcomes.

Jane