Freelancing is associated with several things: uncertainty, flexibility, and financial freedom. With an estimated 1.57 billion freelance talent across the globe, many business owners are scratching their heads, asking, "What is freelancing?" and "Why is it becoming a new trend nowadays?"
To clarify, freelancing is different from outsourcing and definitely far unrelated to hiring full-time employees. So, if you're planning to hire a freelancer, you may spare some time reading this article to make up your mind. Above all, what you need is to be educated to make sound decisions. Before we tackle the pros and cons of hiring freelancers, let’s first define freelancing.
What Is Freelancing?
Freelancing is the practice of working as an independent contractor rather than being employed by a company.
In other words, independent contractors use their skills, education, and experience to work with various clients and take on multiple assignments without being tied to a single employer. The number of projects or tasks they can take depends solely on their ability to complete them as requested.
People who do contract work are often called freelancers. Too often, they work in the comfort of their homes. But there are also instances where they may be required to work at their client's office.
A Quick Look At How A Freelancer Works
Saying that the freelancing world is cutthroat is already an understatement. Many successful freelancers out there would agree on how difficult it is to build a freelance career from the ground up. On top of an unstable salary, freelancers have experienced being lowballed by clients or being forced to provide free services for “exposure.”
It requires a lot of work to make it in the freelancing industry. Freelance workers always have to update their skills according to the needs of the industry. In short, they spend a lot of time and money taking online courses and attending webinars.
The competition to stand out does not end with upskilling. Freelancers should also build a stunning portfolio that wins clients.
After getting these things done, these freelancers flock to social media or popular freelance platforms like Upwork and Fiverr to find clients. From there, they create engaging profiles showcasing their skills and professional background and submit proposals in the hopes of landing legitimate remote jobs that pay well.
In terms of payment methods, freelancers usually get paid either through hourly contracts or fixed-price contracts.
In hourly contracts, clients only pay for the hours that the contractor works. Meanwhile, fixed-price contracts give clients a sense of security in knowing how much money will be spent. Here, freelancers are paid all at once or by milestone, a contract amount paid by the client that is deposited in the freelancer's account.
What Are Examples of Freelance Work?
Anyone who can fulfill a short-term or part-time contract is eligible to become a freelancer. Here are the most common freelance jobs:
- Virtual assistant
- Customer service agent
- Data encoder
- Content writer and copywriter
- Editor
- Web developer
- Web designer
- Graphic designer
- Social media manager
- Tutor
- Translator
- Accountant
What Are the Pros and Cons of Hiring Freelancers?
Beginning 2022, Mellow found that hiring overseas freelance workers among US companies has seen a staggering increase of 260%, with Eastern Europe, Central Asia, East Asia, and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as the most preferred regions for pooling freelance talent.
Given this data, there’s no denying that businesses are recognizing and embracing the strategic advantages of freelance workers. If you have plans of integrating freelancers (and independent contractors) into your workforce, this section weighs the pros and cons of hiring freelancers.
3 Pros of Hiring Freelancers
1. Lower Compensation Costs
Yes! Hiring a freelancer will help you reduce costs. Also, there are many reasons why compensation costs are lower when you hire freelancers.
First, you're not responsible for a host of benefits on behalf of your freelancers. Unlike hiring full-time employees, you're not required to provide benefits like Medicare, Social Security, health insurance, retirement benefits, and more.
Second, you don't have to shell out for renting office spaces. Freelancers usually have modern home offices and can work from anywhere.
And lastly, businesses get to cut their hiring costs since freelancers charge less compared to full-time employees.
If you're on a shoestring budget, hiring an entry-level or new freelancer might be good for you. But don't expect a professional service and high-quality work. Of course, if you want premium freelance services, expect to pay premium prices.
2. Minimal Supervision
If you're a busy business owner and have no time to manage a team of full-time employees, hiring a freelance worker is a good idea.
Freelancers usually require minimal supervision. Clearly, they've worked with hundreds of projects before, and they know how to approach tasks quickly with little to no guidance.
Moreover, freelancers operate their services, which thrive on repeat business and repeat clients. Therefore, they strive to submit their best work every time to keep the relationship.
