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freelancers as a new resource in business: an analysis

"How to quit everything and switch to freelancing", "How to become a freelancer?", "Freelance Master" - these are not even search queries, these are names of courses from well-known digital schools.

The Internet has broken down geographical boundaries and has allowed each of us to hire workers all over the world. There has never been access to such a large number of talented people with such low costs before.

The globalization of labor and talent is a long-standing reality. Previously, this was the domain of large international companies, but now it is easily accessible to small and medium-sized businesses in any country.

By 2030, Meta plans to move half of its employees to remote work. Twitter has offered employees who moved to remote work during the pandemic to stay there permanently. And Techcrunch claims that freelancing will soon completely change the organization of work.

The reasons for this are diverse - the development of Internet technologies, the widespread use of the Internet, the availability of computers, and... unemployment. But the most important thing is that the stereotype about the freelancer as "not quite sure what kind of specialist," but cheap to work with, albeit unpredictably - will disappear. Now a freelancer is a person on the team, albeit remote, or at least a project specialist for regular collaboration.

So who is the new freelancer, and how can companies interact with him?

Census of Freelancers

  • - The Russian freelance market is worth $41 billion
  • - In 2025, the freelance market is projected to grow to $102 billion
  • - Russia is among the top ten countries in terms of the size of the freelance market
  • - In terms of the growth rate of freelancers, Russia ranks second in the world, behind the United States
  • - The global freelance market is valued at $6.54 trillion, and by 2025, it is expected to grow to $13.84 trillion

Inspiring numbers for freelancers or scary competition? More like the latter. After all, if in the past information about freelancers revolved around 'I don't know how to do anything, but I want to earn money by working from home', now a freelancer is a full-fledged specialist with their own set of knowledge and skills, working from their personal office – at home, in a co-working space, in a cafe, on the road.

A portrait of a "freelance artist"

Vadim, designer, 30 years old, with a higher education and self-employed status, desired salary - 40,000 rubles.

These are the main possible points from the resume of a modern freelancer. We took them from various studies, according to which:

  • — the age categories among freelancers are 18-34 years old (68%) and 35-44 years old (18%)
  • — 60% of such workers are men
  • — 43% of freelancers have higher education
  • — 26% have registered as self-employed or individual entrepreneurs, and 29% plan to do so
  • — 64% earn less than 30,000 rubles per month, 17% earn up to 60,000 rubles, 13% earn up to 100,000 rubles, and only 6% earn more than 100,000 rubles per month
  • — the most popular freelance spheres are:

58% — design/graphics

46% — web development and maintenance

38% — programming

32% — writing/copywriting

24% — advertising/marketing

Where to look and how to choose?

At ICU agency, we use the following scheme for hiring freelancers:

Stage 1. Search.

We search on two main platforms:

  • - job vacancy channels on Telegram
  • - Head Hunter website

We do not consider freelance exchanges. Usually, "not quite clear what kind of specialists" are "hanging out" there.

Stage 2. Selection.

We review portfolios and resumes and narrow the selection down to candidates with the necessary professional toolkit.

Stage 3. Test task

We prepare a small test task for the performers - easy and understandable. At ICU, we often offer a paid test task. We do not recommend offering a very large task, as it is an unnecessary waste of time for both performers and the company - to compose and check. A good specialist can be seen on a small task.

Stage 4. Interview

Conducted via video conferencing. It is necessary to understand whether a person is ready for remote teamwork, presence at meetings, if asked, in what form it is convenient to communicate with him. It is desirable to choose an ambitious person with his own principles and charisma. He should also be on the same wavelength with the team if it is planned to work with him further.

It is important to take into account that working with a freelancer is based on trust, unlike a staff employee, whose interaction is based on an employment contract. Therefore, freelance partnership will differ from the usual form of work. But let's go through everything in order.

How to demand?

There is an important point in the relationship between the customer and the freelancer: the employer has the right to the result of the work, and the freelancer has the right to advance payment.

The absence of an employment contract deprives both parties of guarantees - the employer may not pay, and the freelancer may disrupt the deadlines or not complete the work at all. To minimize risks, it is necessary we need to:

  • - Draw up the most detailed technical specification possible
  • - Put everything in writing and clarify all agreements on deadlines and payment several times
  • - Invite the freelancer to participate in thematic conference calls

This will create a kind of partnership that benefits both parties and implies their own areas of responsibility.

Is the benefit greater than the risks?

For freelancing-friendly companies, there are several significant advantages that outweigh the risks of working with "free artists":

Of course, the market is full of stories about negative experiences working with freelancers, missed deadlines, failure to complete tasks, and the disappearance of performers. Employers should use the option of post-payment, intermediate control, and look for their own safe routes for interacting with the freelancer.

