Why clear communication with freelancers matters

Communication is key in all relationships, whether personal or professional, and that’s certainly true when it comes to collaboration between companies and freelancers. To communicate with freelancers is to establish a healthy, functional working relationship; it is to create alignment. For an effective collaboration and fruitful working partnership with freelancers, the basic whos, whats, whys and hows need to be addressed from the get go. So, as you begin a project, clear expectations around scope, deadlines, deliverables, budgets, etc., must be shared explicitly and upfront. Initial conversations about the project should ultimately yield a clear brief and an outlined process that both parties understand and agree to, but more on that below.

By definition, freelancers are autonomous; they work independently, outside of a structure. It’s important to remember that as consultants external to your organization, freelancers may not have the same understanding of your needs, processes, tools, or values. Therefore, establishing clear, careful communication is essential when it comes to freelance project management and success. Keep reading for insider tips outlining how best to communicate with freelancers, from onboarding through feedback.

6 tips for how to communicate with freelancers

As a platform with almost a decade of experience connecting freelancers and clients, Malt has pinpointed a number of tips and communication tools when it comes to establishing healthy communication with freelancers and fostering successful collaborations, no matter the size of your organization. Here are our top 6 tips for how to communicate with freelancers.

1. Provide a clear brief

At the core of a successful freelancer-company collaboration is a detailed brief for a well-defined project. A strong brief, which you communicate with freelancers as you begin working together, should establish clear expectations across the board. First, it should introduce the company, context and environment. It should outline the project at hand, its objectives as well as details about the expected deliverables. The brief should also include practical details like the project timeline as well as information about tools, resources, and ways of working. This is the framework for the relationship and it serves to align both parties for effective collaboration.

2. Set up a key contact

Even with a clear brief in place, we all need someone to lean on…and that’s true for freelancers who start working with your organization. They need a point person, someone they can turn to, whether for getting access to the tools or information they need for the project, or for connecting with other team members. Establishing a primary contact (rather than multiple contacts, which can be complicated for a freelancer to juggle) who is available and responsive is an essential component of healthy communication with your freelancer and in setting them up for success. 

Be sure to open the appropriate channels of communication or communication tools, too, whether that’s through messaging, email, video calls, or other platforms. Malt, for example, has an intuitive, easy-to-use chat feature where you can centralise all your communications.

3. Maintain fluid communication and regular check ins

Setting up a key contact for your freelancer is important but it’s just as important to ensure that there is active, ongoing communication between the key contact and your freelancer. Ensuring mutual availability and responsiveness is essential. If the freelancer has a question or a concern, they need to be able to get a response within a reasonable timeframe. And likewise, if your teams have important information to share, they should be able to do so with the freelancer.

Therefore, it can also be helpful to establish regular check-ins on the progress of the project. A weekly meeting or regular project checkpoints, for example, can work well. The precise rhythm can be defined on a case by case basis. Setting up a common space (like a drive folder or a server) where the company can track the progress of the project can also be helpful. Overall, this can promote open and transparent communication that encourages questions, sharing and constructive feedback.

4. But…don’t micromanage!

Fluid communication and healthy response times can support successful collaboration. In fact, these are best practices of how you should communicate with freelancers. However, freelancers are autonomous, specialized consultants and they are used to working independently, on their own. Be sure to give them the resources they need, but also the space, time and trust they require in order to do their jobs and do them right. If you have already established a weekly check-in, for example, then respect the boundaries in place, and don’t send them additional check-in emails in between the checkpoints.

5. Provide feedback

Another good practice of freelance project management: sharing regular feedback. This will help to increase efficiency, enabling the freelancer to stay productive and on track, especially if they are working on multiple projects at once (as many freelancers do). Constructive feedback is concrete, actionable and proactive, describing the problem, explaining what it entails and offering some possible solutions.

Over the course of the project, it is also up to the company to monitor whether the freelancer is respecting the brief and the scope of work, and to course correct as needed. And when things are going well, companies should not hesitate to tell the freelancer that they’re pleased! Positive feedback is generally appreciated, and it can help lay the groundwork for a long-term working relationship. Malt provides the opportunity to both you and your freelancer to leave public feedback about your collaboration.

6. Remember that communication is a two-way street 

When collaborating with a freelancer, it’s essential, as mentioned above, to provide direction and feedback to ensure that a project is achieved. Collaboration with a freelancer can also have the added benefit of accessing an external perspective of your organization. In other words, freelancers will develop some insights about working with your company or organization. These insights may be complimentary or constructive, or they may have a critical component. 

Either way, when it comes to how they communicate with freelancers, companies should welcome, and even invite, this feedback, which will allow them to grow and improve. Thanks to their varied experiences, freelancers are often able to challenge an organization’s processes and suggest other tools, software or ways of working. By taking into account feedback provided by a freelancer, your organization can build even healthier collaborative relationships for the future.

Now that you know how to communicate with freelancers…

A quick recap of best practices effective collaboration and communication with freelancers:

1. Provide a clear brief

2. Set up a key contact

3. Maintain fluid communication 

4. Don’t micromanage! 

5. Provide (and listen to) feedback