Freelancers and companies are effective

Recently, Wripple conducted its third team study to understand how freelancers and the companies that employ them come together to produce great work.

Also read: How to effectively scale your team in a changing work environment

Given the important role that hybrid teams of freelancers and full-time employees play in the modern marketing workforce, the latest edition of our Teamwork Report takes a closer look at how these teams are functioning—what’s working, and what teams need to do to reach their full potential as a seamless workforce.

A story on both sides

Wripple partnered with independent research firm MDRG to conduct two surveys. One was targeted at freelancers, and the other was targeted at marketing and HR leaders at businesses and mid-sized companies that employ freelancers. In total, we collected 414 completed surveys, 200 from freelancers and 214 from companies.

What’s working well?

Despite economic and labor market turmoil, freelancers and companies alike are satisfied with the project work experience, the value gained from the work, and the potential for future engagement.

The overall job satisfaction is high.

Both freelancers and companies are satisfied with their participation. Improved since 2022—Freelancers rose 14% and companies rose 15%.

The future job prospects are bright.

Both freelancers and companies are looking forward to more cooperation in the future. This may be because people’s mentality is more positive after the epidemic, and the economic field is becoming more and more accepting of freelance work.

But like any relationship, there is always room for improvement.

While both freelancers and companies have a positive view on collaboration, they both agree that there is still work to be done on the operational and strategic sides.

We see Freelancers and companies were fairly consistent in their opinions on how to improve teamwork, citing the need for clear guidance and support, more consideration of fit for task, and better onboarding and briefings.

One notable difference is that freelancers pointed out the need for higher standards and professionalism, while companies were less likely to say this was a problem. This tells us that even if companies think things are going well, they should consider how they work with freelancers and be open to feedback that can improve the freelance experience.

Digging deeper, we begin to understand one of the most fundamental limitations on freelancing’s role in the workforce — freelancers and companies alike believe that freelancing’s overall role in the workforce is limited.

The research yields five recommendations to help people shake off complacency.

Reduce the lack of professionalism – Instill more trust, confidence and respect in all aspects of the relationship. This requires building partnerships based on mutual understanding, transparency and adherence to process standards.

End-to-end modernization – Leverage technology to deliver a better talent experience, increase speed to market, and reduce friction. This requires integrating full-time employee and freelancer data, which will also support more comprehensive workforce planning, risk management, and optimization.

Eliminate ongoing process pain points – Set quality standards for recruitment, onboarding, and delivery. Pay close attention to providing thorough job descriptions, informative project briefs, and clear points of contact for freelancers to resolve HR and work issues.

Leverage the multidimensionality of freelancing Think of freelance marketers as a deep, multidisciplinary pool of experts. Many of these experts are leading the way in technology innovation, and using freelancers provides unparalleled flexibility in assembling a team that’s fit for purpose.

Committed to enabling all employees to practice core values ​​– It allows freelancers to truly commit to the values ​​that the modern workforce values, most notably DEI, flexibility, and providing opportunities for meaningful challenge and growth.

As mentioned above, freelancing already plays a key role in marketing. These five recommendations will help companies and freelancers achieve higher returns and gain strategic advantage through a more modern approach to on-demand work.

To view the full research report, including in-depth studies of freelancers and companies, please download the report. Download the report

Shannon Denton is ripplechanging the way digital work is done.