It’s that time of year again. 

Department heads, line managers, and founders are coming together to pick the bones out of the year that was. The annual audit and, my word, it won’t be standard fare this time around!

They’re making plans, finessing strategies and preparing for the most dramatic transformation in their businesses history. There’s no doubt that the pandemic has forced us to consider a digital business model and, for those with their glass half full, this presents an incredible opportunity. 

The fact that many of these meetings will take place virtually is a testament to the digital transformation that has occurred across all industries over the past ten months. 

Most companies are now incredibly comfortable communicating with and managing teams remotely using various different technological tools available to them - Zoom, Slack, Trello, Asana. The list goes on… 2020 has felt like a year-long evening course on remote working.

It comes as no surprise then, that many companies intend to prioritise and further develop their digital transformation into 2021. 

For some, that might mean completely dismantling their bricks and mortar offices and having staff work remotely on a full time basis. For others, it might see them giving staff the option to work remotely a few days a week.

However they choose to work, companies will need to develop strong strategies to ensure that this digital transition continues to positively impact their team's productivity and morale. 

For the many companies who benefit from working with freelancers, developing a robust freelancer recruitment strategy as part of their digital transformation will help them to ensure that freelancers are properly managed in an integrated and ethical way. 

One of the major issues faced by HR departments has been the disconnect between their HR processes and the way in which freelancers are hired, onboarded and paid. Line Managers in various departments often hire freelancers without going through HR which can lead to a plethora of problems. 

HR is unable to pass on hiring insights or onboarding policies and they lose control of the process. They often don’t know how much freelancers are being paid, the way in which they interact with department teams, whether or not they are integrated correctly or if they’re following safety protocols on the job. 

It goes without saying that HR departments get nervous when they’re not in the loop, and understandably so. It’s their job to ensure that anyone working for the company is treated fairly and ethically.

The last ten months, however, have acted as a catalyst of change with regards to companies attitudes towards hiring freelancers. Management teams have realised the significant value that freelancers can add to team projects and hence the positive impact they can have on their company's overall growth. 

In some cases, processes have already been embedded to facilitate remote working amongst full-time staff which opens the door to a world of possibilities.   

In early 2020, the thought of implementing a freelancer recruitment strategy may have seemed more trouble than it’s worth but now the foundations have been laid, it’s a far smoother transition. 

HR can regain control, streamline processes across their company using a centralised system and maximise every hire - not just full-time staff. 

What's more, technology has been rapidly adapting to provide companies with support when implementing these changes. A freelancer hiring strategy is now more attainable than ever. 

Here at the Freelancer Club, we work with companies of all shapes and sizes to help them develop a freelancer recruitment strategy. 

We provide them with all the necessary tools and functionality they need to regain control of and organise their freelancer recruitment process, so that it complements and works in tandem with existing setups and policies, in a centralised and streamlined way. 

In fact, companies are beginning to realise that recruiting freelancers is a lower risk alternative to building and developing their companies and in some cases have moved to a fully distributed model.

If you’d like us to review your current freelancer recruitment process or need tips on how to develop a strong freelancer hiring strategy from scratch, we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch and tell us about your requirements, a member of our team will be in touch to discuss how we can help. 

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