Freelancing can be a complex profession with extremely unique experiences. Sure, you’re working with a roster of clients, each project is exciting, and every day can look very different. However, you’re essentially looking out for yourself, which can be a good and not-so-good thing…
Good because you have more flexibility and control over your work, and not so good, because you have to define your work ethics from scratch and communicate them to everyone involved. Which can be tough, but today, I want to share some personal experiences on my journey of defining ethics and workplace practices to legitimise my profession (and brand too!). Let me know if these resonate with you as well?
Treating us as partners, not vendors
Let’s start with an obvious one. When I first started working nearly a decade ago (in the corporate world), clients often determined the direction of their marketing efforts. They built a brief themselves and decided when and how their agencies/vendors would help them along the way. This does a disservice to agencies (or freelancers) because clients are losing out on learning lessons from a different point of view.
Today, when I work with clients, I position myself as a consultant who partners with them to solve a challenge together. I’m not here to just share a plan or write a piece of content, I’m trying to understand your business better, so that I can be more valuable to you. When businesses are open to collaborating/partnering with us, our mutual success is that much sweeter!
Prioritising and protecting our interests
Unlike established agencies, freelancers are independent workers who often set their own office rules. While working with a new client, it may be tempting to jump right into work without a clearly defined contract or in some cases, a very generic scope of work. As expected, things can get complicated if your deliverables, timelines, responsibilities and costs are not clear.
When working with a new client, take the initial time to build out a strong proposal with a clear scope of work, timelines and estimated commercials. It will take a little longer to get things in place, but once you get started, you and your client will understand exactly what needs to be delivered and when. It helps legitimise your work and protects your client’s interests too.
Clarifying expectations upfront
As a one-person army, freelancers are often multitaskers who manage everything themselves. You are a domain expert, a project manager, a finance head, an HR lead and more. This means that you’re probably learning on-the-go, and many times, encountering a new problem helps you understand things better.
I’m here to reinforce that it’s okay to not know everything. I may know how to strategise, manage and execute certain marketing efforts, but I’m definitely not a champion at all things marketing! Your clients may expect you to do many things, but if a certain skill isn’t your forte, be upfront with them. Tell them exactly what you can and can’t handle. Be willing and open to experimenting together, but let them know that a certain task is new to you too. Setting the right expectations upfront will ensure there are no surprises later.
Compensating us fairly (and on time)
As freelancers, we are often treated as ‘part of the team’, and we love it! ❤️ When you share your goals, challenges and expectations upfront, it helps us plan better. But very often, freelancers tend to be underpaid and overextended, without any of the benefits or perks that employees get.
When we’re treated as team members and employees, this treatment should also extend to our compensation. We evaluate our time, effort, skill sets and prior experience to build our estimated costs. While negotiating on it is fine, it should be done fairly and once approved, should be paid on time.
Building a foundation of mutual respect
This point is so important, but often ignored. I recall the handful of times I’ve felt disrespected over the past two years, and it still stings. We are all professionals showing up everyday, and deserve respect, appreciation and kindness at work. Especially when it comes to respect, you need to give it to get it.
Please listen to us when we share our point of view. Always show kindness and appreciation for work done, even if it needs changes (which we are more than happy to do with fair compensation, of course). Most importantly, never get personal when you’re discussing work. The repercussions just aren’t worth it.
Are there any other workplace ethics you can think of when businesses work with freelancers? Feel free to share them in the comments below!
