How To Hire and Attract Top Quality Freelancers To Your Business

We’ve already established that workforce schedule is gradually moving from the usual 9 to 5 to a more fluid option. Now, even regular employees are quitting their jobs to stand alone as freelancers. Nonetheless, businesses stand a lot to gain from the change; affordability, skills, expertise, exposure, and experience. All of these combined would cost a company a lot.

As much as there are millions of freelancers ready to work, it doesn’t mean every one of them possesses the quality you are looking for. Not to scare you, the process of hiring freelancers can be quite easy and straightforward. There are a good number of freelance marketplaces springing up now; Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer, PayPerHour and many others.

On any of the freelance marketplaces you choose, there is usually a review and feedback mechanism in place. That’s the first place to start your search, and this must be after you’ve plugged in your search criteria. Pin down your search to between 5 to 10 freelancers depending on the number that responds to your search criteria. Read through the reviews, you will quickly narrow down the options to 3 to 5 at this juncture.

Now, take your search to social media. Check through their social media pages, especially Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. There is a lot you will notice through the social media background check. From this, you should have pinned down your option to not more than two candidates. You can now go on to ask for their portfolio, pre-screen, and give a paid test. You should have your preferred candidate at the end.

Getting Noticed and Getting Ahead

There’s nothing as harmful to your career than getting lost in the crowd of other performers. Yes, you have the skills to deliver, but what’s taking the shine away from you? You don’t have an idea, that’s precisely the first reason. You are lost in your self-consciousness, unable to locate your unique selling points. If you are never noticed, it will become a hassle to forge ahead. 

Remember you are competing against other high flyers who come to work early, deliver before deadlines, and display professionalism on every task. That means you have to do more and be different. Offer to help on new projects in your own free time, that’s after you have delivered excellently. Offer to help, in the process; you will learn new skills and gather experience. 

Every time you are engaging your boss or a colleague on an idea, back it up with specific and related examples. This will show that much thought has gone into the concept. At company meetings and events, speak up and offer your opinions. If you don’t have a new line of thought, back up existing ones. Please don’t overdo it, don’t be seen as an attention seeker. 

More importantly, avoid the murky waters of office politics. If you have to choose a clique, make sure it’s the winning side. 

Employee appreciation and recognition as a vital managerial scope

As a boss, you need to be able to come up with an efficient employee recognition idea. Companies with a solid strategy to recognize and reward their staff enjoy a great working atmosphere, stronger engagement and a high level of productivity. Its all about acknowledging the hard work, efforts and achievement of individuals within your organization. It fosters an emotional connection and the employees feel valued. Among the numerous benefits that can be derived from employee appreciation is the fact that you are also doing your company a lot of good. It sounds like a no-brainer, right? It has been proved that a company that recognizes and appreciates its employees could boost its ROI by up to 30%.

This is because the employees have a morale boost, a sense of belonging and they no longer see themselves as a staff but rather they see the business as theirs. They in turn put in extra effort to support the vision and it results in an increased productivity level. It is also a good PR technique to reward your employees. It projects a good image of your organization and clients love to deal with a happy company. Employee recognition is really a win-win when you think about it.

Are You Due a Pay Raise? How to Ask and Get It (Pt. 1)

At a point, you will notice you are doing more than you are paid for. However, the bosses always fail to notice, which is why you may have to speak up to get what is commensurate to your efforts. Yes, asking for a pay raise may be nerve racking, you are not sure of how much you should ask, or whether you may be sacked for asking for more.

The thing is if you are sure that you are deserving of a pay raise, never be afraid to bring it up. Don’t be one of the millions globally who complain about their salary but decide to do nothing about it. No need to be afraid, so far you are professional about asking, there’s nothing to lose.

However, a feeling of being underpaid isn’t enough; you need to be sure of what your peers in the same industry are earning. It’s not uncommon in firms to see new people getting paid higher than the oldies.

Now to how you can get a pay raise. Please don’t send a long mail detailing how many years you’ve spent and how you have helped the company, do it in person. Being a face to face request, it will be difficult to turn down your request. By meeting with your manager, you can measure their reaction and put up a counter-argument when they say No.

Appreciating Employees, Here's A New Idea

Let’s start with this story of the monthly Shining Star award at Deloitte. It’s worth $50 in voucher and can be won by an individual or a team. The high point of the prize is the fun part where everyone shares drinks and snacks. Now, yours doesn’t have to be a monetary reward. It can either be in the form of public recognition at the next staff briefing. 

Appreciating employees can come in the form of gifts. The gifts can be tailored to the employees’ interest and hobbies, let’s say cycling or culinary classes. You can even go a step higher with getaways or even smart devices. This is a level higher than just gifting them a $100 gift card. 

What of employees’ birthdays? There’s no better time to remind them how valuable they have been to the firm in the past 365 days. Give them the day off on their birthdays and maybe surprise them with the trending smart home divide they have been raving about all year. 

Now, on your social media profiles, recognize staffs by highlighting what they’ve done for the business and why the company considers it a great deed. Other ideas you can consider include wall of fame, spontaneous treats, commute help, peer recognition program and much more.