How Freelance Marketplaces Make Hiring Safer for Business Owners
Hiring a new worker can feel like a daunting task for many companies these days. But the truth is, the way in which businesses hire, train, and complete projects in 2018 is radically different than it was a decade ago. With the onset of the gig economy, freelancers and businesses have a unique way to connect online that can benefit them both with their financial goals.
So how do you brave the Wild West of the internet and find the best of the best to fulfill your project’s needs? Easy, Freelance Marketplaces! Marketplaces offer business owners the chance to browse potential hires by skill set, pay rate, country of origin, reviews and more. This gives you as a business owner the flexibility to find just the right fit for the project or position you are looking fill.
In this article we’ll share with you the benefits of using Freelance Marketplaces and how they can make the hiring process safer.
Where to Find Freelancers
In the past 6 years or so a large variety of marketplaces have sprung up online. They all have their differences and nuances but the top few marketplaces we recommend starting with include FreeeUp, Upwork, Fiverr and a few others. No matter what position you are attempting to fill you will be able to find amazing, well-qualified candidates on these sites.
The Benefits of Using Freelance Marketplaces
Curious as to what the advantages of freelance platforms are versus traditional hiring? Here are some of the major benefits & safeguards in place for businesses using marketplaces:
Diverse Range of Talent
Freelance marketplaces offer freelancers with a range of skills – skills that could be difficult for you to source locally. A freelance marketplace lets you narrow your search for freelancers with the particular skills and experience you need as well as by budget. This will help you find the best fit for your business in an easy and straightforward way.
Less Paperwork
Using a marketplace like FreeeUp to hire talent will cut down your time spent on administrative tasks like paperwork. Instead of wading through hundreds of resumes you are able to select the best from the talent pool and only interview or speak with the top prospects.
Pre Vetted for Your Project
Most online freelance marketplaces have a review or ranking system, based on feedback scores, reliability, successful/timely task completion, tests, money earned and more. This gives you a quick way to find reliable freelancers with a great reputation. FreeeUp also pre-vets and takes on only the top 1% of freelancers in the most in-demand niches to ensure you are getting the most qualified candidates.
Simplified Payment Process
Rather than setting up a variety of payment methods for freelancers around the globe, you can quickly and easily pay them through the online marketplace. It also can help simplify the tax process for United States based companies and contract workers. Most marketplaces will allow you to bring existing clients or freelancers on board, so it could even make paying existing freelancers easier.
Hour Tracking
Most freelance platforms provide a work log and desktop app to enable businesses to track work time and results. Many of the marketplaces also offer the added protection of screen capture as well as time tracking. Screen capture allows you to better understand what work you are paying for. This takes one more item off your to-do list it helps you keep track of the work being done for your business.
Streamlined Communication
An online marketplace can help you manage communication and work submission through their online workstreams and messaging systems. Rather than wading through emails or using a variety of communication methods, you can just keep one tab open on your device and deal with your entire group of freelancers through the marketplace.
Most sites will have terms and conditions of hiring (e.g. payment terms for invoices), so both yourself and the freelancers you work with will be clear on what’s expected and when.
If things do go wrong, these terms and conditions also mean you’ll have recourse to a third party – the marketplace.
Confidentiality Agreements
Some marketplaces are also able to help safeguard your company’s interests by providing user agreements as well as letting you supply your own NDA. This will help protect your working relationship from unforeseen legal hangups.
Support for Disputes
Another perk of using freelance marketplaces for your business includes having a group from that marketplace handle disputes on your behalf. If the work isn’t getting done or you feel that something isn’t going the way you thought it should, marketplace support will be able to handle resolving the issue for you quickly and without the communication and Human Resources issues that come with traditional employment.
Why Not Just Hire on Your Own….
While hiring someone internally might feel like the safest bet it may not be the right solution for you currently. Using freelancers will allow you to try out different individuals until you find the perfect fit for the role. It will also save your company money by not having to offer full time insurance or other incentives right away. Hiring through marketplaces also reduces the risk for you. They don’t have the right to unemployment insurance, and rarely have the right to compensation benefits. They don’t have the right to sue for harassment, discrimination, or unfair dismissal. If they’re not the right fit, they’re easier to replace.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article helped you better understand how and why you should consider utilizing a freelance marketplace. If you are ready to grow your business, streamline your hiring process, and work with a large talent pool, it may be time to consider using one of the may Freelance Marketplaces to fill your next role. Whether you use FreeeUp, Upwork or another platform you are sure to have a streamlined and exceptional hiring experience.
Ready to hire a contract worker through a marketplace? Learn more about the process with this eBook.
Connor Gillivan is currently a Founder and Owner of OutsourceSchool.com . He was an Owner of FreeUp.net , which he helped scale and was acquired in 2019 by The HOTH.
Connor is an expert in hiring and scaling with virtual assistants and shares his business insights on his own blog, ConnorGillivan.com . He currently lives in Denver, Colorado.
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