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Benefits_of_using_Freelance_Consultants__Trainers_for_your_projects
| Benefits of using Freelance Consultants / Trainers for your projects
What are the benefits of using a Freelance Consultant / Trainer
for your next project?
Companies are often wary of employing freelance trainers when
setting up a new project or contemplating a 'roll out' operation
or ‘change' scenario. There are however distinct
advantages to using freelance as against permanent resources,
and some of these are outlined as follows.
1. Financial Although the initial costs (hourly/daily rate) of
freelance trainers may seem expensive, this has to be set
against the fact that there are no costs of in house benefit
packages, no pensions commitment, no payment for holidays or
sick time etc. Also, the cost is fixed, purely for the term of
the contract, and can be budgeted into the overall project. Once
the project (and contract) are completed, there are no ongoing
employment costs or costs of redundancy etc.
2. Skills Often a client does not have the requisite expert
skills in house that are required to produce training quickly
and effectively for a new project or roll out. It is often more
cost effective to employ a freelancer who has these skills, than
waiting for existing employees to gain sufficient depth of
knowledge and expertise.
However, as part of the freelance contract, the client should
arrange that the freelancer transfer those skills required to
permanent employees for ongoing maintenance of the project after
the contract has finished.
3. Focus on the project Permanent employees often have their own
personal priorities. They are concerned with day to day 'office
politics', enhancing their career and promotion prospects etc.
Combine this with time spent on company activities, such as
meetings etc. and in most companies the actual applied working
time of the average employee is only about 50% of their time at
work.
Freelance workers have no interest in company politics, career
chasing, internal meetings etc. and tend to focus 100% on the
project they are working on. The freelancer has a fixed
deadline, i.e. the end date of the contract and will normally
always ensure that the work is completed to the project
milestones.
4. Commitment A freelancer is only as good as their last
project. They tend to gain employment mostly by referral and it
is in their interest therefore, to always do as good a job as
possible on each project. There is no advantage to the
freelancer in spinning out the project unnecessarily, as this
would reflect on future opportunities.
This means that you tend to get 100% commitment throughout the
project, as a freelancer will tend to avoid all distractions and
try to complete the project ahead of milestones where possible.
After all, there is normally no 'overtime' pay for the
freelancer and therefore no advantage in making the work last
any longer than necessary.
5. Project planning Normally, a freelancer will commit to a
project without provision for vacations or other time off. This
makes it easier when setting up project plans and milestones, as
the potential of employees requesting time off does not have to
be factored into the project plans.
6. Desire to work The freelancer does not have the comfort zone
of permanent employment and is hungry to work. Their motivation
is normally extremely high and does not require any external
stimulation, as is often the case with long-term permanent
employees.
7. Up to Date Skills/Qualifications The freelance trainer has to
compete in a constantly changing marketplace for contracts of
varying requirements. For this reason they tend to constantly
update their skills and certifications to attract work from
customers. You will often find that freelance trainers have one
or more of the following qualifications - IITT, CIPD, ITOL, ISMA
or ECDL as well as accreditations from relevant vendors, and
they are constantly updating them in order to secure contracts.
This gives you recognised quality that you have not had to
finance.
8. Work force motivational factors Using an external expert
consultant can demonstrate to your work force that the company
is committed to adding value to their personal development.
Using internal staff does not always create the same feeling
that the company is willing to spend to increase employee skills.
Using an external consultant can provide more freedom of
expression and opinion by delegates during the training
sessions. Your delegates will feel less constrained by internal
company politics and restrictions when discussing things with an
external consultant, who they do not perceive as part of the
‘company machine'. This can lead to much more open
discussion and participation by delegates, which can greatly
enhance the effectiveness of the training.
9. Wide ranging experience and fresh ideas Invariably freelance
consultants, by the very nature of their work, will have worked
across a wide and varied cross section of industries and
organisations, in both the private and public sectors. They can
provide valuable ‘real world' experience and ideas that
your staff may not have knowledge of, due to having to focus on
their normal day-to-day occupations. This can be invaluable
during times of change and can promote a sense of
‘thinking outside of the box' by delegates and staff that
they have contact with.
Summary So, if you are considering a new project, roll out or
change scenario, think carefully about how it will be resourced.
In many cases, you will find the best solution is to use
freelance resources to complement your existing workforce.
Acknowledgements Adapted from an original article by John
Roberts, Director of JayrConsulting Ltd. (
www.jayrconsulting.co.uk ) and modified after valuable input and
critique by co-members of TrainerBase ( www.trainerbase.co.uk )
.This article may be freely reproduced / modified and used in
any way, providing this acknowledgement is left in its entirety.
About the author:
John Roberts is a Freelance Training Consultant and Director of
JayrConsulting Ltd. (www.jayrconsulting.co.uk)
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