Pavel Shynkarenko, founder of Flime.com, shares advice on effectively managing freelancer contracts
In today’s global economy, freelancers and contractors play a vital role and many agencies and brands are choosing to hire from a pool of talented freelancers to bolster their workforce rather than take on permanent employees.
Figures for the UK alone show that there are an estimated two million freelancers contributing some £271 billion each year and that freelancers now represent six per cent of the UK workforce[i]. This growing ‘gig economy’ represents a significant shift in the structure of the workforce and presents a huge opportunity for the promotion and brand activation industry, where freelancers and contractors’ skills are needed on a project by project basis.
Running a company with a core, lean team and then bringing in freelancers offers some clear advantages such as the flexibility to scale the workforce up and down easily across busy and quieter periods, as well as selecting freelancers based on their experience and expertise, allowing for highly skilled hires as and when required.
However what businesses are also telling us is that alongside the benefits there are some challenges. The red tape and the issue of compliance with the ever-changing legislative landscape is proving to be a real headache as well as the amount time required to manage freelance contracts by the internal team.
Carefully managing freelance contracts to maximise the pros and eliminate the cons can be achieved by picking the right tools – online management services like Flime.com can streamline the process, meaning businesses have time to concentrate on what they do best – focus on driving their growth, profits and market share.
By listening to businesses and understanding the challenges of working with freelancers, the service also helps overcome compliance obstacles without having to worry about all the bureaucracy and its associated paperwork, whether it’s GDPR, the Article 13 Copyright Directive, the Criminal Finances Act, changing tax rules, and so on.
The Flime service ensures that freelancers’ invoices are 100% tax compliant and any stored freelancer data adheres to the new GDPR regulations. Businesses and contractors alike can benefit by operating an instant, effective, hassle-free, cross-border payroll. Ultimately, with the use of services businesses can overcome administrative and legal challenges – essentially creating a streamlined, flawless workflow that makes outsourcing your workforce easier and admin-free.
There is no doubt that the ‘gig economy’ is flourishing in the UK, and as it continues to grow, so do the opportunities it presents. Businesses who work effectively with freelancers can benefit from the changing workforce, and by implementing workflows and systems that streamline that process will further reap the benefits.
[i] The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self Employed, 2017
If you would like to get in touch with Flime, please contact office@flime.com or via the website https://www.flime.com/
