In the digital age, maximizing collaboration with freelancers requires innovative solutions. Pavel ShinkalenkoSolarStuff founder and CEO explains: How advances in technology have revolutionized communication with contractors.
according to MBO PartnerAs of the end of 2023, there will be 72.1 million freelancers in the United States, representing 45% of the country's workforce.
But the freelance revolution isn't just happening in the United States: the number of independent contractors worldwide has reached 1.57 billion and is expected to continue to grow.
Over the past few years, we have conducted various surveys to gain a deeper understanding of market trends. We found that communication is a major challenge that hinders collaboration between companies and freelancers, and inefficiencies in this area lead to wasted time and money. Technology can help overcome these challenges.
IT companies, which often collaborate with freelancers, are usually the first to adopt new technologies, create in-house tools for team communication, and turn them into marketable products. Slack, which started out as an internal project but is now a popular communication platform, is a good example of this trend.
Before we continue, let us clarify that the following advice is intended for companies that have experience working with freelancers and are looking to improve outcomes. If your company is new to hiring independent workers, there may be more pressing issues that require your due attention. That being said, we will discuss how technology can streamline communication and improve outcomes when working with contractors..
Main Issues
If you've already worked with freelancers, you may be familiar with some of the most common issues that can arise. Ask yourself questions like:
- How can you communicate the information needed to assign tasks and reduce editing?
- How do you measure the efficiency of a freelancer’s work?
- How much do you spend on specific contractors (beyond the obvious)?
- Now that you've learned how to collaborate with freelancers, how do you get others on your team to collaborate too?
- How can we create a system that can help contractors work faster without taking away resources or valuable information?
Tech-enabled answers
By implementing the right technology framework, companies can improve communication with contractors, increase efficiency, and foster more effective collaboration. The IT industry is leading this shift. For example, Microsoft laid the foundation for unified office communication systems with the introduction of Microsoft Exchange in 1996 and then SharePoint in 2001. These platforms offered email, calendaring, task management, and document sharing tools all within one ecosystem, setting off a trend that was later adopted by other companies.
Beyond geographical barriers
Cross-border agreements are on the rise and although their benefits are countless, there are also barriers to overcome. Legal technicalities and frameworks vary from country to country, and when you employ someone in another country, it can be unclear how to formalize your working relationship with that person.
To solve this, you can leverage HR solutions, especially those that can provide you with a COR (Contract of Exchange). These solutions, by the way they operate, can convert international contractors into local employees and interact with them. This makes the contract signing process more secure and also ensures that it complies with rules and regulations.
Overcoming gender barriers
Every year, the number of female freelancers is growing. According to 2023 data, nearly half of freelancers in the United States are women. This trend is driven by technological advances that enable women to work remotely, providing important flexibility for women juggling professional careers with caregiving responsibilities. Today, 92% Working women pIn their careers, they prioritise flexibility over stability, and technology facilitates this choice.
Additionally, women generally tend to lean more towards emotional content and interpersonal relationships, both in the work environment and in their personal lives, while men tend to take a more literal, task-focused approach. Networking platforms offer women the opportunity to connect with other professionals, find mentors, join groups, and participate in discussions, reducing feelings of isolation, providing role models, and encouraging women and girls to pursue and continue careers in technology.
Understanding cultural cues
Today, many businesses rely on global teams to complete projects, which means team members have different days off. For most people, the holidays are a time to spend with family and honor the special things that are part of their identity.
To prevent issues, we recommend using a solution like Asana or Monday.com, where you can create a shared calendar and gather input from freelancers on your team so everyone can see relevant dates and know what to expect.
see next: Workplace analytics cuts through the noise of collaboration tools
Optimizing collaboration and task coordination
Many freelancers choose this path because they value freedom. Therefore, it is easy to understand that micromanagement can be very harmful. On the other hand, you will want to know what is going on. In this case, collaboration tools such as Notion, Miro, ClickUp, Figma, etc. can help you. This way, you can track the progress without bothering your freelancer.
A common problem in task coordination is making sure instructions are clear. Creating a scope of work manually every time is very time-consuming. To optimize this process, use ChatGPT to create a universal template based on previous ToR and information about the project. Automating this task reduces the burden, as one of AI's strengths is consolidating and systematizing information.
In line with this, I recently connected with a US-based tech startup to learn more about how they manage their design contractors. Since freelancer management personnel have dozens of other tasks and may not have enough time for continuous calls or texting, they conduct asynchronous calls via Loom. The platform allows you to record a short video where you talk about the task and give feedback. This Loom link is sent to the freelancer via Slack and is added to the project's Notion workspace, where it is always available. Ultimately, this process reduces the need for real-time communication while maintaining the quality of real-time interactions.
Project Tracking and Accountability
It's often difficult to determine a freelancer's availability. Services like Calendly make it easy to schedule appointments, effectively “booking” people's time. Plus, these calendar tools easily integrate into your company's stack, enhancing your project tracking efforts.
A common dilemma when it comes to accountability is knowing how much time and money has been spent working with a particular freelancer. There is no universal solution, but my current suggestion is to use a tool like Lattice.
Also, if your company uses an FMS, VMS, or global HR system, it will show you the start and end time of a particular task. You can use this information to create dashboards and compare your freelancer's performance with that of other specialists.
Use personalized communication channels
Freelancers often have to communicate with multiple departments, not just one person within a company.
Leveraging technology can make this process more transparent and productive. For example, if each person contacts freelancers individually to assign tasks, it can create confusion and make the monitoring process difficult. To solve this, you can leverage tools like Slack or Discord for tasks like translation. Also, we recommend using ClickUp or Jira when dealing with assignments that require a personalized approach. However, keep in mind that you should create a space separate from your internal channels, especially when dealing with communication tools, so that data is protected. You can also leverage your existing FMS or VMS platform.
Embracing technological advances
We live in a world where visiting an office and addressing issues in person isn't always possible or necessary, which means communication has to evolve as well. Technology has made remote work and contract work more efficient and convenient for employees. By enhancing communication through technology, companies can achieve better overall performance and improve task outcomes. Moreover, project teams are not only able to complete tasks effectively and on time, but they also feel more included as part of a cohesive team.
