Top 6 Benefits of Hiring a Remote, Freelance Team in 2022
In 2022, we explore the top 6 benefits that have companies turning to remote, freelance teams.
Nowadays, everyone’s talking about how going remote can save businesses time and money — and rethinking the idea that all work has to happen in the office. But in many cases, it’s possible to double those savings by rethinking the idea that all work has to be done by full-time employees.
The benefits of a remote, freelance team are significant, from less time spent hiring to significant cost reductions. Going remote and freelance can be a great way to get a new business off the ground, but as we’ve observed at SkillHire, it can also be an arrangement that works over the long-term as well.
In 2022, here are the top 6 benefits that have companies turning to remote, freelance teams:
1. Faster hiring cycles
On average, it takes 49 days to fill a technical role (not to point out the obvious, but this means that half of the time, it takes even longer than that). For many founders working in today’s hypercompetitive tech environment, that’s just too long to wait to get your ideas to market.
On the other hand, you can hire a freelancer in a matter of days or weeks. There are fewer interviews and internal debates to be had over hiring decisions since you can easily stop doing business with a freelancer and hire someone else if it’s not working out. As freelancers charge set terms (typically a transparent hourly rate), you’ll rarely encounter lengthy employment contract negotiations.
Finally, you don’t have to go back and forth with recruiters. If you use a platform like SkillHire that matches you with freelancers, you can even eliminate the time you’d spend searching for a qualified person.
2. Flexible time commitments
Freelancers are, by nature, offering a flexible service. They charge per hour of work, rather than a set salary. They’re open to short-term commitments, like 3–6 months, when you need someone to fill a temporary gap. And there’s no reason that a freelancer isn’t great for a long-term commitment, either — engineers on our platform can end up working with the same company for multiple years if their services are still needed.
This flexibility lets you scale your business up or down easily to meet product development demand or manage your budget. SkillHire’s data shows that companies can save 40% with flexible hiring. If you have a new idea that’s taking off in the market, you can expand your engineering team quickly (see benefit #1). On the other hand, if you experiment with something that isn’t working out several months later, you aren’t in the position of having to keep running payroll for a team that’s now sitting around with nothing to do.
3. Hire niche experience, when you need it
Need to implement DevOps processes, perform some data science analysis, or build a version of your app that works on Android? Hiring a freelancer can give you an instant injection of experience in an area that’s not already covered by your team.
This is especially beneficial in today’s hiring market, where it’s become the norm for months to go by before filling a full-time role in a niche area. The New York Times recently estimated that the unemployment rate in tech is 1.7% compared with 4% in the overall population — but for a specialist role like cybersecurity, it’s 0.2%.
4. Large cost savings
Obviously, with a remote team you save on office space and supplies. But with a remote freelance team, you also save in many other ways as well. For one, there’s no upfront recruiting fees, which are usually 20% of a full-time employee’s first year salary. Next, you won’t have to pay for equipment — hardware for engineers and designers can be in the multiple thousands per hire and needs to be updated regularly.
One of the biggest costs you’ll eliminate is benefits: from 401k to health insurance and paid vacation. Since freelancers only charge for hours worked, you also won’t be covering breaks and time spent on learning and development. And, freelancers typically don’t receive equity in your business, unlike full-time employees.
5. A client-consultant relationship
Freelancers treat you as a customer, which is inherently a different relationship from being “the boss.” Consider this: “The customer is always right” is a common maxim—while ”the boss is always right” is a laughable idea.
The freelancer is offering a service in exchange for an hourly rate, not coming to work every day to collect a salary whether they’re productive or not. And while employees may be motivated by the idea of a promotion or the risk of being fired, these are generally far-off and removed possibilities. Freelancers are well aware that securing their next project always hinges on whether you were happy with the last one.
6. Tax savings
If you hire a freelance team, you will certain save on your taxes. For full-time employees, companies are required to pay Social Security taxes at 6.2% of the salary, up to a $147,000 wage base. They also pay Medicare tax at the rate of 1.45% of gross salary.
On the other hand, 1099 contractors pay their own taxes. The only thing you’ll have to do is collect a W9 and file a 1099-NEC at the end of the year.
Pro tip: Consider a staffing agency like SkillHire
Given all these benefits, you might be thinking that a remote, freelance time could be right for your business. We’re biased of course, but we’d recommend considering a staffing agency like SkillHire. You’ll find it easier to match with the freelancers that are right for your business — and you’ll be spared the effort of drafting contracts and processing invoices.
Additionally, you’ll be shielded from certain legal risks, like potentially being liable to pay tax and equity if US and state laws find that the contractor’s work is similar in nature to that of a full-time employee. (Staffing agencies assume these risks so you don’t have to.)
To learn more about SkillHire, check out our website here.