Are you using freelancers? Or you may have read our top tips on how to set yourself up as successful freelancer. In that article we pointed out how the shift in working culture was attracting more professionals to ‘go it alone’ and the estimated increase on service demand this was likely to have in the future.

But what are the benefits that working with a freelancer can bring to your business?

Cost effectiveness

Salaries cost money. Depending on the sector of your business, you may spend between 40 to 80 percent of gross revenues on employee salaries and benefits combined. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, salaries alone can account for 18 to 52 percent of your operating budget.

Meanwhile, freelancers are free agents, not part of a company’s permanent staff, and therefore not entitled to any salary or benefits including sick pay, holidays, pensions etc. When a company decides to hire a freelancer for a project, they can spend considerably less on them as they are only required to pay the freelancer for their services.

Think about how this could be useful for a company. Say you need a niche expert for a single project. It might not make sense to hire this professional because your day-to-day needs aren’t enough to justify it. Hiring a full-time employee would be expensive and a waste of company money. However, a freelancer would fit the project perfectly. The company can use the freelancer’s skills for the project, pay them and then the two can part ways. And both better off for it.

Top of their game

Freelance work often comes with stigma attached to it, with many believing that freelancers aren’t as skilled as their full-time employed counterparts. This is not true.

Because freelancing offers freedom and flexibility that’s impossible with traditional 9-to-5 jobs, many workers are turning to it as their sole source of income. This means they take their work very seriously. In their world, reputation means everything – including retained work and income, not to mention referrals.

Therefore, freelancers are often at the very top of their game. Living and breathing their skill set – constantly learning and thriving to be the very best. This usually comes in addition to years of building a developing on their own knowledge and experience.

A new perspective

Due to the nature of their work, freelancers can be sourced from anywhere in the world. This means that your project is likely to offer up a diverse population of workers who come from a range of varying educational backgrounds, work styles, ethnicities and more.

As such, freelancers can bring a new perspective to your work, alongside any diverse skills and knowledge they may also hold. Even for the most obscure technologies or niches, there’s probably a freelancer out there who has a specialist skill, ideal for the project at hand.

Connecting you to talent

If you’re recruiting freelance talent, it’s likely you’re looking to run a successful project. And projects take all sorts of people, skills and experience to be a success.

That doesn’t necessarily mean you need to meet and vet every person you plan on working with. Freelancers tend to be excellent networkers and collaborative work forces and therefore can usually recommend the right person for the job.

So even if you’re hiring a writer, chances are, they can recommend a tried-and-tested graphic designer who can take your business even further.

Flexibility for you

Often find yourself at a loss with the sudden demand of a project but without the right resources to meet it? Enter the freelancer –talent that can offer your business flexible access to their expertise when you need it.

Independent contractors and consultants are often available at exceptionally short notice to fulfil a last-minute request that your in-house team may not be capable of meeting due to limited manpower or lack of required skills.

You can brief these independent experts in at 5pm on the Friday and due to the flexible nature of their work, they can have the work done by Monday at 9am. And all without paying weekend overtime.

Use Marketplace to find freelancers for your projects

Marketplace can be used to find and connect with rated freelancers or specific services. It’s as simple as posting a project, searching for a skill, reviewing rated professionals and connecting with them.

Once engaged through Marketplace, freelancers can be given access to a company’s Proteus account and that is it – they are now part of your team.

Sign up here for free and find the right person for your project.

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Read more to find out more about how using Marketplace can transform your business, or use it to find a job if you are a freelancer. in touch with our team today.