I’ve often asked myself: If I could build a marketing dream team, who would I include? Ann Handley, obviously — she’s my favorite writer/marketer. Joanne Wiebe from CopyHackers, because she’s one of the most knowledgeable conversion copywriters. Andy Crestodina from Orbit Media, who bowls me over on the regular with his insights on content marketing, search, and analytics. And those are just the content writers and strategists! (Needless to say, I’d have a big team — that’s why it’s a dream, right?)
Here’s the thing: You can also build your marketing dream team — a high-functioning team with subject matter experts located all over the United States (heck, the world!). Turns out, your search for the ideal marketing talent doesn’t need to be limited by location or at the expense of paying full-time, on-site employees. Why? Because remote freelancing teams (or teamlancing) are here to stay.
Even before the pandemic, freelancing was on the rise. Back in 2017, the experts at Upwork estimated the majority of the United States workforce will be freelancing by 2027. With five years left to go, we’re well on our way.
The Great Resignation
Anthony Klotz, a psychologist and professor of management, created the name that describes a massive wave of workers leaving their jobs during the pandemic. He thinks there will be even more employees quitting once the pandemic comes to an end.
Freelancing has been booming. In 2020, Statista reported 67.6 million Americans were freelancing, up from 57.3 million in 2017. Workers are looking for more flexibility and control over their work lives.
In a recent survey, eighty-five percent of freelancers think freelancing will become more widespread in the very near future. With tens of millions of new freelancers estimated to join the workforce by 2030, freelancing isn’t going away any time soon. More than half of those surveyed do not plan to return to traditional work environments.
To find qualified employees, smart managers (you!) will reinvent your team structure and work processes to keep up with the concurrent resignation and freelancing trends. If you want to maintain in-house employees, you will need to be more flexible with work locations, schedules, and other benefits freelancers enjoy. Better yet, think about creating teams of freelancers and consultants who work outside the traditional employment structure.
This practice is called teamlancing. Teamlancing is when a company collaborates with a team of remote freelancers with different but compatible skills to achieve a company goal, such as a marketing campaign, a website build, or a product launch. Companies avoid the overhead cost of in-house employees, benefits, and other HR expenses. Freelancers enjoy the steady work from multiple employers and the ability to collaborate with other freelancers.
The Future of Work: Freelance Teams
Many employers are trying to overcome the hiring crisis by building freelancing teams. 80% of marketing business leaders have hired at least one freelance marketing professional in 2021, and another 10% plan to hire freelancers this year.
But savvy employers understand there are a ton of benefits to hiring freelancers other than beating the hiring crisis. Freelancers make teams more adaptable because they are accustomed to flexibility. 83% of leaders who’ve worked with freelancers recently said they helped their marketing departments pivot (there’s that pandemic buzzword again!) more quickly, and 78% said freelancers gave their teams a competitive edge in an ever-changing business environment.
There are some other benefits of building freelance teams. Contractors will save you money because you avoid the usual overhead costs of a traditional employee. Your business can also benefit from hiring subject matter experts who have specific knowledge or skills your internal team doesn’t have. This is great for projects or initiatives that have a start and end date. Also, because freelancers are typically remote, your hiring market expands significantly. Your perfect candidate could live across the country, but you can still hire them.
Some companies have been building teams with both internal employees and freelancers for years. The tech industry adopted this practice way before the pandemic to keep up with the explosive growth in the sector. Google (now Alphabet) is a great example. CNBC reported in 2018 contractors outnumbered full-time employees at Google. They also reported Facebook, Amazon, Uber, and other Silicon Valley tech companies employed thousands of contractors to work on a multitude of teams.
How to Maximize a Freelance or Teamlance Partnership
If you’ve never worked with freelancers, or even if you have, good managers recognize how different leading a freelancing team can be. Here’s a list of best practices to consider.
- Set Clear Expectations
Don’t expect a freelancer to know you want them to use your project management system or that they are expected to attend all team meetings. Make that stuff clear. Freelancers have their own processes and will most likely produce better work if they use them. Try to be flexible, but establish firm ground rules. - Define the Work with a Complete Brief
Ensure your freelancer has all the information they need to do the work you expect. Create a complete brief that outlines all project details and requirements, including the actual deliverables you expect and how you want them submitted. This brief should also include your brand identity and style guide and your marketing personas, if applicable to the project and the role of the freelancer.
- Create a Remote Onboarding Process
Contractors need an immersion in your brand, your customers, your processes, your team’s tools, and your deadlines. They also need to know who their teammates are and how they will work together. Create a process to help ease their start with your team.
- Commit to Good Compensation and Paying on Time
Freelancers are a part of your team, so try to pay them on a cadence similar to their colleagues’. Also when negotiating a contract rate with a new freelancer, remember that freelancers usually pay more in income tax and health insurance than an in-house employee. These costs are most likely factored into the rates they are asking for.
- Set a Schedule and a Communication Channel
It may be tempting to contact your freelancers at any time of the day. Remember that often you are not your freelancer’s only client, and they have other commitments. Establish a schedule that meets your needs and theirs. Also, work with your freelancers to choose a preferred communication channel. Outline any required communications you may need, such as a weekly progress report, and recurring meetings contractors must attend.
- Remember that You Hired Them for Their Expertise
Your freelancers are subject matter experts, and you hired them because of that. They know what they are doing. If they offer recommendations, consider them. If they ask for resources, give them what they need. Check in on them when you need to, but try not to micro-manage them.
- Treat Your Freelancers as a Business Partner
Not to harp on this, but it’s important to build an equitable relationship with a contractor. They are in the business of providing services to companies like yours. They have other clients and possibly employees of their own. If you want them to stick around, treat them as your partner, not your employee.
- Bring the Team Together
If you supervise a mixed team of contractors and internal employees, build connections and camaraderie amongst your team members. Schedule virtual team lunches or breaks so members can get to know each other, or pair them up for smaller projects. When freelancers feel they belong and understand how they fit into the team dynamic, they produce better work. To be honest, this isn’t much different than what a good team leader would do to engage their in-house employees.
- Don’t Forget to Provide Feedback
One of the nice things about hiring freelancers is that they are used to accepting constructive feedback for their work. They want to produce work that will get them hired again, so they take all feedback very seriously. Providing consistent feedback will strengthen your relationship and result in outstanding work. Your freelancers would also benefit from a positive referral or testimonial to other employers for future work. They will love you for that!
The teamlancing economy is here to stay. Tech companies knew early on that consultants, freelancers, self-employed experts, or contractors (whatever you call them) were a benefit to their quickly growing organizations. Thanks to the pandemic and the hiring crisis, the rest of the business world is catching up.
Teamlancing benefits both employers and freelancers. Freelancers offer fresh ideas, deep expertise in their chosen subject matter, and the ability to collaborate with other experts. Teamlancing employers offer stable work, competitive pay rates, and flexible work schedules and environments. All of these benefits can lead to positive returns for both freelancers and employers. The world of work is changing and the opportunities are endless.