Business leaders need to understand the "freelance mindset"

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Business leaders need to understand the "freelance mindset"

Published on Sep 29, 2008

A recruitment firm has urged private and public sector business leaders to get to grips with the freelance mindset and understand what an innovative resource freelancers can be.

Recruitment company, Xchangeteam, says that freelance consultants minimise risk during periods of economic uncertainty and flagging consumer confidence and enable organisations to control overheads.

The company says that, when correctly managed, freelance and interim consultants are the best ways to deliver the speed, skill and flexibility essential to an organisation's capacity to function in tough times.

According to Xchangeteam's Chief Executive Emma Brierley, while the main freelancer qualities are hard work, confidence, flexibility and a relentless focus on adding value, too many managers run the risk of wasting their potential by trying to work with them in traditional hierarchical ways.

"The lack of understanding among hiring organisations of how to get the best from freelancers is worrying" she says.

"Techniques to motivate and manage this class of independent professional are different from the tried and tested, command and control approaches. The last thing needed when times get tough is to be constrained by the bog-standard ways of doing things.

"A better approach is to give freelancers what turns them on - a team and networking based environment with minimal management interference and a certain licence to question the status quo. To quote management guru Charles Handy, freelancers should be 'fleas', constantly irritating large organisations to think in more creative ways - so the trick is to channel this energy to steer the firm through the current downturn."