How to find Savvy Talent Solutions for In-House Creative Teams

Theresa shares insights from a recent RGD webinar with Helena Yoon, Director of Creative at Rogers Sports & Media; Stefan Milosevic, Director of Content at Maple; and Kate Torrence, Vice President and Head of Brand, Content and Communications at SickKids Foundation. This group joined Creative Niche's Engagement Director, Michelle Park, to share the value of hiring freelance talent, finding the right freelancer to augment a team or take on a specific project and more.

In the current economic climate, Creative Niche is noticing an increase in the number of clients seeking freelance or contract support as they deal with hiring freezes or budget constraints. We partnered with the RGD to discuss this trend, the value that freelancers bring to different types of organizations, and key tactics contributing to the overall health of freelance engagement with industry leaders.

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Advantages of Freelance Creative Talent

It's clear that freelance talent is a common solution that allows organizations to easily scale up and down as project demands fluctuate. The freelance and gig economy has steadily increased since the early 2000s and has been alive and well over the past few years.

There are many advantages to using freelance talent, not the least of which is that freelancers bring a fresh perspective, specific strengths and unique ideas.

Helena shared: “Freelancers have explored and experienced different things, so they can bring different perspectives, tools or tricks” that bring value to the team. Full-time staff can sometimes be too deep into a project and get a bit stuck, so fresh ideas from freelancers are often exactly what’s needed to get teams or projects unstuck.” Freelancers also facilitate an organization’s ability to scale up with both velocity and volume, or to provide a specific type of expertise that doesn’t exist on the internal team. 

Kate explained: “It’s great to have someone really senior and seasoned freelancing come in and do projects that require heavy conceptual thinking. It’s an affordable way to tap into senior expert talent, and it also excites the junior people on the team, who have the opportunity to expand their network and learn different approaches and tools.”

It's not that using freelance talent comes without challenges:

During the session, Milosevic discussed the importance of understanding which creatives are required to be in-house full-time versus extra needs that can be leveraged externally. “That’s a line in the sand that moves all the time, so it’s an interesting one to navigate.”:. That’s not the only challenge, though and,  in today’s economic climate, the method of rewarding is not always available, and that presents a challenge with how talent can be engaged and motivated, whether they are full-time staff or freelancers. 

“Money isn’t everything, but with inflation, people need to be well-compensated the same time, creative work and what fuels you as a creative person might be different. We need to find a balance of engaging, motivating and making talent feel safe creating what they love to create,” said Helena. 

It’s important to ensure freelancers gain a deep understanding of the brand, which is a particular focus for Kate. It’s so important to figure out how to attract and motivate freelancers to do their best work and understand the brand.”

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Communication is Key

A key to solving these and other challenges when using freelancers is communication. 

Kate indicated that having information available and having a detailed process for bringing in freelancers is helpful, and Helena added  “Don’t bring freelancers in until you have your ducks in a row.” 

The importance of determining exactly what a freelancer needs to know to do a good job.  Stefan agreed that tools such as style guides are helpful, so the output looks and feels the same, but also spoke to the importance of allowing space for a freelancer’s fresh ideas. “It’s important to channel their fresh creative energy instead of discouraging it with too many restriction. These are individuals with fresh perspectives that should be cherished.”

Feedback is an important way for freelancers to gauge not only how they’re performing in the role, but also how the organization is doing with engaging the freelancer and leveraging their abilities. Since freelancing doesn’t usually include the touchstone reviews that full-time team members receive, it’s key to provide and seek feedback using open dialogue. Creative Niche provides a feedback loop between clients and candidates when appropriate. Stefan mentioned the importance of getting feedback from freelancers early to determine if they need to be further enabled, and also explained t that feedback shouldn’t be all negative and should include positive points.

Communication also allows freelancers to use the engagement, even if it’s small, as an opportunity for continued work and perhaps as a way to full-time opportunities. Short freelance gigs are a great opportunity for freelancers to prove what they can do. Another double-sided asset of using freelancers is networking. Not only can freelancers expand their network, but organizations can often find other talent thanks to reelancers and contact former freelancers when they need help. “Freelancers develop a unique and informed knowledge of our brand, so we can rely on them to consult with, or they can offer ideas  and getting access to other freelancers is a great benefit –. The network effect of engaging with freelancers is larger than one transaction.”

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How to Choose the Right Freelancer

Leveraging freelance talent starts with finding the right freelancer. Beyond specific soft skills and portfolios, Creative Niche  observed that clients prefer innate skills, highlighting the importance of communication, self-motivation, positive attitude and collaboration over teachable hard skills over innate, hard skills. This shifts the role when finding talent to more of an EQ focus rather than an IQ focus.

“The way they work, how they engage, are they punctual, are they respectful, can they have the conversations? – These are important,” said Stefan. Helena added, “A skillset and portfolio have an impact in the beginning, but we want talent that communicates if they’re struggling if they’re ahead— proactive communication.”

Kate shared, “A can-do attitude, maturity and the ability to raise your hand and be proactive extends to the type of thinking and how to get things done. Freelancers come without the baggage that internal teams often have; hen freelancers ask questions, it might unlock new ways of doing things that we wouldn’t have considered.” Freelancers stand out when they make an effort to dig into the organization ahead of time to bring some passion for the brand and curiosity with them to the team.

A freelancer who communicates and is reliable, responsive, collaborative and self-motivated brings value to any organization while leveraging even a small freelance gig into a stronger network and the possibility of a longer-term connection.

Despite its challenges, engaging freelance talent is key to an organization’s ability to upscale, execute specific projects or strategies and benefit from fresh ideas.

To watch the full recorded webinar, click here, and  If you’re interested in chatting about savvy talent solutions for your creative team, just let Creative Niche know.