Over the past several years, freelancers have become a fairly common part of the business.

Working with freelancers may appear to be a good way to access market professionals at a fraction of the cost of hiring a full-time employee, however, there is definitely a lot more risk attached then many anticipate.

For businesses looking at an effective and safer means of accessing industry professionals at a lower cost, outsourcing is by-far the best option. Hiring a freelancer generally involves a high level of risk for fairly little reward. The common issues we see when speaking to businesses who have used freelancers in the past, include:

Choosing a freelancer can be time-consuming

It is well-known that the hiring process is fairly time-consuming. It is for this reason that businesses turn to freelancers instead of hiring in-house staff.

However, the process of hiring the right freelancer can be just as time-consuming, if not more. Every step of the hiring process is the exact same. From the initial source, interview and portfolio review to onboarding and HR practices, there is no difference. Which means, you might as well hire them full-time.

However, with Deployed, our process is simple. We take care of all the time-consuming aspects of hiring. Which allows you to focus on integrating them into your business and getting the most out of your new team member.

They are often expensive

While freelancers appear to be a more cost-effective means of accessing talent, in reality, that is not always the case. It is true, with freelancers you generally save on the overheads associated with housing full-time staff. However, are you aware of the hidden costs?

Freelancers tend to charge larges amounts for their services. Many freelancers, unless they are new, tend to see themselves as experts in their field. Thus, they charge like one. Regardless of how good a freelancer actually is, you may find you are paying several hundred dollars for a job that is actually worth half of that.

The other thing about freelancers is, you get what you pay for. So, if you try to save money by hiring a relatively cheap freelancer, you run the risk of receiving work that is not up to scratch.

You are the client

When you hire a freelancer, you need to remember, you are the client, not the other way round.

What this means is chances are you will not be their only client. Hence, you need to be aware you may not be their biggest priority unless you are paying them the largest fee.

Instead of entering into a bidding war with their other clients, the smarter move would be building a dedicated remote team with Deployed. This way, you know that your remote employees are yours and will not be prioritising other businesses over yours.

How do you know they are right for your business?

In large part, the gig economy works through word of mouth and recommendations. What we generally find, is most of our clients who have used freelancers, are recommended or referred from another contact. But, this begs the questions, are they right for your business or project?

The simple answer, not always. But how do you find this out beforehand? The process of finding the right freelancer can be lengthy, and not worth it.

Many businesses fall into the trap of assuming a freelancer is right for them because of previous work and rushing into the hire due to time restraints. Only to find that halfway through a project, they do not have the required skills or the individual has found a better, more lucrative opportunity elsewhere.

By outsourcing with Deployed, you avoid experiencing this issue. We ensure that everyone we hire for your business is 100% what you need. Ensuring you do not experience the painful, and costly task of choosing the wrong freelancer.

While freelancers may be the ‘attractive’ option for businesses, the reality is, they are not necessarily the best option. We are regularly speaking with businesses who have used freelancers and had negative experiences. As a result, these businesses have turned to Deployed, and are loving the experience and results.

Our approach to outsourcing is simple. We take care of all the heavy lifting, from sourcing candidates, reviewing applications and all HR tasks. Allowing businesses, like yours, to focus on interviewing their selected shortlist and onboarding the successful candidate. This not only makes the recruitment process a lot less intensive for businesses but it also ensures quality candidates do not fall through the cracks.

We have helped a number of businesses from Australia and New Zealand build successful and profitable remote teams. If you would like to discuss how Deployed can help your business, we would love to chat! So get in touch today.