A lot of my clients have a team of freelancers on staff, especially if they’re still in the growing phase of their business. It’s a great solution because usually there’s no long-term commitment and it’s often much more accessible to hire one or two freelancers than it is a full-time salaried employee. If you’re still bootstrapping things, a team of freelancers can be a huge asset, especially if you find some good ones!
However, managing them can be a little bit trickier, especially if they’re working remotely. You can’t just hold a traditional team meeting in the conference room or schedule an annual review to outline your expectations. Plus, a lot of entrepreneurs have questions about how hands-on they can be with their freelance team. It’s a difficult thing to navigate sometimes, because they’re often entrepreneurs, too. It’s not like a traditional workplace hierarchy.
Even with these challenges, I think hiring freelancers is an excellent idea. In this blog post, I want to share three tips to help you manage them more effectively so they can help you bring that big bold vision you have to life!
Tip #1 – Give Them Grace
Freelancers aren’t always long-term employees (although they can be). But either way, they should be treated like one. Just like anyone else who is brought on board, they should be given a reasonable grace period so they can learn the business, make a few mistakes, find their bearings, and get to know you and your style.
Very few people can hit it out of the park on their very first try, so plan for some extra time, in the beginning, to get them aligned with you and your mission. Replacing freelancers who don’t give you what you want right out of the gate can be expensive, not just monetarily but also in regards to your time and energy.
Tip #2 – Really Get To Know Them
The relationship you have with a freelance employee might feel a little contractual, but I urge you to go beyond that. Get to know them! Ask questions about them and their life outside of work. This is especially important if you have both freelance and salaried full-time team members. You don’t want your freelancers to feel like second class employees!
Invite them to your team meetings and celebrate their wins just as much as you do the rest of your team. On the other side of the coin, you should expect them to take the same amount of ownership over the problems and roadblocks you’re facing.
Tip #3 – Set Very Clear Expectations
Building relationships with your freelancers and understanding that everyone is human is important. But, so is your business. That’s why you need to set your expectations for them right out of the gate. Your freelancers should know exactly how things are done so there’s no confusion. They should know the correct processes to follow and the level of work you expect to see from them.
Your time is valuable and you absolutely cannot micromanage every task your freelancers are working on. Implementing systems and processes such as regular team meetings, an annual calendar and implementation schedule (so everyone knows what needs to be done and when), an organizational chart with roles and responsibilities for your team, and of course, those Standard Operating Procedures is a must.
There you go! What do you think about those tips? Do you think they’re manageable for you? It might feel uncomfortable at first to do some of these things, but trust me, your business will benefit from doing them sooner rather than later.
My challenge for you? I want you to pick one of these tips to implement this week. Then, check-in with me either through my contact page or on social media to let me know how it goes!