When a company has more work than it can handle, outsourcing some of it to freelancers is a viable solution. However, the problem with outsourcing creative work is that during the onboarding process, the business needs to make their vision of the project crystal-clear. Helping freelance contractors understand what the organization expects is a little more complicated than just giving them a brief and expecting them to know what you want. Your goals for the project may be significantly different from what your freelancer is aware of. Below, 10 members of Forbes Agency Council offer insight into how your company can communicate effectively with freelance contractors in such a way that they know what you want and can deliver according to expectations. Members explain how to ensure your freelancers understand your project goals. Photos courtesy of the individual members 1. Provide Clear Process Documentation Virtual assistants and freelancers will be as good or bad as the documentation that you provide them. Document your processes painstakingly accurately. This will not only make you more efficient but will make your business dependent on processes instead of employees. That means you can bring in new team members, point them to the documentation, let them loose and scale to new heights. – Damon Burton , SEO National 2. Feed Them What They Need Typically, a good freelancer goes into any project with the hope of becoming a staff employee, or at the least, earning more work. So it’s wise to take time upfront to ensure they have all the info they need. This starts with the most important document of all: a good creative brief. A good brief should convey key market and demographic insights, unique value proposition, goals, budgeted hours, meeting recaps, etc. – Ward Duft , duftwatterson.com 3. Hold Briefing Meetings With Clear Schedules Having a briefing meeting, providing access to background documents and letting them attend meetings to hear the discussions firsthand have helped immensely. Having a schedule on when components are due and what the output of the deliverables will be helps a lot so there are no assumptions. There is often no time for major revisions, so plan ahead for a positive experience for all. – Laura Glotzbach , LGS Marketing Services 4. Set Unbelievably Clear Expectations Far too often, expectations are filled with blur words: “Build a successful campaign. Deliver the project on time. Come in on budget.” If you eliminate the blurriness, you end up with far clearer and more measurable expectations. So instead of the above, try, “Build a campaign that drives 22% YoY growth by Jan. 15, with a budget of $50.” This leaves little room for misunderstanding. – Vic Drabicky , January Digital 5. Consider Value Alignment Assess every freelance contractor before you hire them, as you do for permanent team members to ensure your relationship will be a successful one. While skills, expertise and cost are all essential factors to take into account when hiring a freelancer, you must also consider cultural […]
