Why Small Businesses Should Hire Freelancers | The Alternative Board

Have you ever hired an employee only to have them resign a few weeks or months later? This is a fairly common and frustrating experience among business owners and has been exacerbated as a result of the Great Resignation. So what if there was an alternate solution to hiring a full or part-time employee that involves less time, money and resources? Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve encouraged many of my clients to consider hiring independent contractors or freelance workers to fulfill some of their interim or even ongoing needs. This solution provides a cost-effective and flexible approach to hiring that can be beneficial for both parties.

Here are some of my top reasons for hiring an independent contractor, freelancer or temporary worker:

Immediate expertise and knowledge

Generally, independent contractors and freelancers tend to be experts in their field. This is important because it requires less of your time training them on your business. While you may need to catch them up on your services and unique position in the market, most freelancers should be able to start producing work for you in a relatively short amount of time, if not immediately.

I encourage you to review where your knowledge gaps are as this will allow you to determine what your hiring needs are. For example, if you lack technical web skills, you may want to hire a freelancer who updates your website on an hourly or monthly basis, or, hire someone on a 3-month project basis to launch a service or new product, manage your site staff, etc. Most importantly, I recommend allocating someone, whether you or another trained employee, to review the work of the freelancer to ensure it meets your business standards.

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Offers flexibility

Hiring a freelancer allows for flexibility in various ways. First, consider whether they will be needed on a transactional or recurring basis. You may want to hire them on a monthly contract that states the expectations of their work agreement with you. Will they provide the same deliverable every month (e.g. a blog), or will they be hired on a retainer? Additionally, I always recommend my clients have their freelancers sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) as this provides you with security and peace of mind that the information you share with them remains confidential.

Another consideration is whether the freelancer will work on-site or virtually. While many freelancers choose to work virtually, it may make sense to have them visit your office depending on their function, for example if they do monthly bookkeeping for your business. Regardless of where they choose to work, it’s important to ensure they have all the tools and resources needed to fulfill their duties.

Cost-effective

Hiring a freelancer also allows you to save money as they are not subject to the same benefits, vacations, and raises as your permanent employees. But before you decide to only hire freelancers moving forward, remember that some business functions require full-time employees, and this solution should not simply be used as a way to save money and avoid hiring employees. As well, something to keep in mind at the end of their contract is that the freelancer may decide to increase their rates.

Hiring a freelancer or independent contractor might be a great way to quickly hire the talent you need now, while saving you money and bringing you workforce flexibility. Contact TAB York Region today to learn more about how we can help support you and your business!