Company: successfully integrating your freelancer

Working with freelancers is becoming an everyday occurrence for many companies. Many assignments, particularly intellectual ones, require outside expertise. In practice, it is often simpler to call on an outside service provider than to hire an expert on a long-term basis. Freelancers are mainly to be found in fields such as consulting, communications, journalism and IT. If this applies to you, here are 4 tips to help you integrate a freelance consultant and ensure that your assignment runs smoothly.

1/Maintenance

Key stage of the assignment: the interview. It enables you to lay the foundations for the future integration of a freelancer into your company. Precisely define the freelancer's role, responsibilities and mission. This will enable you to emphasize the importance of their presence and your willingness to integrate them into your teams. Following your first meeting, he/she should be able to draw up precise specifications (scope of action, expected results, deadlines, budget constraints, travel, etc.). Validate the specifications and sign the contracts as you would with an employee. In this way, you'll start the assignment in an environment of trust.

Tip: Keep listening to your expert. If he has any doubts about the scope of his mission, your expectations, or if he lacks any information, invite him to co-write the specifications.

To go further: call on an outside organization to help you define your needs. They can then support you in your search for a freelancer, and guide you in the creation of specifications.

2/The schedule

Like any professional, an independent consultant has a schedule, obligations and a private life. It's not possible to call on them 24/7. To ensure a good relationship, it's crucial to agree on how the assignment is to be carried out. Traditional follow-up is also not necessary. A freelancer won't always mark days of presence on your premises, and will adapt his or her days and hours, unless these have been defined in the contract.

Tip: if you need to, define in advance the hours, days worked and days of presence on the premises.

To take things a step further: to help you get organized, set up a shared calendar for specific actions, organize regular calls, set up Trello... These actions will enable you to monitor the progress of the assignment remotely, without giving the freelancer the feeling of being hounded.

3/L'arrivée

To establish a healthy working relationship, it's crucial to communicate with your freelancers in the same way as with your employees. Explain your freelancer's work and objectives, and introduce him/her to the company and his/her colleagues. Establish regular days of presence so that they feel part of your company, and actively participate in its daily life.

As they are not always on your premises, freelancers are not always aware of all the company's developments. Think about providing them with all the tools they might need to communicate and carry out their work. Information technology is full of sharing software that will make your job easier (Google Drive, Trello, Skype, What'sApp, Linkedin...). Keep him or her informed about anything that might concern or impact his or her work, keep him or her in the email loop, and think about including him or her in events such as after-work or company parties...

Tip: put people at the heart of your freelancer's integration, organize a welcome lunch or breakfast, and encourage meetings with employees. Even if the success of an assignment does not depend entirely on the integration of your consultant, it contributes greatly to it.

To go further: be honest and transparent. Discuss how the assignment is progressing, what's at stake and what the challenges are. Don't hesitate to point out the positive and negative aspects of your freelancer's work. This way, you'll be more likely to see your assignment succeed.

4/Trust

To work well with a consultant, expert or freelancer, you need to establish a relationship of trust. This means respecting the terms agreed, remunerating your expert appropriately and in line with his skills, recognizing his work and personality, and communicating regularly and respectfully.

Tip: take the time to get to know your consultant before signing the contract. By establishing a bond of trust, you'll get the most out of your freelancer. If you have any doubts about the consultant's abilities, or if you're not sure how to proceed, don't hesitate to ask for assistance.

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