Hiring Out to Freelancers: Do You Know the Secret?

Did you know there are over five million freelancers (and growing) in the United States?  Whether they’re called freelancers or outsourcers, staffing business resources or entrepreneurs, they’re out there, and they’re busy.  Thousands of business owners have dipped into the freelance world to get projects completed, from data entry to website design, from copywriting to programming – and been happy about the results.  Not because they paid big bucks or because their projects were extremely easy, not because they found the one good apple in a barrel of bad ones, but because they knew the secret you’re about to learn here.

Communication.

Yep, that’s the secret – communication.  Now, communication doesn’t simply mean telling the freelancer what to do.  It is a two-way street, passing thoughts, ideas and so on back and forth.  There is also a way to communicate – and a definite way not to.

The best way to start, continue and finish a project with communication is by setting the tone in the first place.  When hiring a freelancer, you have to remember that you aren’t the boss (this may be hard for some of you, but stick with me here); you’re the client.  The difference is that, if the freelancer doesn’t care for your tone, they can end their services right then and there.  Granted, they’ll have to return the fee if they’ve been paid, but you’ll have wasted a lot of time.

From the outset, it’s best to look at the freelancer as a partner in a joint project.  You have the idea; they have the skills to make the idea reality.  Be respectful of their skills and what went into attaining those skills, and they’ll treat you with respect in return.

In addition, don’t be derogatory if they turn in something you don’t like.  There’s no reason to defame their skills; simply explain what it is you aren’t happy with.  When there are issues, they’re generally due to a miscommunication or misunderstanding of what was wanted.  Remember – these freelancers are trying to run a business.  To deliberately ignore what a client wants would be sabotaging themselves, and most – if not all – are more than willing to work with you to get you what you want.

How Do I Know That You Have What I Want?

This is one of the most commonly asked questions by business owners (even if it’s just in their head), and one of the hardest to answer for freelancers.  Freelancers can’t just say, “Because I said so” or “because I know that I can”.  For that matter, very seldom would any business owner be happy with the response that they got from questions such as this.  However, there are few things that any business owner interested in hiring a freelancer can look at, which can make it easier to figure out before the hiring process is done.  

1. Portfolio – A freelancer’s portfolio is the lifeline to their work.  Believe it or not, many freelancers spend a lot of time on building up a portfolio because this is as good as a resume’.  Whether the freelancer performs web site development, writes content or any number of other things, a well-established freelancer will have that information in their portfolio.  
2. Samples – on occasion even well established reliance’s won’t have a portfolio.  If this is the case don’t be alarmed; this doesn’t necessarily mean that they haven’t done anything. It may very well mean that their clients preferred not to be mentioned in their resume or portfolio.  If you come across a freelancer whose pricing is good, but they don’t have a portfolio, ask them for samples.  Don’t expect the samples to go along with what your project is, however.  Many freelancers are wary of people stealing their work (it does happen), and will most likely give you a sample about something else.  What samples they do send though, should give you an indication of the type of work and the quality of work that they do. 
3. Questions – If you get past the reading stage and on to the interview stage, pay attention to how the freelancer answers your questions.  For that matter, listen for questions that they may ask you.  No matter how careful you are in your project outline, most people will not be able to give you exactly what you want without asking clarification questions.  Therefore, if you’re interviewing a freelancer and they ask no questions, or they seem to assume automatically that they know what you want, the chances are 50/50 that you will not have a pleasant experience.

By keeping just these three things in mind, you can turn a problem project into an excellent working relationship.