Innovative Hiring for Growing Businesses · 2020. 9. 11. · Finding the right service providers to...

1Innovative Hiring for Growing Businesses

Innovative Hiring for Growing BusinessesA new approach to finding talent


Table of contents

3 Foreword

PART 1

What Could Your Business Do If It Had the Talent It Needs?6 It takes talent and resources to make things happen 7 A smart choice for your team8 How other businesses are making their move9 The inside scoop on flexible talent

CASE STUDY

SoftNAS: An Angel-funded Start-up on Growing with Flexible Talent

PART 2

Scaling With the Right Partner14 Here’s a look at your options15 Is an individual professional the right choice for your project?16 Or is an agency a better fit?17 Building a hybrid team19 When you’re ready to make your move, Upwork has your back 21 Conclusion


Foreword

No matter how large companies become, they all face the same challenge: Finding the skilled talent they need. According to the 2019 Future Workforce Report, nearly half (48 percent) of hiring managers agree that the increased specialization of skills is disrupting their business—a gap that’s pushing them to explore new ways to find, hire, and engage workers.

As a result, businesses are being challenged to think beyond traditional norms to adopt practices that can help them innovate faster and increase output, such as embracing remote workers and partnering with service providers that can deliver in-demand skillsets.

The result? Distributed teams that are better positioned to compete in a rapidly evolving marketplace.

Operations engages customer service talent to help meet peak demand or test new services. Engineering leverages talent to create hybrid teams where employees partner with specialists to complete projects. One of the fastest-growing use cases involves rapid prototyping, where hybrid teams move ideas from concept through functional prototype within weeks, if not days.

Independent professionals aren’t just for overflow work or small tasks anymore. Increasingly, they’re part of a company’s growth strategy.

In today’s fast-changing environment, agility is an advantage. This ebook is designed to help growing businesses gain that edge by strategically engaging flexible talent. You’ll see how you can create a dependable bench of top performers, how your team can maintain high work quality while freeing time for other tasks, and more.


PART 1

What Could Your Business Do If It Had the Talent It Needs?


I’ve hired [specialists] for everything including bookkeeping, accounting, legal advice, design, engineering, product, sales, marketing, content writing — the list goes on.Holly Cardew, Founder and CEO of Pixc

Innovative Hiring for Growing Businesses 5

It takes talent and resources to make things happen

The push and pull between scaling up and staying lean is something businesses get to know well. Growth is unpredictable, so you learn to do more with less. Budgets are limited, so you set high expectations for the resources you do have.

The problem is the status quo doesn’t scale. A team can only sprint so long before they hit a wall.

You can meet demand by hiring more employees. But is that the best move for your team when you don’t know whether you’ll need a particular skillset for the long term?

Time to hire is about a month, depending on your market and the skills you’re looking for. It can take as long as a year for a new employee to get fully up to speed. That’s twelve months when demand can shift, your business might pivot, or team dynamics could change. Business is rarely static.

Working with independent talent can change the way you calculate opportunity.


A smart choice for your team

Skilled professionals and agencies can be a flexible and cost-effective way for a growing business to access the talent it needs to make an impact. They can help your team:

• Scale quickly: Skip a lengthy recruiting process when you need specialized skills fast; the average time to engage a contractor is three days.

• Start producing in less time: Independent professionals are adept at moving from one project to the next. Getting them up to speed on a defined scope of work can be focused and fast.

• Access niche expertise: Contractors aren’t just able to add a specialized skillset to your team—they can also contribute a broader view of your industry or an in-depth understanding of new markets.

• Manage costs: Top talent doesn’t necessarily come cheap, but external partnerships can help you save on overhead, such as office space and supplies. And when it comes to engaging independent contractors and other contingent workers, an online platform can help streamline the process and offer 60-90 percent savings over traditional agencies.

• Avoid unnecessary headcount: Flexible talent can contribute the skills you need when you need them. You can collaborate on multiple projects at once, but each agreement extends only until agreed-upon commitments are met.

How other businesses are making their move

Upwork’s Future Workforce Report predicts that, within ten years, non-traditional, flexible talent will comprise 24 percent more departmental headcount as compared to today—a shift that’s being led by Gen Z managers who are prioritizing workforce planning and utilizing flexible talent at a higher rate.

Fortune 500 companies like Microsoft are turning to independent talent, not just to do single projects better or faster but to create hybrid teams with both independent professionals and employees: Your employees can keep their focus on ongoing strategic work while specialists tackle project-based activities that need their specialized skills.

