You don’t work with contractors? Here’s what you are missing out on.
It is 8 AM. You have rushed to the office before all of your employees come in to do some quality work before everyone starts firing questions at you. Today is going to be extremely productive. Your employees gradually start coming in around 9 AM.
Good, they are on time. Let’s get the work going.
Wait, they’ll make a cup of coffee first. While queueing for the coffee machine, they will briefly catch up on what they did during the weekend. It’s already half nine. They slowly find their way to their desks.
This small morning ritual is followed by another one: catching up with the rest of the world. The local news — you get it, everyone should be up to date. LinkedIn — it’s okay, it is technically work-related, they should be up to date with their network. The office group chat — you like that they have a friendly relationship.
And it is10 o’clock. Work can begin, but only for the next two hours because lunch is quickly approaching.
“I can’t imagine having to manage a remote team, these guys won’t do anything knowing I’m not around”, you murmur.
Welcome, allow me to try and change your mind.
Of course, the picture I painted is far from the case for most companies. It is just a grossly exaggerated example of what happens in the 8 hours of work employees spend in the office. Keeping everyone engaged, motivated and effective throughout the whole day is challenging.
Of course, having full-time employees is a vital part of running a business, and I am most certainly not here to tell you otherwise.
But allow me to show you why it may be time to consider an independent contractor.
What is an independent contractor?
Let’s briefly go through the definition.
Independent contractors, freelancers or consultants are professionals you hire for a specific service or skill.
They are not your employees, they are people who act as independent businesses you assign a specific project or a monthly service to and pay pre-agreed rates.
Here are a few of the reasons why you should consider employing an independent contractors for your project.
1. An independent contractor is essentially a business owner
On top of being knowledgable and experienced in their field of work, independent contractors have broad general business knowledge.
Essentially, when they are not working on your project, they manage a business with everything that entails including branding, accounting, marketing, etc.
They spend every free minute identifying business opportunities, mapping target markets, and reaching out to clients. Regardless of what tasks you have hired them to do, they will inevitably apply their general in-depth business understanding.
2. You are their client, not their boss
And what do we do with clients? We strive to provide outstanding customer service.
Independent contractors strive to get as many referrals and testimonials as possible to increase their credibility in the industry. And just like any other business, the opinion of their clients is directly related to how successful they will be.
Therefore, independent contractors are highly focused on communication and strive to have processes in place to understand your brief and deliver high-quality results as quickly and efficiently as possible.
3. To them time = money
Independent contractors and freelancers earn their income either per hour or per project. The more projects they can take on, the more money they will make for their business.
Any minute that isn’t spent working on a paid project, they will invest in engaging their business network, attending networking events, mastering their skills or acting upon opportunities for scaling. So, they have no interest in wasting your time whatsoever. They get paid for deliverables, not attendance, so their only goal is to deliver.
4. They update their knowledge of the industry through the diversity of clients they serve
Business owners constantly learn through experience and update their knowledge of the industry to stay ahead of the competition. Ultimately, every business strives to get as much data from its potential customers as possible and adapt it to improve their business strategy.
The same applies to independent contractors. By working with so many different clients in different niches with different needs and outlooks on the industry, they update their knowledge of successful practices.
Contractors can be an extremely valuable resource for your business. Onboarding an independent contractor is generally cheaper and easier than selecting and onboarding a full-time employee, as they bring their expertise and generally get straight to business as opposed to going through a training process.
If you are interested in hiring an independent contractor, be mindful of these important points.
- They are not your employees. They are independent businesses that are allowed to work with other people simultaneously, and you should treat them as such. They may not be there for “a call in 5 minutes”, and will likely work independently from the rest of your team unless agreed otherwise. They will provide you with a contract to sign that you will be expected to respect. Respectively, they will follow responsibilities and deadlines based on that contract in order to successfully complete the agreement.
- They are not a “cheaper alternative”. Be ready to pay fear rates, otherwise, you will be supporting unfair trade.
- Be prepared to trust your independent contractor. Agree on ways to monitor their work beforehand, and don’t expect them to tolerate micromanagement. If you hire an agency, you don’t call them every two hours asking them “how much they have left” or the exact way they are completing a task. Do your research, ask for references, do whatever you find necessary, but once you agree to work with an independent contractor, let them do their job.
Be respectful, inclusive, and honor contracts, and you will enjoy all the gig economy has to offer!