Over the last decade, the freelance economy has transformed the way we work and do business. More and more companies have been leveraging remote worker to improve their operational efficiency and further increase their resource utilization. On the other end of the spectrum, more and more individuals are quitting the corporate rat race and start to work from home or remotely. In fact, a 2014 study shows that 53 million Americans or 34% of the national workforce are now freelancing – a trend which continues to skyrocket today.

For the novices, freelancers or online workers are resource staff that works remotely – usually under a contractual agreement with a company. A collaborative approach to working with online workers can provide a business with a plethora of advantages, including but not limited to:

• Increased in-house work productivity and efficiency.
• Lower employee stress and higher morale.
• Reduced employee turnover.
• Reduced office space cost and overhead.
• Higher employee engagement.
• Reduced carbon footprint due to zero gas consumption (shuttle services).
• Helps attract younger talents across the globe.
• It is the future of work.

By 2020, it is expected that 40% of the U.S workforce will be engaged in some form of freelance work. This optimistic projection only indicates that many companies are starting to realize the wide range of benefits that remote workers can bring into their business. Additionally, the improvements in technology continue to help companies to facilitate flexible and remote work. Ultimately, the rise of reliable freelancing platforms such as BrainBoxol, Fiverr, Upwork, and Behance makes the process of searching for the right talent easier and more efficient.

That being said, deciding to use a freelancer for your business calls is a no simple feat either. Before you engage an online worker to do a couple of projects for your company, you need to take into account several factors such as the scope of the job and the necessary skills required to complete the project on time and on budget.

If you intend to engage a freelancer to help your business succeed in 2018, here are the key takeaways from the Infographic below from BrainBoxol which reveals the top six ways of using freelancers effectively.

1. Use a reliable platform.
2. Be clear about the scope of work.
3. Look for skills first.
4. Mind the personality traits of the worker.
5. Measure their ability to test task.
6. Always provide feedback.

Check out the Infographic below to learn more.