It’s a model that can help your team get the resources it needs for long-term and complex initiatives or different projects that come up. Flexible talent can help your team scale and adapt quickly, innovate faster, shrink turnaround times—and stay on budget.


What are the hottest projects?A growing number of teams are turning to independent profes-sionals to break through constraints. Some of the most popular projects include:

• Building an Android app

• SEO copywriting for websites

• Web scraping and data extraction

• Virtual administrative assistance

• User experience (UX) design

• Video game development

The inside scoop on flexible talent

With more businesses turning to independent professionals to bridge talent gaps, skilled specialists are increasingly choosing the independent life—including subject matter experts who might be too high-priced or in demand for you to keep on staff.

Working with remote talent gives you access to an earth-sized talent pool.

Independent professionals can become a critical extension of your team for strategic and large-scale projects.

[Working with contractors] gives us a competitive advantage. We’re able to continue to grow the company with a lot less capital than we would need if we were trying to hire all that talent in-house in such a competitive market.Tyson Quick, CEO and Founder, Instapage


A report from Upwork and Freelancers Union found that of those who freelanced in the U.S. in the last year:

• 45 percent provide skills such as programming, marketing, and consulting

• 40 percent have a bachelor’s or post graduate degree

• More than half participated in training in the last six months

• Five percent (2.8 million) have at least one employee.

Independent specialists are motivated to produce high-quality work, deliver great customer service, and keep their skills up to date. Their business depends on it.


What skills are trending?Some of the fastest-growing skills in the independent labor market and tech industry include:

• Google Tag Manager

• Amazon Web Services (AWS)

• Video post-editing

• Data visualization

• Interviewing

• Interior design

• .NET Core

• TypeScript

• Landing pages

• Android

• Sketch

• Technical recruiter

• Bank reconciliation

Learn more about new and emerging skills in the Upwork 100, a quarterly series that balances real-time insights with consistent patterns based on real work that’s been completed.


Angel-funded SoftNAS on growing with with flexible talent

Rick Braddy, founder and CEO of SoftNAS, first started collaborating with independent specialists to engage experts who could contribute to the software he was writing or troubleshoot issues that came up.

More than five years later, that talent is leveraged across the cloud data platform company—from development and quality assurance, to customer support, marketing, and IT.

“We’ve always been able to find what we need,” said Eric Olson, VP of development. “There are very few times I haven’t been able to find a contractor with a specific skillset.”

SoftNAS is a rapidly growing angel-funded startup with a global customer base that operates on a tight budget. Olson says collaborating with talent through the Upwork website has been at the core of their strategy as the company has grown.

CASE STUDY


“We decided that the traditional approach to human resources would not work for us. Like cloud computing, SoftNAS wanted an [operational expenditure] model that allows us to scale up and down based on need and available budget. It’s the way we’ve built our entire company.”

Olson says it’s important to agree upon clear boundaries, ending relationships when they don’t work but also taking time to recognize results. “If someone is engaged and responsive to working with you, it gives you trust that it’s going to work out.”

Without [independent professionals], we would not have been able to achieve the growth results we have over our first five years and be where we are today.Eric Olson, VP of Development, SoftNAS


PART 2

Scaling with the right partner


Here’s a look at your options

Outlining the scope of your project can help you figure out how much support you’ll need to make it happen. A project brief might include:

• A summary that describes the context of the work

• Objectives and metrics

• Deliverables and the skills needed to produce them

• The timeline, including critical deadlines and milestones

Those details can help you decide what type of talent can most effectively partner with your team to get the results you want. When working with flexible talent, you have two options:

• An individual professional, or

• An agency

Working with an individual professional can be an ideal arrangement if you have a simple project, or if you know your requirements and can convey them accurately. But for more complicated projects, an agency may have easier access to a wider range of resources. Here’s a look at how these options stack up.


Is an individual professional the right choice for your project?

Whether a specialist is the best match for your project depends on your requirements and what they’d be responsible for. Here are nine questions to consider while you assess your options.

IF NO, THEN CONSIDER AN…

IF YES, THEN CONSIDER AN…

Do you need to start work quickly (i.e., within the next few weeks)?

Employee Independent Contractor

Does your business have an ongoing need for this particular expertise?

Independent Contractor Employee

Is the skill you need available in-house? Independent Contractor

Employee

Can your in-house team complete the work by the deadline without sacrificing other projects?

Independent Contractor

Employee

Do you need control over how the work gets done?


Do you have the budget for ongoing talent with the skills you need?


Is the work for a specific project? EmployeeIndependent

Contractor

Are you looking for a specialist who has their own tools and equipment?

