When it comes to getting an extra hand in helping out with business, many are turning to outsourcing to online services to find it. There are several outsource facilitation companies like Fiverr, Airstacker, and UpWork that are growing as freelancing platforms where businesses can advertise their needs and get bids from freelancers. The growth is due to their convenience and low costs. This seems ideal for small businesses who are looking for low-cost solutions when there isn’t a huge budget.
However, what these small businesses don’t know is that engaging in freelance services via online outsourcing companies can be risky. Here are some of those risks and what to look for when hiring from these online outsourcing companies.
Quality Risk
When you hire through freelancing services, you are essentially taking responsibility for what you get and reproduce from them. For example, if you hire a blogger, and you publish something that they wrote for you that turns out to be untrue, then it is your business that is responsible for it. When you hire through the online outsourcing companies, they often cannot be held responsible for it (as usually agreed to upon the terms and conditions agreed to when you sign up).
Language
There is the chance that you hire someone whose first language is not the one you need something written in. This can lead to communication breakdowns or poorly written work.
Disappearing Acts
It’s a sad but true reality that some freelancers can just disappear after you hire them. Thankfully, with most online outsourcing services, payments are not released to a freelancer until after a job has been completed, but that isn’t before following up with the freelancer only to not get a response, going through the refund process and having to find someone else to complete a job you may have had a deadline for.
Scheduling
Freelancers may have a lot on their plate and take on more than you realise. They are working on their schedule, not yours. If you need something during a specific time, this needs to be communicated. Some businesses opt for a team of freelancers for backup for this reason. If your website is down, your freelancer doesn’t exactly need to jump to get it back up and running again, but with backups, you may be able to find someone to help.
Building Relationships
If you are using outsourcing services to help build clientele and relationships with them, freelancers may not have the same sort of expertise as someone from within the business may have. You may find yourself spending a lot of time keeping your freelancer informed and answering questions. This could be frustrating if the whole idea of outsourcing the task was to free up time for other things.
Lack of Interaction
During a regular hiring process, a business often takes CVs/resumes and goes through interviews before hiring someone to be part of the team. You can take the time to get to know them to find out if they are an ideal fit or not. Freelancers through outsourcing online services generally mean you skip all of that. You pick someone based on their skills and if they can get the job done, not necessarily if they would fit in your team. While most platforms allow for chat and even video calls, you cannot take any work outside of the platform. Asking for personal e-mails and phone calls is frowned upon, and you risk being kicked off the platform for it.
Hiring from freelancing platforms can have its advantages, but the risks are understandably off-putting for any business. Stick to employees or trusted companies to expertly handle those tasks you need to delegate.
When it comes to getting an extra hand in helping out with business, many are turning to outsourcing to online services to find it. There are several outsource facilitation companies like Fiverr, Airstacker, and UpWork that are growing as freelancing platforms where businesses can advertise their needs and get bids from freelancers. The growth is due to their convenience and low costs. This seems ideal for small businesses who are looking for low-cost solutions when there isn’t a huge budget.
However, what these small businesses don’t know is that engaging in freelance services via online outsourcing companies can be risky. Here are some of those risks and what to look for when hiring from these online outsourcing companies.
Quality Risk
When you hire through freelancing services, you are essentially taking responsibility for what you get and reproduce from them. For example, if you hire a blogger, and you publish something that they wrote for you that turns out to be untrue, then it is your business that is responsible for it. When you hire through the online outsourcing companies, they often cannot be held responsible for it (as usually agreed to upon the terms and conditions agreed to when you sign up).
Language
There is the chance that you hire someone whose first language is not the one you need something written in. This can lead to communication breakdowns or poorly written work.
Disappearing Acts
It’s a sad but true reality that some freelancers can just disappear after you hire them. Thankfully, with most online outsourcing services, payments are not released to a freelancer until after a job has been completed, but that isn’t before following up with the freelancer only to not get a response, going through the refund process and having to find someone else to complete a job you may have had a deadline for.
Scheduling
Freelancers may have a lot on their plate and take on more than you realise. They are working on their schedule, not yours. If you need something during a specific time, this needs to be communicated. Some businesses opt for a team of freelancers for backup for this reason. If your website is down, your freelancer doesn’t exactly need to jump to get it back up and running again, but with backups, you may be able to find someone to help.
Building Relationships
If you are using outsourcing services to help build clientele and relationships with them, freelancers may not have the same sort of expertise as someone from within the business may have. You may find yourself spending a lot of time keeping your freelancer informed and answering questions. This could be frustrating if the whole idea of outsourcing the task was to free up time for other things.
Lack of Interaction
During a regular hiring process, a business often takes CVs/resumes and goes through interviews before hiring someone to be part of the team. You can take the time to get to know them to find out if they are an ideal fit or not. Freelancers through outsourcing online services generally mean you skip all of that. You pick someone based on their skills and if they can get the job done, not necessarily if they would fit in your team. While most platforms allow for chat and even video calls, you cannot take any work outside of the platform. Asking for personal e-mails and phone calls is frowned upon, and you risk being kicked off the platform for it.
Hiring from freelancing platforms can have its advantages, but the risks are understandably off-putting for any business. Stick to employees or trusted companies to expertly handle those tasks you need to delegate.
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