Hiring a freelancer is an excellent alternative to hiring an office worker. They appear to be more motivated and are always ready to work. Furthermore, many businesses prefer freelancers because they enable the possibility to optimize the company’s costs. Is it really that great to hire a freelancer?
Freelancers are self-employed individuals who are not affiliated with any company or organization. Freelancing has grown in popularity in many industries, including marketing, information technology, accounting, design, and consulting.
According to UpWork research data, 36% of employees reported working freelance even during the pandemic. Furthermore, 58% of office workers are considering freelancing in the future.
Even though it is a very popular form of collaboration, most employers are still concerned about it. It is due to a variety of factors, including:
- The risk of missing deadlines;
- The possibility of poor work performance;
- The unexpected disappearance of a freelance employee.
Employers who use the services of freelance employees should learn about how to reduce risks when working with “strangers,” how to choose payment methods, and how to properly assess the work of freelancers to set the budget and time for project implementation properly. Before making a final decision, consider the pros and cons of hiring such a specialist.
What Are The Advantages Of Hiring A Freelancer?
Here are the top five advantages of hiring a freelancer:
He will cost you less
Freelancers are paid only for completed work, whereas office employees must be officially hired, provided with a workplace, Internet access, and a fixed pay rate, even if they do not have any current tasks.
Furthermore, an employer is required to pay taxes for each officially hired employee. As a result, hiring a full-time office employee can cost twice as much as hiring a freelancer.
He is suitable for the performance of clear and fast tasks
When it comes to simple and clear tasks, such as voicing a short audio-video, drawing an illustration for an advertising booklet, and writing a series of posts for social networks, a freelancer is highly motivated to fulfil it on time. If you need a professional writing service or writing assistance, take a look at the best essay writing services to find the best match.
An independent employee is motivated by the desire to complete the work as quickly and efficiently as possible to earn money, receive the customer’s recommendation, and begin the next project. Furthermore, it is difficult for a freelance employee to imitate his “business” because he is always working for a specific result and can provide a company with a fresh perspective on the situation or task.
He has a better focus on work
If the task necessitates concentration and working in silence, it is preferable to delegate it to a freelancer. Office workers frequently spend time negotiating and switching between performing several urgent tasks and projects.
High-qualified freelance employees enjoy the freedom of working freelance because it allows them to be more creative and improves their performance.
He minimizes paperwork and eases the work of adjacent departments
Paperwork is an essential part of the job of an office worker. He will need to make copies of reports, documents, employment certificates, etc., at least once or twice a month. All of this can be avoided in the case of a freelancer by using digital forms that can be shared with the company’s departments as needed.
It is easier to fire a freelance employee
If the quality of the work does not suit the manager, then terminating the relationship with the freelancer is much easier than terminating the relationship with an office employee as he will need to work out some time in the company. Furthermore, to fire an office employee, you will need to prepare the dismissal documents, which also takes time and effort.
What Are The Disadvantages Of Hiring A Freelancer?
While there are numerous benefits of getting a freelancer into your team, there are a few disadvantages that you should also be aware of:
The loss of control over the workflow and disappearance of a freelancer
When working on a large task, there is a chance that the performer will misinterpret the task or lose motivation. As a result, the freelancer may fail deadlines or refuse to take on a task after a long period of silence.
It should be noted that some jobs cannot be done without constant contact with coworkers, presence at the workplace, or access to the manager. To address this issue, you can plan your work so that you check for a specific result every day. If problems arise, you can always change the task, pause the job, or find a new freelancer.
It is difficult to determine the cost of work and the timing
If an employer first uses the services of a freelance employee, he will find it difficult to accurately assess the time required to complete the task and its cost. On exchanges, performers can offer their own terms but the temptation to choose the cheapest project can lead to significant risks and, as a result, higher costs if the project is not completed or must be redone by another freelancer.
Furthermore, employers are frequently the source of time and cost issues. They cannot decide what they want at the start of work and keep asking about making changes to the project, which leads to dissatisfaction with the results and a freelance employee.
He may breach the company’s privacy
A freelancer has access to corporate information, internal correspondence, passwords, the company’s customer base, and company strategy. As a result, he is constantly working on different projects and may unintentionally breach privacy.
It appears to be a straightforward issue that can be resolved by signing a non-disclosure agreement with the freelancer. Nonetheless, it is critical to consider his location when hiring such an employee, as he may be located in a different country or region. As a result, he may be subject to different rules and regulations, which will make it difficult or even impossible to enforce a law.
It is entirely up to you to decide whether you want to use an employment or service contract to cover your relationships with freelancers. Nonetheless, it may save you from many risks and problems, and outline general work principles that are shared by most countries.
