5 Tricks For Managing Freelance Workers Who Work Independently

Management is a difficult job, regardless of the circumstance. Perhaps the most challenging of all management responsibilities is managing freelance workers in particular. Managing independent contractors is entirely different from managing in-office, full-time employees. Even the best managers can struggle with the unique management challenges these freelancers bring about. But, if you want to learn how to become a CEO, you need to know how to manage all employees. If you want to learn how to manage freelance workers, keep reading below. These tips for managing independent contractors will help you become the best manager you can be for all employees, not just those full-time office-mates you are so used to seeing and communicating with every day.

Learn More About Them

Learn more about the freelance workers you have to manage. Find out about what drives them to want to do this job, besides the money. That is the question you should be asking, in particular. Understanding their drive and motivation is crucial to effectively managing freelancers. This is easier to do with typical employees. Often, the topic comes about naturally in the hiring process. However, this may not be true when hiring freelance workers. So, be sure to get to know independent contractors and their work motivations. This will make it easier for you to manage freelancers effectively.

Be Honest Up Front

Be honest with your expectations from the get-go when managing freelance workers. This is something a good manager should do with all employees. But, it is particularly crucial for independent contractors. Freelance professionals take a riskier position in a trade off for more work/life flexibility. They have no qualms about terminating a deal if they feel disrespected, undervalued, over-managed or misunderstood. Be sure to clearly communicate your job expectations prior to signing a contract with a freelance worker. These independent contractors will be much easier to manage when they are given the tools they need to manage themselves. You can do that by setting those work expectations right from the start.

Check-In Frequently

Check in with your freelance employees pretty frequently. Of course, you should not just contact them about project status updates or critiques and complaints. You should also email to offer assistance and guidance. Call to ask if they had any questions or concerns they would like to raise after working on the project for a few days. Ask how you can be of service to them. Talk to them about how they are enjoying the work, and how they feel the project and the end-product could be made better. By establishing a frequent, professional and engaging line of communication with independent contractors and freelance workers, it will be much easier to effectively manage outsourced employees like them.

Prioritize Face Time

Make sure to communicate with your freelancers face-to-face at least some of the time. You should not solely rely on text communications like emails and instant messaging services. Instead, prioritize video conferencing with freelancers. Video conferencing, and even phone calls, offer you a much more effective means of communications for business purposes. You will be better to avoid costly miscommunications during your most important project phases. The more face time you get with your independent contractors, the better you will be able to to manage freelance workers.

Use The Right Tools

Having the right management tools will make it much easier to effectively manage independent contractors. There are many different management software solutions out there that can make it easier to track employees by tracking time and project progress of outsourced employees like freelancers. Using project management software, you can take advantage of time tracking features. This allows you to maximize productivity for freelancers, which is always of concerns to managers like you. The more product independent contractors are, the sooner your project will reach completion. This is why it is so important to use the best time management tools and software options when managing freelancers.

Managing office employees is difficult, especially if you are trying to encourage employees to eat healthy. But, it does not present the same management challenges as you will encounter when managing freelance workers. If you will need to start managing independent contractors in the near future, let this post help you out. Use the freelance management tips and tricks detailed above to become the best manager you can possibly be to all workers – including freelancers and outsourced employees. Then, you can benefit from on-time project completion and successful end results every single time.