Creating a supportive environment for freelancers to do their best work

Apparently ‘by 2020 half of us will be working in the gig economy!’ While there is some debate over the definition of the ‘gig’ economy, the number of freelancers is undeniably increasing and according to the IPSE, there are around 1.6 million in the UK.

And like a lot of startups in the UK, freelancers make up an important part of huggg’s team.

From Lily, a talented copywriter (no she didn’t write this) to Dahlia our driven Partnerships consultant and Justin, our number-crunching BI engineer. huggg would not be the company it is without them.

For me there are some clear benefits to hiring freelancers:

1. It gives me the flexibility to expand and contract the team
2. It reduces overheads, as they often work from home
3. I can hire highly skilled individuals with specific skills for a particular job, before we would need that role all year round
4. They tend to be highly motivated to perform an excellent job
5. They are accustomed to working solo and having to be impactful quickly, so less time passes before they contribute to the bottom line.

The benefits work both ways. While I’ve never done freelance work, this style of work seems appealing. It offers a flexible schedule that many people desire, whether that’s to look after children, pursue their own interests, or to work remotely.

On the flip side freelancing can be lonely, the work/life balance can become a myth, and doing self assessment tax returns sucks! ??

So, at huggg we think it’s important to support our freelancers throughout their time with us.

How do we do this? It’s simple - we treat them like an equal! ?? Sounds obvious… but it’s not as common as you’d think. In many companies you will still find a divisive ‘us’ and ‘them’ culture.

So here’s a few things that we do at huggg to help our freelancers:

?? Welcome them

• Give them the same onboarding experience you’d give permanent staff.

?? Include them

• Invite them to company meetings, it’s important they know what is happening
• Don’t restrict their access to communication channels simply based on whether they’re freelancers or permanent staff
• Invite them to socials. No one likes to be left out.

?? Appreciate them

• Celebrate their achievements, with a private and /or public ‘thanks’ or ‘great job.’
• And obviously... we send them hugggs too (unless they're in a country we can't cover yet ??)

Why do I do this? It’s a no-brainer. I want a supportive environment, where everyone can do their best work and care about huggg as much as I do.

And I think its working… as 75% of our freelance staff have gone on to become a permanent member of the huggg team.

If you’re interested in finding out how to send hugggs to your freelance network this National Freelance Day, contact Lewis at [email protected] for a free demo of huggg for business.