How Businesses Can Adapt to a Growing Freelance Movement

Learn how forward-thinking organizations can leverage the remote workforce

I recently interviewed Shaquille O’Neal for the Launch Your Business podcast.

As we were chatting I asked him one of my favorite questions: “What’s a question almost nobody asks you, but they should, because the answer is so powerful?”

His response “How do I do so much? And the answer is delegation.”

Although delegation may be the key to getting more work done, it also presents another problem. How can you find the right people to perform the work?

In the past, most organizations would look to bring on full-time employees. These days, forward-looking companies are also hiring independent contractors due to the enormous amount of talent available and the flexibility offered by hiring remote workers.

A recent survey from Fiverr, a freelance marketplace, revealed that 78% of business leaders said they are more likely to hire freelancers rather than full-time employees while economic conditions remain uncertain.

Fortunately, Fiverr is also in a position to help companies discover and hire high-quality freelancers and they’re making it easier with their new service, Fiverr Pro. But first, let’s cover how outsourcing can help your business.

What should you outsource?

I always encourage my clients to stay in their zone of genius, the tasks and activities that they’re uniquely suited for.

However, the need for additional support will undoubtedly arise. But if these projects are short-lived or don’t require a full-time employee, you should strongly consider outsourcing.

Here are a few job functions to consider.

Marketing and Public Relations:

Specialists have the skills and resources to execute high-quality campaigns and manage a company’s public image more effectively than an in-house team might, especially for smaller organizations.

Data Entry:

This is often a routine and time-consuming process. Outsourcing this task can free up staff time for more strategic, higher-value tasks.

AI Services:

Outsourcing AI services allows companies to access specialized expertise and cutting-edge technologies without the need for significant upfront investment or extensive in-house training. It also enables organizations to rapidly scale AI applications according to their needs, offering flexibility and cost-effectiveness.

Of course there are several more options, and they’ll all be unique to your organization. What matters most is understanding the business building opportunity presented by delegating tasks to internal experts.

Acknowledging the importance of delegating tasks is crucial. But identifying individuals whom you can rely on is a separate, more complicated concern.

Here’s a quick story to illustrate my point. Years ago I hired a freelancer from Craigslist – based here in Brooklyn – to build my first website. It didn’t turn out well, but the excuses were laughable. At one point he told me the completion date had to get pushed back due to issues with his internet connection. I then offered to host him at my coworking space which had working wi-fi and was in his neighborhood. He responded by telling me on top of the wi-fi issues, his computer was broken too.

So clearly, delegating alone won’t solve all your problems. You also need to find people you can trust.

What is Fiverr Pro?

Fiverr Pro provides a solution by offering a curated catalog of exceptional professional talent. Plus, it offers advanced tools – a ‘dashboard’ to organize orders, track progress, save talent lists, and add team members, to smooth collaboration and communication with top tier freelancers. Micha Kaufman, founder and CEO of Fiverr, provides more information on this.

“The workforce has evolved and businesses must evolve too. They need a strategy for working with freelance talent or they will risk missing out on the best talent, with the right skills to bring speed and innovation to their projects.”

In short, Fiverr Pro gives you the flexibility and resources you need to grow your business without wondering about the credibility of remote talent.

The impact of delegating to freelancers

PolyAI is one of the world’s hottest AI companies, specializing in AI-based voice assistants. Recently named as one of Forbes’ AI 50 in 2023, PolyAI leveraged Fiverr Pro to develop its best-selling range of customer-led voice assistants enabling businesses that value their customer experience to understand and resolve the needs of every caller, no matter what is said or how they say it.

Nathan Liu, Head of Deployments at PolyAI shares their experience.

“Fiverr Pro made it easy for us to connect with a diverse pool of freelance talent to create the best performing customer-led voice assistants on the market today. With Fiverr Pro’s curated matchmaking capabilities, we’ve been able to work with a diverse network of exceptional freelance professionals, localizing the voices of PolyAI’s core solutions and ensuring our customers (and our customers’ customers) experience the true potential of conversational AI in their call centers.”

Next steps

To learn more about Fiverr Pro and find a freelancer for your next project visit pro.fiverr.com.

And if you’d like to hear how other entrepreneurs are leveraging freelancers, check out another recent podcast episode, Grow Faster and Make More Money with Fiverr Business.

This article was written by Terry Rice, and originally appeared on Entrepreneur.com.