Freelancers are more in demand than ever, especially in the IT sector. The coronavirus pandemic plays no small role in this, because companies want to keep up with the sudden digitization push and are therefore increasingly hiring IT freelancers.
To make this concept work, the freelancer must be integrated into the team properly without losing sight of the legal aspects.
Companies are now hiring freelancers for many projects because they can be used efficiently in a time-effective way thanks to their flexibility and external know-how. According to the IDG Freelancer Study, up to 22 percent of IT professionals in companies are now freelancers.
With the steady increase in freelancers within companies, which will likely continue to grow in the future, the question of proper integration into the existing team also becomes more important.
Because freelancers are brought in for specific projects, they usually stay in the company only for a limited period of time. Many clients forget that integration is made up of several parts, and that paying attention to them and carrying them out carefully is what ultimately leads to the desired outcome.
With these tips from years of project experience, collaboration with freelancers succeeds:
Four steps to the right integration
1. A proper start to the collaboration
Onboarding is especially important at the beginning of the collaboration with a freelancer. Many companies see it as costly and time-consuming, but when done properly it leads to enormous efficiency and profitability. At ElevateX, we not only help clients find the right candidate for their project requirements, we also accompany the entire process from onboarding all the way to offboarding. You can read more about proper onboarding and offboarding in our blog post: On- and offboarding: pillar for successful collaboration
2. Create transparent processes
Since leadership teams can quickly lose track when dealing with a large number of projects, transparency is an important factor in good collaboration with freelancers. It makes it possible to track the projects being worked on and keep an eye on time tracking. Clear goals should be defined at the beginning of a project. These can then be followed and tracked transparently and easily by both sides.
3. Prevent problems through communication
Alongside transparency, communication is the top priority. Companies are responsible for communication with the freelancer, not only when it comes to project progress, but also to general well-being. By communicating together, problems can be solved early and confusion can be removed. In addition, depending on the concrete task at hand, communication within the team is also important for freelancers so that they can contribute effectively. It is also helpful to have a separate contact person for freelancers who can support them during their project work.
4. Improve through feedback
According to the IDG study, up to 30 percent of IT freelancers are still dissatisfied with the final feedback they receive when a project ends. Mutual feedback helps not only the freelancer, but also the company, enormously. Feedback should be gathered repeatedly during the course of the project so that the desired result can be achieved together at the end.
Bogus self-employment - avoid risks through know-how!
By carrying out these steps, proper integration into the team succeeds. However, when companies work with freelancers, legal certainty and the associated risk of bogus self-employment are also constant topics.
In short, a freelancer is considered bogus self-employed when, in practice, they take on the status of a social-security-liable employee.
Bogus self-employment is a fine line between successful integration and unlawful violations. It is also one of the reasons why companies are hesitant to work with freelancers.
According to a 2019 study by freelance.de, 53 percent of the freelancers surveyed had been rejected for a project at least once because companies were put off by legal violations up to and including bogus self-employment. The important thing, however, is this: once you deal with the topic properly, you can set up robust processes and avoid future problems. Among other things, it must be clear that freelancers may choose their own place and time of work and that they are not subject to instructions from the company.
For any company employing freelancers, the key competence is a healthy balance between inclusion and independent work. Anyone who masters this can benefit greatly from IT freelancers and their efficiency within the company.
We have published another article with a detailed discussion of bogus self-employment.
Conclusion
Especially in the IT sector, freelancers are increasingly overwhelmed with project requests. This gives them the freedom to choose between offers from different clients and to reject unsuitable requests. That is precisely why it is so important for a company to show appreciation to the freelancer from start to finish, because here too the collaboration takes place between people!
There is quite a lot to consider, from proper onboarding to transparency, communication, and the avoidance of unlawful violations. But if these steps are followed, nothing stands in the way of good collaboration.
We at ElevateX are happy to support you in finding the right freelancer and will guide you through the different processes hand in hand, from onboarding, to gathering feedback, to offboarding. Have we sparked your interest? Then feel free to arrange an initial consultation with us.
