Tips on turning to talent on tap

Emma Brierley is CEO and founder of specialist people resourcing company, Xchangeteam Group (www.xchangeteam.com). Her book, Talent on Tap: Getting the best from freelancers, interims and consultants, was published in 2006. She explains the benefits of using freelancers.

Today there are one million freelancers, including some of the country’s most experienced and knowledgeable workers, and it’s a trend that is set to grow. So when should you turn to a freelancer and tap into his/her talent?

When your organisation is growing

During periods of expansion, when an organisation needs to staff up quickly, bringing in freelance professionals makes good sense. It’s a classic catch 22 situation – an organisation needs more staff in order to take on new clients, but it needs more clients to justify taking on more staff. Using freelance consultants gives businesses the flexibility to manage the peaks and troughs until you achieve the balance between workflow and headcount.

When you want to try before you buy

There are plenty of freelance consultants who are not in the market for a permanent job. On the other hand, there are some who use freelance consulting to ‘test drive’ working environments before committing to a permanent position with the one that suits best. This process works both ways. For organisations in many sectors ‘trying before you buy’ is the accepted way of selecting permanent staff.

When you require extended cover

Staffing levels can be significantly reduced when permanent employees take maternity leave, sick leave, holidays and so on. Even the most rigorous schedulers cannot always conjure up people with the right skills at the right time. Many who turn to freelancers only to provide staff cover are pleasantly surprised by the added value that good freelancers bring.

When you need to handle peaks and troughs

Peaks and troughs have long been a feature of working life for many. In seasonal sectors, like agriculture, hospitality and tourism they are the rule rather than the exception. But globalisation has compressed the space between them and made them deeper, steeper and more treacherous to navigate. Freelance consultants bring the skills, flexibility and cost-efficiencies required to minimise the resulting turbulence.

When you are facing a skills shortage

The scarcity of skills in the workforce is endemic in some sectors and is set to get worse across many others. For some organisations, hiring freelancers offers a reliable and cost-effective route to the specialised skills they require. Other organisations, such as the IT sector, simply have no choice but to hire freelance consultants.

When increasing your permanent headcount becomes an issue

For many managers, the struggle to operate efficiently without increasing their permanent headcount has become a fact of working life. Hiring freelance consultants to meet this challenge has become equally commonplace. With pressure on staffing budgets unlikely to ease, the use of freelancers is likely to increase. Not only do they deliver specific skills cost-effectively, but in many cases they can be ‘on the job’ faster than a permanent employee.

When you need an injection of new ideas and approaches

Innovation is the currency of the future, and freelance consultants can act as an indispensable source of new ideas. Their objectivity can also be useful when it comes to refreshing your organisation with fresh perspectives.