Laura Pearson from Edutude.net is back with us to share how we can build our teams using freelancers from The Phillippines and other countries. In this day of technology and a world that is feeling financial hits, looking at ways to save money through outsourcing (if you are in the US) can be a wonderful opportunity to let someone else take care of those tasks that would best be completed by someone else.
Let’s dive in!
Estimates show that there are about 1.2 billion freelance workers worldwide, representing almost a third of the global workforce. Hiring a team of remote freelancers from around the world offers your business tremendous flexibility and a wide talent pool to draw from but can come with some challenges.
Finding Freelancers
The first step to creating a remote workforce is finding contract workers to hire. Online job boards, such as Fiverr and Guru, or niche sites such as Acadium (marketing professionals), can be good resources. Fiverr and Guru make it easy to vet candidates by reviewing portfolio samples, experience, ratings from previous clients, years active on the platform and rates.
If you want to hire a freelancer from a specific country, it may be helpful to search job boards that cater to that location. For example, if you want to hire someone in The Philippines, you could visit sites like OnlineJobs.ph to find virtual workers.
Identifying Freelance Jobs That Can Be Done Remotely
Some companies utilize an entirely remote workforce. Others have a mix of on-site and remote staff. There are a variety of ways to identify which jobs can be performed off-site. Remote workers can perform most tasks that primarily take place on a computer. Additionally, jobs that mostly involve communicating over the phone or the internet are good choices for remote positions.
Identify jobs that other businesses frequently hire remote workers for. If other companies are doing it, then you probably can too. Finally, ask any freelancers you are considering if they have previously done the type of work you are considering them for remotely.
Communicating With Freelancers
Establish communication rules, including procedures for reporting progress and milestones. Tell your freelancers when you are available and how to reach you. Ask them for the same information. Take time zone differences into account.
Communicate in writing as much as possible. This can help avoid time zone conflicts and create a record of what was articulated. Don’t try to micromanage. Most people who choose contract work do so because they enjoy the autonomy of being their own boss. Don’t arrange calls or meetings without an express purpose. Keep communication to what is necessary.
Paying Freelancers
There are a variety of options for paying your freelancers, including paper checks, electronic funds transfers, and payment services, such as PayPal. It is a good idea to balance the benefits of each payment method to the freelancer versus the costs and benefits to you. Special consideration may need to be given to which country different your workers live in, as some payment methods may be unavailable or have too-steep fees in certain countries. In this case, a reliable low-cost money transfer service can be a useful resource. For example, Remitly offers secure transfer services at fair exchange rates to over 18,000 locations in The Philippines.
Working Efficiently With Freelancers
Relationship building is an important aspect of efficiently managing a team of freelancers. It is also crucial to clearly define project details, including delivery dates. Provide your team with documentation. If document tracking becomes difficult to manage, use a PDF merging tool to store your documents in a single file. Once you have your documents merged, you can rearrange the order of the pages as needed.
Working with a team of global freelancers has many advantages and also a few challenges. Learning how to overcome the challenges can help you maximize the benefits and keep your team happy and productive.
Read additional posts from Laura.
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