An estimated 40 percent of the labor force is expected to be freelancing by 2020. While working with freelancers can offer several advantages for small businesses, picking the right tool to manage freelancers can also be a daunting challenge.
For editors, project leaders, and other managers, managing freelancers who are all working on different projects simultaneously can be a job unto itself.
A lot goes into it, assigning projects or stories, managing the production process, issuing payment, communicating project changes. The list can go on and on. Plus, spending too much time organizing and overseeing freelance work can take away from other responsibilities to other company areas.
Top tools to manage freelancers
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To effectively manage, you probably rely on tech tools to streamline the production process. These challenges can usually be solved by communicating and using the right tools to plan, track, and evaluate the work.
That way, you don’t waste time trying to constantly catch up with your team, understand who needs to be paid when and decide what assignments still need to be completed. Here are some of the best tools that can be used to control the project and get a bird’s-eye view of your resources.
Dropbox
Dropbox is a top-rated cloud storage and file-sharing program. It is preferred by ninety-seven percent of Fortune 500 companies, which clearly shows how useful is this particular software. It allows team members to have access to specific folders, and one can also share large files quickly and with ease. Here we can also send files to non-Dropbox users by simply creating a link and sharing it.
Dropbox is supported on almost all devices, including Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, and Blackberry. Here files sync automatically across all devices, making them accessible on the go with the most updated version of your data.
Trello
Trello is a conversant tool that effectively improves the communication between freelancers and allows you to add comments, attachments, and more. The tool allows your team to work on a project together simultaneously without worrying much about updates, since the change appears instantly without refreshing your page.
You can also divide the project into tasks and track individual contributions and overall progress quickly. Each project can be added with comments, upload attachments, create checklists, assign due dates, and more. You also have complete access to control every detail in every project, which makes your job easier.
Jing
Jing allows you to create a video of your screen and add a voice message to it. It is effective to make training videos to demonstrate tasks to new freelancers, especially when everyone works remotely. It also saves a lot of time since you don’t repeat the instructions repeatedly with new people.
More and more companies are turning towards a mobile workforce and employing additional freelancers. These tools, when used effectively with remote team members, will give good results.
Slack
Slack is the most opted communication tool by tech giants around the world. It’s an all-in-one communication tool for teams. Besides the commonly used one-to-one communication, you can also add your freelancers and discuss their progress on the project they are working on. Documents can be shared when required, and conversation archives can be searched when needed.
Join Me
Join me tool allows remote teams to screen-share workflow, presentations, and any other relevant information, allowing you to show team members what exactly you are speaking about visually. This makes join me another great tool.
Kalo
Kalo is mainly designed for managers, with a wide spectrum of freelancers working under them, as they have to oversee and fulfill different responsibilities within the organization. The tool, built by a former Google employee, incorporates all your freelancers data into one place.
You can have a checklist of their responsibilities and include assignments, oversee contracts, see spending plans, issue and get input, and make payments. Apart from charging a minimal payment for freelancers and custom reporting, all the other features provided by Kalo are absolutely free.
Doodle
A doodle is a scheduling tool best used for organizing meetings with a group of people without having to contact them individually and check for their availability.
This is a beneficial tool while dealing with freelancers when we need to talk or meet these groups or connecting them for the same project, which any two freelancers can work for at a time. It is one of the unique, best, and easy ways to streamline all the inputs and pick the right time for the meetings.
Feedcamp
A free project management system, “Feedcamp,” allows endless users, endless projects, and endless storage. Feedcamp helps you in a list of features from the starting level of a task in making it to the end of completing it. An option ‘calender’ helps you arrange the tasks in a day, week, or month in a ready-to-view option.
What is your favorite tool for managing freelancers, and how does it help you manage your work? Do share with us in the comment section below.
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