Reasons Businesses Are Shifting To Use Freelancers

Why DO More Companies hire Freelancers?

There are many reasons why more and more companies are revaluating the way they used to do business and turning to freelancers rather than hiring full-time staff. First, the recent pandemic caused one of the most significant shifts in hiring practices as traditional businesses were forced to adapt and change. Business owners and managers recognized that their workforce no longer needed to sit at a desk in an office from nine-to-five to be successful. The rise in remote workers, online collaboration tools, video conferencing, and talented workers dispersed around the globe has led many businesses to hire more freelancers.

At the same time, there has been a shift in how the world views freelancers and contract employees. Freelancers are increasingly seen as highly skilled professionals with valuable abilities that businesses need. Through online work marketplaces like Upwork, freelancers can build a business with flexibility and uncapped earning potential.

Below is a list of  6 reasons why more companies are hiring freelancers:  

1) Cost saving

Traditional full-time employees can be very expensive. In addition to paying their salary, and safety, business owners are responsible for training costs, benefits, health insurance, paid time-off, and payroll taxes. In contrast, hiring a freelancer allows your business to avoid such overheads. Freelancers don’t require a dedicated workspace in your office or training. Hiring a freelancer allows a business to reduce costs without sacrificing work output.

2) Access to expert talent

Talented freelancers come from many locations and experience; therefore it offer expertise that businesses can tap into with ease. If your business requires a specific skillset for a project, you can identify a freelancer that has spent years perfecting that same craft. The more experienced a freelancer is, the more value they can bring to a project. The business can benefit from the freelancer’s experience without devoting internal resources or adding a permanent position to their payroll.

3) High-quality work

Freelancers can deliver consistently high-quality work due to their range of experience. Before hiring a freelancer, you’ll have an opportunity to evaluate their past work portfolio, check out reviews from clients, and interview them to make sure they are the right fit. Since freelancers are often competing for projects, you can look for those who will give your project the attention and quality your company needs. By successfully completing your project, freelancers build their reputation, expand their portfolio, and increase their chance of future employment or referrals.

4) Faster delivery

Often freelancers can often provide faster delivery than full-time employees, and more quickly and accurately. Generally, full-time employees are tasked with multiple projects simultaneously. This often slows down projects and causes delays. In contrast, freelancers generally focus on one project at a time or work within shorter timeframes, which results in increased efficiency and faster project completion.

5) Lower operational costs

When hiring a full-time employee, companies are usually restricted to the area in which their business operates. By opening the opportunity to freelancers, companies can access a larger talent pool from around the world, ata  much lower costs and with less liability. Businesses find specific talent, qualifications, and skills they require without settling for the best available person in their immediate area. Plus, with a work marketplace like Upwork, it’s easier than ever to find and hire talented freelancers.

6) Company risk reduction

When you hire a full-time employee, you invest in that individual’s future with the company. Training and onboarding them costs money and time, which generally involves some risk. Rather than losing that investment if the employee decides to leave the company, working with a freelancer allows you to build a contract with specific deliverables before payment. Working with a freelancer also reduces the risk as you can make changes without impacting your internal processes.

By Tim Hawthorne

January 6th 2022