Dallas Business Journal Leadership Trust A network of influential business leaders in your community.

Dallas Business Journal Leadership Trust By Valerie Freeman , CEO at Imprimis Group, Inc., BravoTech, FreemanLeonard Valerie Freeman is a DBJ Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Women’s Business Enterprise HOF inductee, and Houston Distinguished Alum.

The current economic climate could make deciding to expand your team a bit daunting. However, expansion is essential for business success, and freelancers may be the perfect solution during this period and beyond. Here are three ways freelancers can potentially benefit your business.

1. Keep operations running smoothly by outsourcing roles.

Noncore tasks (i.e., tasks that do not directly correlate to customer success) ensure that a business operates smoothly. When administrative or other noncore tasks begin to fill most of a business owner’s time, it becomes easy for more essential core tasks that directly impact customers to slip out of focus.

Even the most successful businesses will begin to falter if the owners are spending more time in the minutia of the back end than on the frontlines of the business. As an entrepreneur or business owner, you went into business to spend your time focused on your core strengths and passions. That’s when you’re most successful: doing the things that only you can do, such as growing your offerings and expanding your audience. If you no longer have time to focus on the mission of your business, then you may need to revisit your priorities and you may need some personnel support. Freelancers can help to bridge that gap.

2. Strategically grow your business and plan based on your needs.

Growth can feel overwhelming as you balance your revenue goals with your need for additional resources. When planning for growth, business owners should consider personnel requirements and have a good feel for when support is needed. Hiring on a contract or project basis enables you to bring in the resources you need for the duration you require, saving you both time and money.

Once you begin the planning stages of growth, consider your hiring needs and expectations before you begin to search for the perfect support person or team. Sometimes, however, efficiently finding quality support in the shortest time possible becomes quite the task. A partnership with a staffing company can enable you to hire quickly, without adding the additional time-consuming tasks involved with finding that help while running a business.

3. Create room for expansion, even when money is tight.

Hiring a freelancer can assist your business when you must expand to meet growing demand without significantly increasing overhead costs. Freelancers carry less overhead than employees, so they enable your business to scale up or down as needed without a large upfront investment or long-term financial commitment. This allows you to align staffing needs for non-core roles with where you are in your business growth journey.

Convinced freelancers are your next personnel solution? Here are your next considerations

1. Find a staffing agency with a deep network in your field.

Recruiters for staffing agencies are experts in identifying the best freelance talent for your field in your city. They are your best personnel allies because they are educated and experienced in your field and experts in identifying and developing relationships with top passive talent (those not currently looking for work) and active talent (those currently looking for work). Quite simply, the best staffing agency recruiters in your city have already vetted the best available candidates and can give you access when you need it.

Without recruiters on your side, the time it takes to review résumés and test, qualify and check candidates’ backgrounds can be prohibitive. Remember, you are seeking freelance talent to save time so that you can return to your core business mission.

2. Discuss culture fit with your freelancers.

Your freelance talent will need to integrate with your in-house team and potentially your clients and outside constituents as well. Keep in mind specific criteria that will meet your company’s specific needs when reviewing and interviewing candidates. When searching for a freelancer, be sure to discuss your organization’s cultural needs with candidates as well as the skills they will need to bring to your environment.

3. Integrate your freelancers as team members.

Develop a reputation that will attract future talent by treating your freelancers as equal members of the team. Whether in-person or virtually, introduce them around the office, and help them establish the working relationships they will need. Give them a company email address along with the software and hardware tools they will need if they will be with you for more than three months. Include them in pertinent meetings, and allow them to approach their roles as they would in a full-time position.

The flexible workforce is booming, and that benefits both employers and well-trained, educated professionals. Reduce the time to hire, gain the scalability and flexibility you need, and access the best available talent at any given moment – all by using freelance talent.

Reach out to us today to learn how Imprimis Freelancers can show you a best and fast way to engage your freelancer!

Valerie Freeman is a DBJ Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Women’s Business Enterprise HOF inductee, and Houston Distinguished Alum.

P: 972.419.1700 | E: recruiting@imprimis.com