Now more than ever, people are starting to move into Independent work.People like the opportunity to create their own flexible schedules and work wherever they desire.For example, we (internally at Contra) will not hire someone who is just looking for a remote job but someone passionate about supporting Independents and helping them grow their business and independence. Independents are a great resource and value add for any company. There is such a diverse talent pool of specialists and generalists who can help you on any project for which you may not already have someone in-house to help.

What defines the right collaborator? There are a couple of ways to check: quality of work, reputation, turnaround time, and communication.

Quality of Work: Take a look at past work examples the Independent has completed. Are they able to deliver the level of quality you are looking for?

Reputation: If there are reviews or references from past Clients, is the Independent dependable, do they have good communication, and do they send over deliverables on time?

Communication: From the initial chat to the end, does the Independent communicate well with you and capture what you are looking for?

It’s important at the start of your search to lay out what you are looking for, set expectations, and convey the value add. Creating clear and concise job descriptions with deliverables from the start will bring high-quality Independents who are more interested in what needs to be delivered and worked on.

Once you have a job description, the next step is to figure out where best to post it to gain attract talent attraction. It’s best to cross-post your opportunity across a few different platforms or sites for a diverse talent pool. However, you can check out Contra, where we help match top independents with your needs.

It’s good practice to set up an intro call to ensure alignment between both the Client and the Independent ahead of the project. Here are some topics to align on

Deliverables: What is the outcome or vision of the project?

Duration of Project: How long is the project expected to take? (Or, ideally, how long should the project take?)

Communication Expectations: Where should all communication live? Is there a preferred tool for all written communications (for example, Slack, email, phone, etc.)?

Work Expectations: Who is the right person to contact for questions or extra support? Are there any expectations for hours of overlap where the Independent should be readily available?

Tools/Platforms: Necessary platforms or tools for Independents to be able to complete the project.

Compensation: What is the hourly, fixed, or milestone-based rate and currency? How is payment completed? (Check, bank transfer, other financial platforms.)

Although not every Independent will be the right fit for your project needs, the intro call is also a great way to form a network connection. Who knows? They may not be a fit for this project, but they could be a great fit for the next!

Prior to the kickoff phase, it’s important to start researching and collecting resources in order to provide context for the Independent.

Resources: Any document, pdf, website, or research that has been done in the past

Tools: Give access to platforms or tools that will be used

Contacts and hours: Company contacts, with what method, as well as working hours so that Independents know who to contact and what hours the company point of contact is available to answer questions.

After aligning on expectations and signing a contract to work together, the kickoff meeting is the next step. This is an in-depth conversation on the project and is critical to its overall success. Review all expectations over the course of the project: job description, milestones, deliverables, etc. Take the time to really covey and describe what success looks like. the outcome should look like.

If you need more help on how to hire various types of Independents, check out this blog!