Like many things have changed in the past, today we find that the concept of work is also being observed in the smallest details. In this almost-100% digital world and with the insertion of millennials in the job market, work is not so much a place where we go, but something we choose to do and to develop.
– You’re not going into work today?
– Yes, I’m working.
This vision not only impacts the workers but also transforms organizations.
Companies are increasingly aware that resources are limited and that the projects are endless. When facing new projects, there’s also the necessary counterpart of not oversizing structures with projects that are increasingly resolved based on specific dates and times, and that can usually last up to a week.
Alternative methods to enhance your internal teams
The changes we are going trough bring about a huge digital transformation and force organizations to seek alternative methods to change the way they carry out projects, and this is where the agility offered by platforms like Workana can turn into tools, through which it’s necessary to rearrange existing resources, focusing them on projects that have a direct impact on the objectives, while external professionals deal with more operational tasks. Also, with this, we can access professionals with a knowledge that may be needed only once and that is already trained and has previous experience, ready to take the project forward.
The searches we did for companies are the most diverse: mechanical engineers, marketing professionals, programming, corporate videos, etc. and they never cease to surprise us. The doubts our customers often have may be related to not knowing what a freelancer is able to do and what kind of profiles can be found or how, and in which way or which projects they can choose to move forward with this option.
The reality is that there’s an incredible variety of profiles: senior professionals with many years of experience, who wish to take on new challenges and increase their income, to professionals who are just starting out, eager to put into practice their knowledge and experiences.
What HR should look for?
First of all, the knowledge the professional should have. They can focus on specific technical skills as a programmer, designer, translator, to skills such as language skills, communication skills, empathy, curiosity, among others.
Some other points to consider:
- Have a clear start and completion date for the project (at least estimated)
- Define what types of deliverables are expected (applied to the project) and under what conditions are they expected to be received. Examples: source codes, brand manuals, documents, etc.
- Communication channel: it’s very important to keep communication through Workana continuously, setting schedules and preferred types.
- Advances presentation: it’s important to agree in advance on the frequency and time expected for the professional to present the advances. This helps to make corrections along the way, if necessary.
- Hours demand for a project: a minimum number of hours required per week, if it’s necessary to work at a specific time or have a set period to answer questions, engage customers in the chat, pick up calls, meetings, etc.
What has to be solved?
Before starting the search, the company must carry out a reflection exercise and try to cover most of the following requirements.
- It’s important to have a brief summary of the project that covers what its about, what is expected, how the objectives will be achieved, when and with what budget.
- This summary should be as clear as possible, not only to help define which profiles are indicated for the project but also as a document in which the client and the professional can start working on.
- Define if you prefer the project to be executed at a fixed price, with defined deliverables, or if the by hours modality is the best option because the professional is expected to fulfill specific tasks, which can change over the course of a project. This article may be helpful: Fixed price projects or projects per hour: what is the best work modality with a freelancer?
- Work material: the material to be delivered to professional should already be available and decided on, in order to move the project forward, optimizing the time and quality of work.
Frequently Asked Questions that HR teams ask Workana
The most frequent questions are always related to the fears and concerns on a working modality that they still don’t know much about. And what are these questions?
1. How can I control what a freelancer is doing if they’re not working physically in the office?
There are many different control methodologies and, depending on the type of project, some are better suited than others.
The first methodology is communication, establishing a clear and direct channel with the freelancer is a key point. In turn, agree to a weekly or biweekly meeting is recommended, especially for large projects.
Another control method is pre-deliveries. Scheduling the receiving of content that anticipates the final delivery helps to keep visibility on the freelancer’s work. This allows you to be able to take corrective action during the course of the project and avoid errors or delays in the final delivery.
Finally, the Workana Time Report (WTR). The WTR is a proprietary Workana tool that performs screen captures randomly and makes this information available to the client. This enables corroboration that the reported hours of work are effective.
2. If the deadlines and project objectives are met.
It’s important to discuss these points at an early meeting with the freelancer. To make this point very clear, it’s important that the client has already identified when they need the work and what is its purpose and need, to be able to convey that to the freelancer clearly. Crossing this information with the deliveries help optimize the experience with the freelancer.
3. If we have skilled professionals to carry out their projects.
We trust heavily on our professional user base. It’s a fundamental commodity of the platform, and Workana is constantly working on it to optimize its quality. Having two and a half million registered professionals makes us nowadays able to have professionals for all types of projects that you want to carry out, and ensure that there is an ideal match with each type of client.
This article will be helpful: How to pick the best freelancer for your project?
4. What types of professionals can they find in Workana and what kinds of projects can be executed.
Workana has professionals from diverse backgrounds and specifications. The main profiles range from IT skills, Digital Marketing, Design, Writing and Translation. But we also have other categories that were asked of us, such as engineers, communications specialists, financial profiles, sales teams. The requirements were many and our user base is very good.
5. How to ensure the quality of the final product delivered by the freelancer.
The quality of the final product is composed of the quality throughout the process, from having the objective of the project clear and summarized a briefing, followed by the professional selection, conducting an interview and relaying clearly the goal of the project. Once you select a professional, you should implement feedback and control methodologies, partial deliveries and a review of the results regarding the freelancer and the client over quality work.
6. How can they protect the information they need to share with the professional.
Depending on the type of project which is being carried out, the professional who will execute it can either rely on partial information or have full access to it. If this is a need in a particular project, we at Workana suggest the client to draft an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) to enforce on the freelancer the importance of confidentiality regarding the project and its contents.
7. How the payments for Workana and the professional work.
Regarding the payment methodology, Workana is responsible for paying the professional and always releases the payment when the customer agrees to the job received in quality and deadline.
On the other hand, Workana will be adapting to the policy and payment methods agreed in advance with the customer, issuing a note before these conditions.
8. If it’s possible to carry out work in person.
The core of Workana is remote work since we access talent across any geographical area, not only where the customer’s office is located. The moment we limit ourselves to a particular area, the number of professionals becomes smaller.
With this in mind, we have done some projects in person, where we incurred in hiring an insurance for the freelancer for the days the project is underway, and the insurance costs are borne by the customer.
Workana Enterprise
As a result of these combinations, concerns and needs, together with the experience we have with the freelance market, arises Workana Enterprise: as a way of being closer to the organizations with the purpose of uniting both worlds, their needs and the freelancer talent, by providing all the tools we have to help them meet their goals.
Workana Enterprise is a different and unique service where we take care of everything: search for required profiles, coordinate interviews with the pre-selected professionals, manage the customer’s account on the platform, etc. All tailored to the needs of each client. This gives us the facility to enhance and work with different areas in a dynamic and agile manner, achieving a multiplier effect on your performance.
At Workana we are happy to give this one more step, helping and accompanying large companies in their projects. We know that this is only the beginning and that there’s a huge way to go, and we hope to go through new challenges together.
* This article is a collaboration of Mauro Forchino and Silvia Cura, members of the Workana Enterprise Team.
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