Freelancers are a growing population. With the global workforce on the rise, freelancers have more opportunities than ever before. But are they getting enough of what they need to succeed?
In this article we explore how you can offer benefits at no extra cost to your freelancers, and we’ll show you how it will benefit you as well. You’ll learn how offering affordable equity is a great way to retain both talented employees and top-tier freelancers while building loyalty among your growing workforce.
What are benefits for freelancers?
Equity for freelancers does not mean paying freelancers in equity shares instead of paying their invoices with cash. While Fast Company writes a compelling article about how bootstrapping startups can try Paying Freelancers With Equity Shares: An Idea For Bootstrapping Startups, they include that companies doing this also offer tens of thousands of dollars in cash budget for the projects.
When we are talking about offering benefits for freelancers, we mean that after hiring and onboarding what is truly considered an independent contractor, any small or large business can offer a variety of perks. Such perks include professional liability insurance, health insurance, and 401K .
The importance of offering benefits to attract and retain talent
Benefits go a long way when it comes to making your business stand out to freelancers. For many businesses, the move to hire freelance talent is to utilize the quickly evolving and highly talented freelance economy. Imagine you spend hours and hours finding the perfect independent contractor or multiple freelancers, what happens when they are suddenly too busy for your project?
By offering freelance talent benefits, you are not only benefiting your workforce, you’re benefiting your company’s integrity, likeability, reputation, and retention. This one simple step can reduce turnover, increase productivity, save manpower hours, and improve customer service levels.
What is retaining quality talent worth to you?
Beyond often being the difference between success and failure, retaining talent is also a measure of one’s competitive advantage in an ever-evolving labor market.
Think back on the example above, you’ve spent all this time finding someone who is perfect for your task, and then your dream candidate gets a better offer…from your competitor. Make your offer stand out with benefits that show how serious you are about the candidate’s well-being and long-term success.
Based on the findings of a recent study, 87% of human resources leaders have made retention strategies their main priority for the coming years. Think of the cost of each of these activities: screening, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, and training. Now think about that cost multiplied by every role you need to fill in a year and you’ll see why investing in retaining quality talent is worth the effort.
What is your company’s reputation worth to you?
What freelancer doesn’t want to sign a brag-worthy new client? More often than most people would like to admit, clout plays a huge role in the decisions we make. Your company’s reputation is a vital part of any talent retention strategy.
According to LinkedIn’s Job Search, “64% of job seekers get hired through a referral.” Your company’s reputation in the future of work is going to be the difference between your company floundering to execute critical initiatives and your company creating prosperous innovations thanks to the help of a contingent workforce that is excited to be working with you.
When you offer freelance talent benefits like equity and healthcare, you put yourself leagues ahead of your competition in both reality and reputation. People will know you care about people, not just products. This core value is indispensable to any company looking to succeed in the future of work.
How can you offer benefits without raising the cost of the freelance services you utilize?
You may be sold on offering benefits to your freelancers, but you’re probably wondering how much it will cost you. For many businesses, hiring freelance talent is part of an effort to save money on things like benefits. Using a platform to hire and pay your workforce is the easiest, most cost-effective solution. When you use a hiring and payroll platform, you can utilize the perks of the platform at no extra cost.
Companies such as Berxi offer professional liability insurance to small businesses, and as the world’s first intelligent worker classification and payments platform, GreenLight has partnered with Berxi and others to help you seamlessly add risk-free benefits for your workforce.
When you hire using GreenLight, you can compliantly onboard your freelancers in minutes and then effortlessly get them registered for perks such as professional liability insurance, 401K, and even health care. We even have partnered with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield to provide freelancers with health insurance that would be difficult or even impossible for them to receive on their own.
Challenges you’ll overcome by providing benefits for freelancers
Forbes estimates that by 2030, “The US [talent] shortage will be approximately one million tech professionals”, making it more important than ever to focus not only on finding great talent but getting them to stay.
Highly-skilled talent has many options for where to work, and if you’re ready to help your business stand out from the rest while getting your contractors up and running ASAP, schedule a GreenLight demo here. We worry about employee classification, local regulations, contracts, invoicing, and benefits, so that you can focus on what matters most—people.
