The Benefits of Freelancing Online

In ultra-competitive and uncertain economic times, companies are naturally keen to access a flexible, occasional or part-time workforce. This is now much easier than ever before, with the development of online staffing and job platforms such as Elance.

Clearly, it is in an SME’s interest to hire highly qualified staff without incurring the high direct and indirect costs of full-time employment, while for larger corporations it is of course a means to optimising their financial ratios by lowering payroll expenditure.

Online staffing platforms work in a similar way to many social networks: 

At a basic level, they allow both employers and freelance providers to present themselves and communicate through a profile. Employers can then post job advertisements and receive applications from freelancers. The platform enables them to manage the whole recruitment process, right through to final payment. Freelancers’ profiles allow them to communicate their skills, experience, portfolio and references. The activity of both employer and provider on the platform is completely transparent. At a more sophisticated level, platforms may also offer payment warranty schemes, conflict resolution services and forums, for example. Basic plans tend to be free to use, while users normally have to pay if they wish to purchase more complex functionalities.

Elance, who recently merged with oDesk, have published some impressive statistics: more than 2 million businesses with job advertisements, more than 8 million freelancers spread across 180 countries and US$750m worth of services bought in one year.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, sales and marketing services figure high among the jobs posted, and here at Varega we see the platform as a fantastic way to access and serve even more customers.