Home
>
Small Business
>
The Benefits of Using Freelance Consultants / Trainers for Your Project

The Benefits of Using Freelance Consultants / Trainers for Your Project

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.jayrconsulting.co.uk). This article may be freely reproduced / modified and used in any way, providing this acknowledgement is left in its entirety.

John Roberts is a Freelance Training Consultant and Director of jayrConsulting Ltd. www.jayrconsulting.co.uk John is an active member of TrainerBase www.jayrconsulting.co.uk and welcomes discussion on all aspects of training, learning and business development. John has delivered training events for various blue chip companies in UK, USA, India, France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, China, Phillipines, Nepal, Brazil, Antigua, Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Panama, Belgium, Holland etc. etc - Comment "I hate Airports!"

family-safe home cleaners Morton Grove ..

In The News:

The Christmas season brings a surge in Netflix phishing scams targeting shoppers with fake emails. Stacey P received convincing scam but verified account first.

San Francisco Giants invite Jamie Grohsong to throw ceremonial first pitch at Oracle Park after he learned to play baseball with a bionic hand following an injury.

FBI warns cybercriminals are stealing family photos from social media to create fake proof of life images in virtual kidnapping scams targeting victims.

Instagram's new 'Your Algorithm' tool lets you control your Reels feed in real time. The app now gives you power to customize what videos you see.

Major Marquis fintech breach exposes 400,000-plus Americans' data through unpatched SonicWall vulnerability, with Texas hardest hit at 354,000 affected.

Free up iPhone storage fast by clearing large photos and videos from Messages app. Simple steps for iOS users to delete attachments without losing chats.

Scammers are flooding inboxes with fake tracking alerts that mimic real carriers, exploiting the holiday rush to steal logins and personal data.

The Fox News AI Newsletter brings you the latest news on AI technology advancements and the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Texas family reunites with missing 11-year-old cat Grayson after 103 days using Petco Love Lost's AI photo matching technology and community help.

Tired of AI customer service loops? These insider tricks help you escape "frustration AI" and get real human help when you need it most for urgent issues.

Unlock richer audio from your streaming apps with simple tweaks to volume normalization, equalizer settings, and quality preferences for cleaner sound.

Scammers are sending fake Facebook settlement payout emails that mimic legitimate notices from the privacy settlement administrator to deceive users.

Holiday shopping scams surge as fake refund emails target distracted consumers during Black Friday and holiday seasons, costing Americans billions annually.

The AI-powered IRMO M1 exoskeleton features four modes, including turbo, eco, training and rest for hiking, running, cycling and sports with eight-hour battery life.

OpenAI announced upgrades for its ChatGPT Images platform on Tuesday, saying the program can now make more precise edits and produce images more quickly.

Chrome for Android now turns web articles into AI-powered podcast conversations. Get hands-free browsing with Google Gemini's natural audio summaries.

LastPass faces $1.6 million fine from U.K. regulators after 2022 data breach exposed 1.6 million users. Password manager failed proper security controls.

Petco disclosed a data breach exposing customer Social Security numbers, financial account details, and driver's license information due to a software error.

Baseball teams can now analyze complete swing mechanics in normal training environments using Theia's markerless AI system that processes standard high-speed footage.

Smart home hacking fears overblown? Expert reveals real cybersecurity risks and simple protection tips to keep your connected devices safe from hackers.

MIT develops needle-free glucose monitor using light technology. Revolutionary device could replace painful finger pricks for diabetes management.

The ClickFix campaign disguises malware as legitimate Windows updates, using steganography to hide shellcode in PNG files and bypass security detection systems.

Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University designed a 21-foot dome that combines aquaculture and hydroponics to create a self-sustaining urban food system.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

ChatGPT data breach exposes personal info of users through partner Mixpanel. OpenAI confirms names, emails compromised in security incident.

The Benefits of Using Freelance Consultants / Trainers for Your Project

Small Business