EmployeeIndependent Contractor

Can the talent decide when the work’s done and from where?

EmployeeIndependent Contractor


Or is an agency a better fit?

There are more than 300K agencies on Upwork, organizations that can range in size from a few specialists in a niche market to a full-service agency with hundreds of employees.

Independent specialists and agencies may have more in common than you might think. For example, both types of businesses can:

• Work in teams on large projects, using their own employees, subcontractors, or a network of other professionals.

• Offer the expertise to help scope your project.

• Help move talent on or off your project as it evolves.

• Track multiple timelines and deliverables.

However, you may find that an agency is better positioned to:

• Execute larger projects that involve multiple workstreams or functions, particularly within a tight timeframe.

• Provide a convenient, single point of contact—although you may be able to connect with individual specialists directly as needed.

• Determine the skills required for each stage of the project and transition talent on or off as needed.

• Tap into a larger network, which can help source and engage required skillsets more quickly.

Ultimately, finding a service provider that’s a good match means asking questions to help identify the external partner who can best meet your project’s needs.


Building a hybrid team

Most work is no longer tied to a schedule or location; business happens 24/7 and technology enables us to work anywhere. But if you’re not used to working with a distributed team—one that’s comprised of in-house employees and independent contractors who work remotely on projects—take a step back to help set yourself up for success. Consider these tips:

Work with people you trust

Finding the right service providers to partner with is as important as hiring in-house employees when it comes to the success of your project. While the scope of an engagement is a single project, a specialist can be an asset to your team—one you can go back to repeatedly as your business continues to grow.

Create a culture that ties people and work together

Office culture isn’t defined by office walls and good culture doesn’t show up on its own—it’s the result of decisions and processes you make as a leader, and it’s sustained by your team’s actions. Culture is reflected in your communication with customers, your interactions with external partners and each other, and the way your team gets things done.


On a project-to-project basis, external professionals contribute to that energy. Find ways to share your organization’s values and mission, show the value and impact of their work, and encourage accountability and open communication.

Focus on results

When you define goals for a project and clarify what’s expected from those involved, everyone on a hybrid team can understand what they’re responsible for. These expectations may include milestones, timelines, metrics, and deliverables. What doesn’t matter for independent contractors? Where, when, or how the work is done.

Culture is the spoken and unspoken values and actions of the organization… [people] see how decisions are made, the care that’s taken, the way problems are fixed, and so forth.Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, Founders of Basecamp

From “Remote: Office Not Required”


When you’re ready to make your move, Upwork has your back

Many businesses rely on word-of-mouth for solid referrals. But what do you do when your network taps out? Upwork is the leading talent solution—transforming traditional contingent staffing. It might be the solution you’re looking for.

Find quality talent quickly

Professionals on Upwork provide more than 5,000 skills across more than 70 categories of work, from the highly creative to the deeply technical. And matches can be made quickly: The average job post is filled within three days. It’s changing the way businesses get things done.

One of the most important success factors for any online marketplace is trust. Clients need to be confident they’ll get the work they want, and [service providers] need to know they’re going to get paid for the work they do.Elizabeth Tse, SVP of Operations, Upwork



Contract your favorite

Upwork provides a number of tools to help you narrow your choices, from stats about a contractor or agency’s projects on Upwork and unbiased feedback from previous clients, to a rating system that makes it easier to identify those with a solid history of success.

Work efficiently and effectively

Many of the tools you need are built into the platform, from voice and video calls to a mobile app that makes it easy for you to do things on the go. Or you can use the tools and systems you already have in place.

Pay easily, with peace of mind

Projects can be tracked through Upwork, invoiced automatically, and paid for easily. Upwork also offers payment protection options for hourly and fixed-price projects that qualify.Upwork helps make building a hybrid team simple and safe. Learn more about how it works.


Conclusion

When you include independent talent in your business strategy, you change what opportunity looks like. You don’t have to be limited to the talent you already know. Decisions don’t need to be shaped by the skills and availability of your in-house team.

We hope this ebook helps show how, with the talent your growing business needs, anything is possible.


Courtney Buchanan, Brenda Do, Lisa Oda / Contributors

Yildiz Alidzhikova / Graphic Design

© 2020 Upwork, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Upwork is the trademark of Upwork, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Amy Sept is an independent content marketer who’s passionate about small business and the future of work. As a member of Upwork’s distributed content team and the owner of Nimbyist Communications, she tracks trends in business, remote work, and productivity to help others navigate the changing way we get things done.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amy Sept

Innovative Hiring for Growing Businesses · 2020. 9. 11. · Finding the right service providers to...

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