Recently, Wripple carried out our third Team Up Research study to understand how freelancers and the companies that hire them collaborate to produce outstanding work. Since teams combining freelancers and full-time employees are crucial in today’s marketing world, this edition of our Team Up Report digs into how these teams operate, what’s effective, and what’s needed to maximize their potential as a cohesive workforce.
Wripple teamed up with MDRG, an independent research firm, to conduct two separate surveys. One focused on freelancers, and the other on marketing and HR leaders from companies hiring freelancers. In total, we gathered 414 responses—200 from freelancers and 214 from companies.
Here’s what’s going well:
Despite an unpredictable economy and job market, both freelancers and companies are satisfied with their project work, the value it brings, and the potential for future collaboration. Overall satisfaction is high and has improved since 2022—up 14% among freelancers and 15% for companies.
The future looks promising for continued collaboration. Both freelancers and companies expect increased cooperation moving forward, likely due to a more optimistic mindset post-pandemic and the growing acceptance of freelancing.
However, like any partnership, there are areas for improvement. Even though freelancers and companies are generally positive about working together, both sides acknowledge ongoing operational and strategic challenges. They agree on the importance of having clear guidelines, ensuring suitability for assignments, and improving onboarding and briefing processes.
One notable difference: freelancers emphasize the need for stronger standards and professionalism, whereas companies are less concerned about this aspect. This suggests that companies should evaluate how they work with freelancers and be receptive to feedback that could enhance the freelance experience.
Delving deeper, there’s a shared perception between freelancers and companies that freelancing’s role in the workforce is somewhat restricted. Here are five recommendations from our research to tackle complacency and enhance collaboration:
- Reduce the professionalism gap by fostering trust, confidence, and respect, which requires clear partnerships and adherence to process standards.
- Modernize operations by using technology to improve the talent experience, streamline processes, and effectively integrate freelancer data with full-time employee data for better workforce management.
- Eliminate persistent process issues by setting clear standards for hiring, onboarding, and project delivery. Ensure detailed job descriptions and informative briefs are provided, with designated contacts for addressing HR and workflow queries.
- Utilize freelancing’s diverse nature by recognizing freelancers as a versatile pool of experts driving tech innovation, offering unmatched flexibility for creating specialized teams.
- Uphold core values like DEI, flexibility, and growth opportunities throughout the entire workforce, engaging freelancers with a genuine commitment to these values.
Freelancing is already a pivotal part of marketing. By following these recommendations, companies and freelancers can achieve greater success and strategic benefits through a more up-to-date approach to on-demand work.
