How To Make Adaptability A Core Competency For Your Organization
6 minute read
Mobilizing remote teams during the COVID-19 emergency has given businesses first-hand experience juggling competing goals, such as transitioning everyone to a distributed work environment while keeping projects on schedule. Workers have found themselves in the unenviable position of trying to accomplish both priorities, adding stress at an already difficult time.
But it doesn’t take a pandemic to max out the capacity of your team. Your staff could be stretched thin while ramping up for a new contract, supporting a client through a major business change, or filling the gap created by turnover in a key role. How you respond to these challenges defines your organization’s relationship with customers and employees.
Maximizing flexible resources can help keep your business goals on track. Support from trusted freelance partners builds capacity and adds unique skill sets, helping you adapt to the changing business environment. From award-winning writers and designers to technology experts and business consultants, the freelance marketplace offers as-needed support in every field.
Help Your Team Succeed When Priorities Compete
Pressing business issues can overshadow work on projects already in the pipeline. Right now, we’re all facing a rapid transition to a completely new business environment, but this can happen on a smaller scale, too.
While your team is writing a proposal for a lucrative contract, other assignments wait in the wings half-completed. Or your company falls behind on fresh blog and social media content because all hands are tasked with a new project launch for a major client.
Equally challenging is the impact on employees, who can feel overwhelmed and stressed as they try to juggle all that’s asked of them. According to the 2020 Global Culture Report by the O.C. Tanner Institute, 79% of employees said they’re experiencing “some level of burnout.” They’re less engaged, don’t feel they can do their best work, and are more open to changing their employment situation.
Giving your marketing manager the flexibility to hire a freelance copywriter or editor, for example, can be a productivity game-changer. The increased capacity gives your team the resources to remain focused on pressing business issues while ensuring day-to-day operations stay on track. Plus, handing off content requests to a trusted freelancer can add a helpful new perspective to your marketing efforts.
“It doesn’t take a pandemic to max out the capacity of your team.”
You might think that managing extra workers complicates life for your team, but skilled freelancers are typically self-starters who require little onboarding or oversight. Experience gained by working on a variety of projects for diverse organizations has prepared them to better understand what’s needed and how to accomplish the task.
Quickly Expand — Or Contract — Your Capacity
The volume of work your team faces will fluctuate. When your capacity is maxed out, you have a few different options: add to your full-time staff, or find a freelancer or contract employee who can jump in and take up the slack.
Full-time staff need to operate near capacity to justify their personnel costs, because the last thing you’d want to do is invest in hiring and onboarding someone only to be forced to let them go because there wasn’t enough work.
Yet if you’re bringing in a freelancer, you have to be confident in their skill level and professionalism to justify the cost of their time.
A recent study by the Freelancer’s Union and Upwork found that 57 million Americans freelanced in 2019. These are largely skilled workers, with 45% providing services like programming, marketing, IT and business consulting.
By working with experienced freelance professionals, you have the freedom to reach out when your in-house capacity is stretched thin, or pull back on your freelance budget with volume dips.
This ability to quickly adapt your workforce is one of the biggest selling points for engaging trusted freelancers: Your business can integrate flex workers as needed to seamlessly deliver services to your customers.
Think your business is too small for freelance support? A recent survey by LinkedIn found that 70% of small and medium-size businesses are leveraging contract workers for the expertise they need. The top skill sets hired are website design and development, accounting, marketing and graphic design. Better control over costs and scaling — not to mention the competitive advantages of hiring the best talent — offer big benefits for companies of any size.
Incorporate New Skills For A Short-Term Goal
For many SMBs, opportunities arise that are just outside of your comfort zone — but promise a big payoff in exposure, revenue, or reputation. Rather than missing out, freelancers can help you take advantage of a lucky break, even when it’s a bit of a stretch.
Whether you need a ghostwriter for a speaking engagement, a translator to help you reach a new market, or a sales collateral specialist for an industry event, our freelance network allows you to flex in a different direction. Freelancers can lend expertise your organization doesn’t own. Complement the capabilities of your team with specialists from a wide range of fields without a long-term financial commitment.
In addition to technical or niche specialists, seasoned business veterans often turn to freelancing as their second act. Baby Boomers, for example, make up 29% of flex workers. The experience of these experts can help companies gain an external perspective, increasing the odds of success in projects involving new territory.
A short-term arrangement is a great way to leverage top talent while staying on budget. The freelance network offers a range of skills such as graphic design, SEO expertise, or web development. From this multitude of specialists, you could potentially find someone with experience in your industry who has worked on a very similar project.
Flexing Your Resources With Freelancers
Lastly, opening your business to freelance solutions expands the pool of qualified candidates.
Say your business operates in a small town or a tourist district. Hiring in-house employees means you are limited to your geographic location — unless you’re prepared to pay relocation expenses, which isn’t feasible for most start-ups and small businesses.
The virtual world makes it possible for you to work with freelancers from around the globe and at different cost levels. You can find a software expert from Seattle or advertising support in New York — but you can also find someone fantastic who retired from that world to rural New Hampshire and charges less because they have a much lower cost of living.
HOW DOES A VIRTUAL WORKFORCE OPEN DOORS FOR YOUR BUSINESS?
Level the playing field: Like your competitors, your talent choices are not limited.
Work around the clock: With flex staff in a different time zone, you expand your work day. Later this afternoon you could discuss changes to your ad with a freelance designer in Sydney, and have a revision in your inbox when you arrive tomorrow morning.
Expand to new markets: As you increase distribution of your new product, a freelancer from Portland could share valuable insights on marketing messages that would appeal to environmentalists.
Build in diversity: Supplement the ideas and experiences of your team by contracting with people who bring new and valuable viewpoints to your content.
Search for a niche player: Find the perfect fit for your unique needs – even if you’re looking for someone to manage customer inquiries from an ecommerce site that specializes in rare comic books.
Adding capacity when needed helps businesses remain competitive and supports a positive work environment for employees. By hiring freelancers, your business can learn to adapt — and succeed — in challenging times.