Onboarding Freelancers: A step you don’t want to skip

With more than half the US workforce expected to be freelance by 2028, now is the time to develop, test, and tweak a freelancer onboarding process. Your future self will thank you.?

Most organizations understand that onboarding is one of the most important systems to have in place to make new full-time employees feel like part of the team and help them have an immediate impact. But what about a new freelancer you’ve hired to complete a single project?

Freelancers are often brought in to fulfill an immediate need or to fix a problem quickly. The expectation may be that since they are an expert in their niche or skill, they’ll be able to simply swoop in and save the day. Plus, managers may not want to spend (and pay for) the time to onboard them because they assume they won’t be sticking around beyond this particular task.

However, skipping the onboarding phase for freelancers truly sets everyone up for failure. Freelancers need background information, context, and access to assets in order to do the job they’ve been asked to do. Proper onboarding allows companies to maximize the value of working with a freelancer, for a single project or beyond.

How to effectively onboard a new freelancer

Here’s a simple strategy: use the same onboarding system with freelancers as you use with full-time employees. No, it’s not going overboard. It will eliminate loss of time, miscommunication, and unclear expectations. It will also allow your freelancers to embrace - and contribute to - the company culture.?

“Understanding the agency is just as important as understanding the project. Working with people who understand what you do and what your processes are makes things easier across the board,” says Svenja Herrmann, Creative Production Coordinator & Video Producer at APCO Worldwide. “We treat our freelancers as an extension of our team and fold them into our culture.”

If you don’t already have an onboarding system in place, or you want to audit your current process, here are four steps for bringing your freelance workers aboard.?

Collect paperwork and share vital information.

Just like your FTEs, you need to gather all the necessary paperwork such as signed contracts, NDAs, and tax documents prior to beginning work. Be sure to send these to your freelancer with plenty of time to complete and submit before the project launches.?

To truly provide value, anyone who works for your organization needs to know your organization’s mission and values to ensure their process and products align. They also need to know things like the contact information for their direct report and the person who will be handling payments, as well as any on-site details, like building access codes and parking instructions. Create a worksheet to keep all of this important information organized and easily accessible.

Click to download our freelancer onboarding worksheet.?

Grant access to required tools, resources, and systems?

There’s no bigger time waster than having to track down login and password information or trying to get IT on the phone to walk you through setting up an account to access drives and other files. Especially if you’ve hired a creative freelancer, you’ll need to share things like previous campaigns, high resolution logos and fonts, and brand guidelines. Make sure you curate all of that ahead of time and walk them through your systems as soon as they begin work.

Give clear communication expectations

It’s really important to share with freelancers how people in your organization communicate with one another, especially in a digital workplace. Do you prefer email, Slack channels, or a phone call? Share your company culture regarding things like how quickly you expect a response (within the hour? Or is end of day ok?) and if emojis are a welcome addition to any message ????. Addressing these things ahead of time will avoid awkward conversations and potential conflict later on.?

Host a kickoff meeting

“Bridge the gap” between your in-house employees and the freelancer with a Zoom or in-person meet and greet. Be transparent about why you’re outsourcing for this particular project or skillset, as well as the joint benefits of bringing them onboard. If possible, include the freelancer in appropriate future community or team building experiences to foster the relationship between your internal and external workers.

Onboarding is a process?

Remember, just like with your FTEs, onboarding doesn’t end on Day 2. Continually check in with your freelancer, and offer and solicit feedback.?

While taking the time to fully onboard a new freelancer might seem inconvenient, the better the foundation, the better the results. If you lay the right foundation, you can build a relationship that lasts well beyond a single project. Everyone involved wants to see this be successful.?

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