*** From the Archives ***

This article is from May 17, 2004, and is no longer current.

The Art of Business: Care and Feeding of Freelancers

Few industries rely on the contribution of freelancers as much as the unwieldy universe known as marketing communications/graphic arts. Agencies use freelancers, small shops use freelancers, even freelancers use freelancers. It’s a virtual world.
Why hire a freelancer? Hiring freelance means your firm gets the finished product it needs without incurring the costs of hiring a new employee or dealing with agency fees. It means you won’t have to pay the cost of hiring and training an employee, provide health insurance, or provide valuable office space. It means you’ll be treated like a client instead of having to act like a boss. It means you can reinvigorate your company with fresh ideas on a project-by-project basis and find the right expertise for every job. It’s the easiest (and often the cheapest) way to bring a talented, experienced team player into your company.
Asking Questions
But before you rush to hire a freelancer or make him or her your new best friend, ask these six questions and make sure you get straight answers.
 

  • Who will be doing the work?

 

      It might seem obvious to you, but the answer isn’t always straightforward. Is the freelancer simply brokering a deal without your knowledge or subcontracting some of the work to less experienced freelancers? You want to make sure that you’re getting the top-of-the-line creative professional you’re paying for, and that you’re speaking directly to the person who will actually sit down to do the work.

 

  • What’s your availability?

 

      How long will it take you to respond to my feedback and when can I expect the finished product? These are all variations of the same question, and it’s important to know up front if, for example, your freelancer has five jobs lined up before he can get to your or he’s working another job and can only respond to your emails only after hours.

 

  • What are your payment terms?

 

      No matter how good you think your relationship, it helps everybody to spell out the terms of the contract explicitly. Are you buying all rights? How many revisions are included? How will you deal with project changes midstream? What if a deadline is missed?

 

  • Can you show me samples of relevant work?

 

      The operative work here is “relevant.” Someone who comes by way of recommendation might have been great for the job completed but not for the work you need done. Do your due diligence and explore the freelancer’s capabilities and its relevance to you.

 

  • Do you have the technical and collaborative skills necessary?

 

      If you’re hiring a freelancer, you probably want someone who can get up to speed quickly. The point of outsourcing is to save your organization time and money, not to invest weeks walking someone through the basics.

 

  • Can I talk to former clients?

 

    A reputable freelancer will be happy to provide you with a list of names and numbers to call. Then call them and find out the good and not-so-good.

Managing Freelancers
It’s pretty much a no-brainer to say that the management techniques you may use with full-time staff will not be as effective with creative freelancers. This is not to imply that freelancers are any less professional, hard working, or receptive to management than their salaried equivalents, simply that their work styles differ vastly…and therefore require different management styles.
 

  • Avoid freelance envy.

 

      Perhaps the most important step of freelancer management happens before the freelancer walks in the door: Keep your full-time staff happy. Don’t let your employees feel like the freelancers get all the cool projects — give them first dibs on jobs, and involve them in the freelance selection process. Your internal staff will get tired of doing the same task over and over again, so the best management technique is to balance the load.

 

  • Hands off time management.

 

      Whenever possible, let creative freelancers manage their time. Most managers to some degree dictate time management, but most freelancers are used to minding their time efficiently. They know how to do their best work — and it may not match your idea of a daily schedule. Obviously, where deadlines are concerned, freelancers will need to be working on

your

      time schedule, but you’ll usually get the best work if you let them manage how they get to that deadline.

 

  • Focus on product not process.

 

      Feel free to give explicit parameters on the end product you desire, but give freelancers flexibility of

how

      they work within those parameters. You’ll get the best result by just letting freelancers use their creativity and expertise to get your work done.

 

  • Be a corporate guide.

 

    Every office has its own corporate mindset, and freelancers usually come in as outsiders. You can help the freelancer do a better job by explaining what’s important to your company and why. If they’re working onsite, give them a little “new-employee” tour. If working offsite, provide the essential information they’ll need to get work done properly and paid swiftly.

Consider yourself lucky if you find a cadre of reliable freelancers who deliver on time and on target. If so, stay loyal, because you’ll be amply rewarded by great work over and over again.

Eric is an award-winning producer, screenwriter, author and former journalist. He wrote the script and co-produced the feature film SUPREMACY, starring Danny Glover, Anson Mount, Joe Anderson and Academy-Award-winner Mahershali Ali. As founder and president of Sleeperwave Films, Eric relies on his unique background to develop film commercial films around contemporary social issues. As a seasoned storyteller, Eric also coaches corporate executives on creating and delivering compelling presentations. He has written thought leadership materials for entertainment and technology companies, such as Cisco, Apple, Lucasfilm and others.
  • Anonymous says:

    Most of what you say is right on. As a freelancer I appreciate the fact that someone is even thinking about my care and feeding! Just one topic could use a few more specifics, and that’s the issue of payment. Check out my recent post on pay rates for freelance writers in cyberspace.

  • Anonymous says:

    Since my URL doesn’t seem to automatically show up in my comment, here it is: https://marcysbookbuster.wordpress.com/2010/06/30/the-cyber-writing-life/

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