Freelancing in America, a report jointly published by Upwork and the Freelancers Union revealed key findings about the future of Freelancing. I believe the report is more of a confirmation of what we already knew about freelancing, but that is beside the point. According to the report, most of the US workforce will be freelancers as early as 2027. At the time of the report, it was estimated that 57.3 million (or 36%) of the US workforce are freelancers and they contribute approximately $1.4 trillion annually to the US economy. Other findings from the report are;

1. Freelancers are better prepared for the future as they constantly seek to improve their skills to stay relevant and competitive in their industry. 
2. Most people became freelancers by choice
3. Freelancing provides more job security as the individuals have several jobs with different employers which is better than having just one job with one employer.
4. Millennials are leading the way in freelancing more than any other generation

Upwork CEO and co-chair of the World’s Economic Forum’s Council on the Future of Gender, Education and Work Stephane Kasriel said that “we are in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, a period of rapid change in work driven by increasing automation, but we have a unique opportunity to guide the future of work and freelancers will play more of a key role than people realize”, and she was right.  

Established companies like Google and Apple are gradually shifting from the traditional workplace setting to accommodate remote workers and for startups, going all in to hire freelancers is a no-brainer. If you want to know why you can read our previous article on freelancers vs regular employees. In this article, I will address one major concern that entrepreneurs face when hiring freelancers and that is, how do you create an organizational culture? But first, 

A short story about our company

Epirus Ventures is a venture builder founded in 2022. Amongst many things, our company can be regarded as a startup which means we are faced with decisions and challenges common with any other startups or new business ventures out there. One of the many decisions we had to make was choosing between freelancers and regular employees. Our founder had a dream of building a team that was more of a family. But doing so with freelancers posed a unique challenge, how do you build a dream team with strangers working several kilometers away from each other? As difficult as it sounds, Alex in his usual mild-mannered fashion found a way around it. Honestly, it is still a work in progress, and mistakes have been made. Regardless, there has been significant progress. Here are the lessons, ideas, and advice that made it all possible;

How to build an organizational culture while working with freelancers

Have a clear picture of what your organization’s culture should look like

Like many things in an organization, the culture must be well thought out. It is not something that just happens. Before setting out to hire employees, founders must ensure they have a clear picture of the kind of people they want on their team. In essence, the character is as good as the skill or knowledge of the job. The trick here is finding the right balance. Focus too much on IQ and you could end up with a team of intellectuals who lack empathy, and basic interpersonal and communication skills needed for proper collaboration in team projects and are probably less divergent in their thinking. 

And when it comes down to creativity, EQ/EI is moderately correlated according to this study. This means that individuals with high EQ are likely going to be more creative and out-of-the-box thinkers whether it is with solving organizational problems, leading a team, or managing crises. So how do you determine if a freelancer is a right fit for your team? Once you have decided what your organization’s culture should look like, the next step is to;

Set up an interview similar to when hiring a regular employee

Hiring a freelancer is very easy. All you have to do is visit platforms like Upwork, Fiver, or Freelancer.com, publish a job and get several proposals from freelancers. Choose the ones that sound good, give them a test job, and if they ace it, hire them. For most employers, that is where it ends. But anybody will know that this is a bad approach to hiring people if you are looking for a long-term player.

The reason is that you cannot determine a person’s true character without a proper interview. And by that, I mean setting up an interview or test where you can deduce to an extent if they possess the traits you are looking for. Secondly, it gives you an idea of how well-versed the individual is in the company’s culture. If they know what your company stands for and its acceptable practices and still decide to go ahead, that’s a positive sign. After that, the next step is to;

Create an onboarding process

The goal of onboarding is to help new employees familiarize themselves with the workplace. This includes getting acquainted with the company’s long and short-term goals, missions, and objectives. Knowing how their contributions matter in the grand scheme of things and most especially getting to know other employees of the company. This creates a feeling of inclusion, loyalty, and commitment to the organization. Whether you are working with in-house employees or freelancers, the impact of onboarding is more or less the same. 

You don’t want to go through the process of hiring an employee just to watch them quit in a very short time. Why? Because they didn’t understand the nature of the job when they were being hired or because their values contradict those of the organization. Whatsoever the case, a good onboarding process helps to reduce employee turnover whether it is with in-house employees or freelancers,

Give feedback and encourage open and honest communication

Communication is a two-way process and it is the secret behind every well-performing team. Proper communication is required in establishing a feedback loop. This is very important, especially in the first few months of joining the company. Let’s say the freelancer did a great job for which he or she was appreciated. This is positive feedback that reinforces their commitment to do better next time. It shows that their hard work did not go unnoticed. It also makes them more open to receiving constructive criticism where such exist. 

At the same time, encourage them to give you feedback by asking leading questions such as; What do they think of the organization and what can be done to make them more productive and efficient at their jobs? Also, make sure everybody’s voice is heard. No matter how ridiculous an idea may sound, it is much better to hear them out rather than shut them down. The former creates a feeling of inclusion and acceptance, while the latter will make them feel rejected and inadequate. I bet you can see which of the two will inspire loyalty. 

Employees are much more willing to stay where they feel accepted and able to express their ideas freely without feeling inadequate. Let everyone be heard.

Promote Learning and self-development

One of the best ways to build a team of freelancers who are loyal and committed to the organization is by providing an avenue for self-improvement. If you recall the study cited at the beginning of this article. The very first finding is that freelancers are always on the lookout for growth opportunities. Of course, no employee wants to feel stagnant at their jobs, but for freelancers, the need to grow is much stronger. Stagnation equals irrelevance and irrelevance equals career death. So they have to keep growing.

 It is therefore in your best interest as an employer to ensure that your organization fosters learning and self-development. This could be by making paid online courses available to your freelancers for free or sharing key industry knowledge with your team of freelancers. Either way, they will see your commitment to helping them grow and are likely to return the favor in the form of loyalty and commitment to the organization. Win-win for everybody involved. 

Conclusion

In a few years to come most companies will have to adapt to running entirely with remote teams or face fading out. The change has already begun. Leading the way are big tech firms like Google which are said to have hired more freelancers than full-time employees. The question is no longer whether or not to hire freelancers, but how to build and maintain organizational culture while doing so. Well, hope you found the answer here and if you need further assistance you can reach out to us here or on our social media pages. Send us a DM and we would be glad to help out.