Tips for Building a Successful and Happy Team of Freelancers.
As a business owner, you know the importance of hiring and retaining a team of qualified and valuable employees. And even if you're a fledgling entrepreneur, you still know the value of one or two staff members to make the workflow and goals easier to accomplish. Whatever stage of growth your business is in, hiring Philippine freelancers can be a wise choice for helping things run smoothly.
Setting Yourself Up for Success
Before even beginning your search, it’s best to have some key administrative tasks completed. One such foundational step is to create an LLC. LLCs, or limited liability companies, offer a number of advantages. They protect your personal finances and provide tax advantages. Pressed for time? Using a formation service is a simple way to outsource the process without incurring expensive lawyer fees.
Other important steps to take before hiring your first freelancer include knowing employment guidelines to avoid incorrectly classifying a worker and defining your project's budget, scope, and scale.
Hiring freelancers also involves a lot of paperwork. One valuable tool is Adobe Acrobat, which easily converts PDFs so you can keep all your formatting when changing a PDF to a Word or DOCX file. Simply upload your PDF, convert it to your desired document type, and download the converted copy.
Casting a Wide Net for Attracting Targeted Talent
One of the greatest perks of hiring freelancers is that you’re never limited to just your own backyard. For example, if you want to hire freelancers from the Philippines, you can quickly and easily search for talent through job boards such as Guru. Other popular freelancer job board sites include Upwork, Freelancer.com, and Fiverr.
Increasing Loyalty
Retaining high-quality freelancers requires some planning and forethought. You can help your freelancers feel connected to your business by hosting virtual meetings, either intermittently or on a regular basis. You can also offer freelancers access to some additional perks, such as insurance or financial products.
Establishing Communication Methods and a Pay System
Working with freelancers involves setting clear, proactive expectations. Do you prefer email or text to communicating through the job board where you found your freelancer? Do you need to touch base via Zoom on a weekly or monthly basis? Are there protocols you want to be followed for new requests and updates? Establishing when and how you want to communicate will be an important part of managing each freelancer relationship.
Pay is another important aspect to determine upfront, including any hidden or unexpected costs on your end. You’ll likely incur exorbitant fees if conducting international wire transfers or making payments to the Philippines through typical pay platforms. Instead, consider Remitly, a low-cost money transfer service. Fees to send funds to the Philippines cost no more than $3.99.
Using Freelancers Offers Businesses a Low-Cost, Flexible Solution
Whether you’re a growing business or an established one, hiring freelancers can be an ideal way to outsource work to talent from all over the world, particularly for time-sensitive or budget-conscious projects. Spending more time on recruitment can result in a happy and productive team, so lay a strong foundation today before utilizing the freelance marketplace.
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Article contributed by:
Tina Martin - Ideaspired
