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Common Problems & Their Solutions When Hiring Freelance Developers

Identifying a bad full-time employee is easier. You interact with them every day and get to see their working style.

But what about a team member who doesn’t come to the office, works at his schedule, and might even be in another country?

Problem and solution when hiring freelance developers

Hiring a freelance developer is a cost-effective way to get on top of your work, but it still has its own challenges. And if left unchecked, it can wreck your whole project delivery.

That’s why it’s crucial to prepare yourself in advance before investing in a freelancer.

Here are the top 5 problems when hiring a freelance developer with solutions.

Table of Contents

Did You Vet the Candidate Thoroughly?

Ensure the candidate is vetted thoroughly

  • You can hire a third-party background verification agency to cross-check the web developer’s credentials. It might cost you extra but can give you accurate information.
  • You can reach out to your network to see if they have any intel on the candidate.
  • Or use a reliable freelance platform like ellow that screens all their developers through a 4-step filtration process. You can save up to 20 days in your project journey as the candidate vetting is taken off your plate.
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Are You Sure the Project Will be Delivered on Time?

Often freelance developers are considered not serious enough because they aren’t your full-time employee, and neither are they getting paid like one.

However, intensive vetting does eliminate the bad apples, but still, it’s better to have a plan to ensure timely project delivery.

What can you do to get around this problem?

  • Draft a detailed contract that mentions the scope of work with a timeline. A signed contract will ensure accountability and commitment to professional collaboration.
  • Go over the candidate’s portfolio to gauge past performance.
  • You can contact a couple of the other clients of that freelancer to understand their experience of working with him. Past clients are an honest source of information that you can leverage.
  • Some freelance developers also offer free trials to their clients. See if you can negotiate the same with your freelancer to set the pace for long-term projects.(For example, Ellow.io offers a no-risk 15 days trial for freelancers on their platform – which means if you do not like their work and decide not to continue, you can walk away at no cost after 15 days).
  • Incorporate the right tools to track the product journey. It will provide you visibility into the project status.

Is the Selected Freelance Developer Ready For Hiring?

Sometimes you might find the best freelance developer out there but still struggle to get them onboard.

It could be because of their availability or the kind of work that interests them. Practice the following to ensure you get the best resource to deliver projects when you want them to.

Set clear expectations for the project requirements and when you desire the final product. It will help the developer make a decision depending on their availability.

You can even go with offshore developer hiring. Freelance platforms like ellow make it easier for you to tap into the global talent market without worrying about the country’s workplace laws.

Offshore reach significantly reduces hiring time and makes it even easier to scale. 

Are You Communicating or Talking to Your Freelance Developer?

Even if web development mainly involves the language of codes, you can’t talk with the freelancer through it.

And you can’t take effective communication for granted because it can make or break your project.

So, here’s what you can do to ensure a smooth process journey.

  • To gauge the communication skills, talk to the freelancer once before hiring. If you are hiring an offshore talent, see that there is no language barrier. 
  • Decide the standard channels that you and the freelancer agree upon for communication. Use emails for formal documentation and messaging tools like Slack for quicker information exchange.
  • While you are at it, also confirm the availability time of the freelancer. Ask them explicitly when you can reach out to them. Also, keep a note of the time zone they are working from.
  • Go beyond the coding and ask them questions that give you insights into their work model. Here are 10 powerful questions to ask a freelancer in the next interview.

How Do You Plan to Pay the Freelancer?

Paying the freelancer without burning a hole in your pocket is critical. It will ensure sustainability and value for money.

But you must have heard you get what you pay for, and it’s true.

The key is to find a sweet spot so that your freelancer doesn’t feel underpaid and you can save resources too.

How can you get around this problem?

Don’t negotiate in the dark. Research the industry for the market price. Talk to multiple freelancers to see the average ask.

Set the contract that details the commercials clearly with the project expectation. Also, draft the payment terms and frequency.

If you are working with offshore freelancers, decide the channel you will use for payment transfer. For convenience, you can set up international gateways like PayPal or Skrill.

Don’t pay the whole amount upfront. You can pay half of the amount before the project starts and the rest after the complete project delivery. A 50/50 payment cycle is a good strategy that ensures fairness and commits project delivery.

A platform like Ellow.io can make this a breeze by handling all payments to the freelancer.

Is Your Confidential Data Secure?

Data is the new oil these days. And compromising with it can lead to severe consequences for your business and customers.

Since a freelance web developer often works with multiple clients at a single time, it can lead to stolen ideas or data being compromised. Compared to a dedicated full-time employee, data security risk increases when hiring a freelance web developer.

But how to ensure data protection when the developer is sitting miles away from you and working on their personal system?

Here is how you can work around the problem.

  • Use a non-disclosure agreement with the freelancer. You can even add the possible legal actions in case of any violations.
  • Seek to understand how freelance web developer ensures data protection for their clients.
  • If your in-house team uses specific tools to ensure data security, you can ask the freelance developer for the same.

Does this Mean You Should Reconsider Hiring Freelancers?

A simple answer – no.

Though there are a few challenges with hiring a freelancer, but nothing that can overshadow its benefits. All you have to ensure is effective management of the problems.

And half of the issues take care of themselves if you are using a reliable freelance platform to source your candidates. Instead of hoarding resumes from any random website, join a community with verified talent. Ellow.io is a perfect solution if you want to cut the chase and connect directly to the relevant talent pool.

It screens and vets the developers with various niche specializations for you to find a perfect match.

Abhishek Ghosh

Abhishek Ghosh
Experienced B2B Content Marketer, Writer, Editor, and Strategist. He is from an engineering background who now loves to play around with words. He is an SEO and a social media enthusiast.
Abhishek Ghosh

Abhishek Ghosh
Experienced B2B Content Marketer, Writer, Editor, and Strategist. He is from an engineering background who now loves to play around with words. He is an SEO and a social media enthusiast.