Also, you only pay them for the work they complete, so you don't waste money on downtime.
3. Flexibility and Availability
Freelancers are frequently available on short notice to meet an unexpected demand that your in-house team may be unable to meet. Also, you can hire them by the job, day, or hour.
For example, you can hire a graphic designer from a freelance platform or social media if you need someone who can instantly produce artwork for your social media. To sum up, they can accomplish the task in a fast turnaround time and pay them only for the service they rendered.
If you have short-term tasks that can be done in hours, it's wise to have freelancers you can contact whenever you need their expertise.
3 Cons of Hiring Freelancers
1. Accountability Issues
While freelancers are reliable for many reasons, there are also instances where they disappear or let go of a project they can no longer handle.
Remember that these freelancers juggle multiple tasks from many clients. That said, be reasonable in giving tasks and deadlines they can work on. It's not good to lose an accountability buddy when a deadline is fast approaching.
To sum up, you can't rely on a freelance worker if you have no long-term commitments. This is true, especially for those you only meet on freelancing platforms.
2. Security Threats
Moreover, hiring a freelance worker can pose a security threat to your company. Keep in mind that freelancers can use all of your data for whatever it may serve them. For example, they can use it for their portfolio or, worse, steal your company's ideas.
Hence, requiring a freelancer to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is important. By doing so, you give them insight into what they can and cannot share about the project they are working on.
3. Subpar Quality of Work
Clearly, the main reason why freelancers can potentially give you a below-average quality of work is that they have a lower investment in your company.
What does it mean? Their loyalty to your brand is probably lower than your full-time employees. Since they work on short-term projects, they don't understand the brand identity and core values of the company they work for.
As a result, brand inconsistency happens across all deliverables. Hence, it will need more than two rounds of revision to get it right.
The Alternative? A Dedicated Outsourcing Team
Freelancers are not inherently a bad choice. They can work independently and produce high-quality deliverables. However, some freelance workers think that freelancing is an easy way to earn dollars.
This is not true as freelancing requires discipline and consistency. Those who earn a lot built their credentials from the ground up and sought clients who pay a premium for their services.
Other freelance workers also overpromise but underdeliver, which is not good if you want real results.
If you’re frustrated with freelancers, it’s time to seek an alternative: outsourced teams. Here’s why you should build an offshore outsourcing team rather than work with freelance talent:
1. Tailored for Your Business Needs
Outsourced teams are custom-built by outsourcing companies. When you partner with an outsourcing firm, the recruiters will source, hire, and onboard candidates that fit your requirements. This ensures that all onboarded employees are compatible with your workplace culture and can meet performance standards.
2. Can Complete Time-Sensitive Tasks
An outsourcing team is built for your business. Unlike freelance talent, your outsourced employees won’t suddenly run off or refuse urgent tasks. Whatever task you assign to your team members, they’ll get the job done without hesitation.
3. Easy Communication With Employees
Outsourcing teams work in your time zone. A US-based business, for example, will typically have outsourced employees working in US hours. This simplifies communication and minimizes delays and productivity loss.
4. Consistent Quality of Deliverables
Unlike freelancers, outsourced teams are managed by a project manager or team lead who oversees the whole account. Project managers and team leads also monitor performance, conduct quality assurance, and provide coaching and training to improve the quality of deliverables and exceed client expectations.
Hire Outsourced Employees From KDCI Outsourcing
Hiring freelancers and full-time employees are both viable options for getting the best talent. But there is a better alternative that offsets the downsides of the two, and that’s outsourcing to the best outsourcing companies with extensive industry experience handling offshore projects.
KDCI Outsourcing has been in the outsourcing industry for over ten years. Since our inception in 2011, we have delivered scalable offshore staffing solutions to various medium- and large-sized businesses that needed support in customer service, digital marketing, eCommerce, finance and accounting, graphic design, and many more.
Because we have worked with top brands like Apple, Dell, and Canon, we can guarantee world-class professional services at a competitive price.
Do you want to get started with outsourcing? Talk to our experts by dropping a message!
