Getty getty This article is the third in my series “Freelance Voices,” a series that celebrates the experience of freelancers in different parts of the world. This article focuses on freelancers in the Netherlands. As a side project to the recent Global Survey on Freelancing that my Agile Talent Collaborative is leading together with Professor Gerald Cupchik of the University of Toronto, I’ve invited platforms in a wide range of countries to ask their freelancers to describe daily life: the work, life, challenges, and the impacts of remote work and Covid-19. For the Netherlands, I’m grateful to the platform members of Riverflex , a fast growing freelance platform with strong digital expertise focused on independent management consulting and interim management. The platform works across Europe and assists global and regional enterprises like Nestle , Ahold Delhaize, and Samsung , as well as a wide range of start-up and SMB clients. While the Riverflex platform combines freelancers from many countries, and has locations in London, Barcelona, and Istanbul as well as Amsterdam, this report focuses on their home-base Dutch freelancers. Here are Dutch freelance voices from the Riverflex community: Jeng – Project Manager and Management Consultant “Being a Freelancer is all about having an independent mindset and the freedom and flexibility to choose your own clients and projects. This allows me to focus on delivery quality and adding value to clients, and be less bothered about internal hassles working for a consulting firm. This has improved my work-life balance, which is important being a dad.” Jonathan – Independent Consultant “Working as an independent allows me to work on only highly relevant challenges without the need to ‘sell’ as much as possible (which is ultimately the aim of traditional consultancies). I’ve learned that’s what I care about most.” Manuel – Agile Coach and Interim Manager “I just do what I’m good at and I love it! No politics, employees, or employers getting me off my focus. And so nice to finish, take the learnings and start afresh. Covid? Weird to intensively work together for months and leave without ever actually meeting.” Rahul – Management Consultant “Challenging client problems, project variety and complexity, and freedom to work “my way” are the main reasons I like freelancing. It continuously challenges to come out of my comfort zone and rethink my future direction. Uncertainty of assignments, client acquisition, and language-related barriers are the most significant challenges for a freelancer. Covid impacted me heavily because the pipeline of projects suddenly dried out, but I enjoy being a freelancer and now aiming to grow my network and business.” Roopesh – Transformation Leader “A transformation is never finished but, as a freelancer, to get a transformation program on the rails from the start for a longer period is like a cherry on a cake. In a typical Dutch culture, you usually don’t feel like an external and are mostly able to influence important decisions. Learning and flexibility are the most rewarding aspects for me.” Marcel – Interim […]
