Hiring contractors or freelancers can be a savvy alternative to recruiting permanent employees.
Perhaps your business is growing quickly, or you are looking for skills that don’t exist within your current team. Maybe you need short-term assistance with a project, or want to simply find fantastic freelance talent to bring something different to the table.
For these reasons and more, hiring contractors or commissioning freelancers can be the perfect solution for keeping your business agile. So, how to hire a contractor? And more importantly, how to hire a really good contractor? There’s an art to finding, hiring and keeping great contractors, and here you’ll find plenty of useful tips to help you get started.
We’ll look at:
Read on to find out how to hire a contractor with efficiency and security, as well as a weigh-up of the advantages and disadvantages of using freelance assistance.
Independent contractor vs employee: The pros and cons
Bringing contractors into your company can be a suitable and flexible alternative to hiring permanent staff, but you should be aware that there are both advantages and disadvantages to hiring freelance contractors.
What are the pros of contractor hire? Recruiting independent contractors can be great for:
Growing companies and start-ups, which need to bring on more staff fast, without the long-term commitment of hiring permanent employees.
Outsourcing for niche skills, expertise and fresh talent, bringing new ideas and capabilities into your company for the short-term or long-term.
Saving money and admin, as employers don’t need to provide the usual benefits and long-term financial responsibilities associated with permanent employment contracts. Is it cheaper for companies to hire contractors? In many situations, yes, you just need to make sure that you set a cap on the contractor’s time and services.
Assisting with temporary projects that require more help for a short time, allowing companies to expand and reduce flexibly as and when required.
Although the advantages of hiring freelancers are significant, there are some potential drawbacks to be aware of, including:
Contractors usually have greater flexibility to enter into and exit an arrangement with your company, so it’s essential to have a firm and clear contract in place before you hire to avoid payment disputes or early-exit issues.
Unless you have agreed to an exclusive contract, it’s possible that the contractor will have other clients and projects that have the potential to divert their full attention away from your business. They are also unlikely to be as personally invested in your business as much as yourself or permanent employees.
Contractors will usually charge by the time they spend on delivering services to your business, so it’s important to agree to a time limit or project budget before you hire to avoid overspending.
You may need to provide temporary access to your business premises, files or other confidential matter in order for the contractor to deliver as promised. You may want to consider requesting that the contractor signs a privacy agreement or NDA before they assume services.
How to hire a contractor, including the best freelance websites
Today, it is quick and easy to find and hire freelancers online. And while this can work well, the best way to find a good contractor is probably still through word of mouth. Tried-and-tested recommendations often bring the best contractors to your attention, and you can have the second opinion of someone who has already used them in the past.
Another good strategy for sourcing great freelance talent is by using a specialist recruitment agency for freelancers, sole traders and independent businesses. These agencies will have a catalogue of freelancers they know and trust, and you can request a verification or client recommendation of the contractor from the agency. Advertising for contractor assistance not required by using this route, but you may need to pay a commission or referral fee.
If you are looking for a contractor or freelancer with specialist skills, you can find reputable and good-value people through a recruitment agency or online freelancer market. Some of the best freelance websites include:
Browse for freelance individuals and agencies on this international work marketplace. Create a contract and set your terms, and lock in your payment until the work is completed and approved.
Search the popular career platform for freelancers, contractors and agencies. Profiles can advertise as being open to work, and it’s easy to get in touch with someone directly and quickly, as well as cross-check their credentials and endorsements.
If you’re looking for efficient, low-cost and usually remote freelance assistance, particularly in the digital, content and creative sectors, Fiverr is the original talent marketplace for finding international freelancers.
Advertise for contractors in the UK on Indeed, and find specific talent through curated job advertisements.
Whether you find them through recommendations or online, it’s always a good idea to background screen your contractors, to ensure that their career and educational credentials stack up against the CV you have on file, as well as to ensure that there is no social media or press content that would suggest they could bring unwanted associations or qualities into your business.
A public-content background screening tool like YOONO can help you to quickly and accurately assess their suitability for your company, without the need to seek the contractor’s consent.
What to look for (and what to avoid) when hiring contractors
There are contractors…and then there are great contractors. Companies that hire contractors regularly know a few good signs to look out for…and the red flags to swerve. Keep these tips in mind when browsing for freelancers in the early stages of hiring.
YOONO you have a great contractor on your hands when:
They have publicly listed recommendations and endorsements from other businesses, and an established track record of delivering quality contract work on time.
They charge fairly, and not too cheaply. If you are unsure about their value, you can ask for their day rate and compare this with standards within the industry.
They suggest putting an official contract in place before beginning work, and can provide this for you to review before going ahead.
They are willing to become a seamless part of your team, meeting at your workplace or participating in group video calls, if necessary.
Avoid contractors and freelancers who:
Are vague about or unwilling to confirm any official aspect of the work, such as contract, delivery time, service hours, project budget or overtime charges.
Charge far too little or too much—the quality of the work is likely to suffer, or you could easily end up overspending.
‘Ghost’ you for periods while you are negotiating their terms of service or in the early days of commencing work. Great freelancers should be easily contactable and willing to keep channels open to get the job done.
Work within completely different time zones. Practically, this can make it hard to communicate during your own usual working hours and can make projects which require ongoing communication and feedback difficult.
How to pay an independent contractor
Once you’ve found the perfect freelance fit for your business, what essential steps do you need to take to hire and pay independent contractors?
First of all, both parties must agree to a contract, a terms of service which specifies the nature and length of the services, agreed charges and payment terms. This can be provided by the contractor or the hiring company, with both parties signing and dating the contract before the start of work. It’s advisable to consult a legal professional when drafting or agreeing to a contract.
A helpful advantage of hiring contractors is that they normally take any taxable responsibility away from you as the hiring company. This means it will be their responsibility to set their own fees, ensuring that these include VAT, if applicable, and that they pay tax to HMRC, either as a sole trader or limited company.
You can choose to pay an independent contractor through different methods, that has to be agreed to by both parties. Some contractors will submit an invoice periodically (typically monthly or quarterly) billing for services undertaken and requesting payment through online BACs transfer or similar. You can also choose to use a freelance marketplace like Upwork, in which your payment to the contractor will be effectively ‘locked’—paid by you at the onset of work and only released on receipt and approval of work.
Hiring contractors for your company: Ensuring you find the right fit
Bringing temporary staff or contractors into your business can feel a little risky. After all, you might not have gone through the same rigorous process of several-stage interviews as you might do with a candidate for permanent employment.
So, how do YOONO if they will be the right fit for your company? With a YOONO search you can find everything you need to know about a freelancer, including who they’ve worked with and for in the past, and what people have said about them online. No red flags in their YOONO report? See it as a stamp of reassurance for going ahead with your temp contract.
If you have a contractor in mind, but want the seal of approval before you take it further, why not search for them on YOONO? Make your hiring decisions with complete clarity and confidence.