Lee Ali, MD global exhibition engagement company Expo Stars, explains how businesses can work effectively with freelancers around the world.
More and more people are turning their backs on traditional jobs and going self-employed. Recent stats from TUC indicate that Britain’s booming self-employment market has more than doubled in size over the past three years and now accounts for 4.7m workers, and it’s a trend that we’re seeing in other countries too.
But there is a huge range of different self-employment options, from those working in the gig economy and zero-hour contracts to specialist freelancers and consultants who are experts in a certain skill or sector.
In the conference and exhibition industry, it would be difficult to operate without freelance support. Due to the global nature of our own business, we currently work with a network of 2,500 freelancers and specialist promotional staff.
When we started working with freelancers when we established in 2007, I wanted to make sure that I built a strong, committed and talented network to provide our clients with the best possible level of service. Over the years I’ve learnt there are some key things to take into consideration to work effectively with freelance and temporary staff.
Understand local laws
New legislation around self-employment has changed the way companies work with freelancers. Large organisations which operate in the gig economy like Deliveroo and Uber have led to many countries around the world changing their laws to protect workers. These laws also apply to traditional employers working with freelancers.
In the UK specifically, the IR35 rules will be extended to the private sector from April 2020 and is another piece of legislation that events businesses need to familiarise themselves with.
Recently, at Expo Stars we have updated our contracts to ensure we have tailored ones for each region we operate in. Although this was an additional cost for the business, it was vital to make sure that we can work fairly and legally internationally.
Selection staff process
Your team is the face of your company at every conference, acting as the first point of contact to welcome guests, so it’s important you choose the right people. We have an interview process, which usually takes place over a video call due to location and time differences, so that we can determine their suitability, personality and communication style.
Over the last five years, we’ve developed our own internal booking system, which will allow us to streamline the way we allocate staff by matching individuals to jobs based on factors such as psychology profiling, communications style, location, experience, languages and previous feedback.
Before and during projects, briefings are essential. We brief the team before the event and set aside time every morning to run through the messaging and objectives for the day, so everyone feels confident in what they are doing and know what is expected of them.
Look after freelancer wellbeing
With travelling, long hours and being on your feet all day, working in events is a physically and mentally demanding job. Whether you employ permanent or freelance staff, you need to make sure you look after their health and wellbeing.
Keep your team well fed and hydrated, schedule in regular breaks and encourage them to take time out and rest.
To build and maintain a calm, efficient and productive team, managers need to lead and act appropriately. Practicing mindfulness and meditation can be effective ways to achieve this, and it’s something we encourage all of our core team to learn and develop.
Freelancer rates and the local economy
Like normal employees, the payment rates for freelancers vary according to each country’s local economy and the going local rate for the kind of work you want them to do. Look out for the more expensive economies like Scandinavia, Singapore and USA, where freelance staff rates are substantially higher compared to the UK and some other European countries simply due to the high local tax rates, living standards and sometimes even the lack of availability can drive up the freelancer rates. Do your research and analysis on costs at least four-six months in advance, wherever your event in the world. Sometimes it may work out more economical to fly local staff than hiring them locally.
Ultimately with freelancers, if you carefully select the staff, give clear briefings, offer a reasonable rate of pay, and work with your legal team to iron out the correct paperwork, you’ll ensure you have a strong, motivated workforce for every conference and event, meaning you can focus on achieving the best results possible.