This article is a great example of that. It was written by me, Maria Tashchyan, a freelancer, for the ICU communication agency.

Freelancing as a form of work has erased geographical boundaries, but has opened up great opportunities for income and development, both for companies and freelancers. Today, this is already a normal practice - it saves time and effort on the road, allows you to work on a convenient schedule, be with children, and ultimately live more. And this changes the rules of the game to "win-win".

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Policy on the Processing of Personal Data

 

1. General Provisions

This Personal Data Processing Policy is drafted in accordance with the requirements of Federal Law No. 152-FZ dated July 27, 2006, “On Personal Data” (hereinafter referred to as the Personal Data Law) and defines the procedure for processing personal data and the measures taken to ensure the security of personal data by LLC “AISIU+” (hereinafter referred to as the Operator).

1.1. The Operator considers the observance of human and civil rights and freedoms during the processing of personal data, including the protection of the right to privacy, personal and family confidentiality, to be its primary objective and essential condition for carrying out its activities.

1.2. This Policy of the Operator regarding the processing of personal data (hereinafter – the Policy) applies to all information that the Operator may receive about visitors to the website .

2.9. Personal data made publicly available by the subject of personal data – personal data to which the subject has granted access to an unlimited number of persons by giving consent to the processing of personal data made publicly available, in accordance with the procedure established by the Personal Data Law (hereinafter – personal data made publicly available).

2.10. User – any visitor of the website.

7.2. The Operator is also entitled to send the User notifications about new products and services, special offers, and various events. The User may at any time opt out of receiving such informational messages by sending an email to the Operator at hello@icu.agency with the subject “Unsubscribe from notifications about new products, services, and special offers.”

7.3. Anonymized data of Users collected through web analytics services is used to gather information about User behavior on the website, improve the quality of the website, and enhance its content.

8. Legal Grounds for Personal Data Processing

8.1. The legal grounds for the processing of personal data by the Operator are:
– Federal Law “On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection” No. 149-FZ dated July 27, 2006;
– federal laws and other regulatory legal acts in the field of personal data protection;
– the Users’ consent to the processing of their personal data, including the processing of personal data permitted for distribution.

8.2. The Operator processes the User’s personal data only if it is provided and/or submitted by the User voluntarily through special forms available on the website . By filling out the relevant forms and/or sending their personal data to the Operator, the User consents to this Policy.

8.3. The Operator processes anonymized data about the User if this is permitted in the User’s browser settings (such as enabling the storage of cookies and the use of JavaScript technology).

8.4. The personal data subject independently decides to provide their personal data and gives consent freely, by their own will, and in their own interest.

9. Conditions for Personal Data Processing

9.1. Personal data is processed with the consent of the personal data subject to the processing of their personal data.

9.2. The processing of personal data is necessary to achieve the purposes provided for by an international treaty of the Russian Federation or by law, as well as to fulfill the functions, powers, and duties imposed on the Operator by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

9.3. The processing of personal data is necessary for the administration of justice, the execution of a court decision, or the decision of another authority or official subject to execution in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on enforcement proceedings.

9.4. The processing of personal data is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the personal data subject is a party, a beneficiary, or a guarantor, or for the conclusion of a contract at the initiative of the personal data subject or a contract under which the personal data subject will be a beneficiary or a guarantor.

9.5. The processing of personal data is necessary for the exercise of the rights and legitimate interests of the Operator or third parties, or for the achievement of socially significant goals, provided that this does not violate the rights and freedoms of the personal data subject.

9.6. Personal data is processed that has been made publicly available by the personal data subject or at their request (hereinafter – publicly available personal data).

9.7. Personal data is processed that is subject to publication or mandatory disclosure in accordance with federal law.
10. Procedure for the Collection, Storage, Transfer, and Other Types of Personal Data Processing

The security of personal data processed by the Operator is ensured through the implementation of legal, organizational, and technical measures necessary to fully comply with the requirements of current legislation in the field of personal data protection.

10.1. The Operator ensures the safekeeping of personal data and takes all possible measures to prevent unauthorized access to personal data.

10.2. The User’s personal data will never, under any circumstances, be transferred to third parties, except in cases related to the fulfillment of applicable legislation or if the personal data subject has given the Operator consent to transfer the data to a third party for the purpose of fulfilling obligations under a civil law contract.

10.3. If any inaccuracies in the personal data are identified, the User may update them independently by sending a notification to the Operator at the email address hello@icu.agency with the subject line “Personal Data Update.”

10.4. The period of personal data processing is determined by the achievement of the purposes for which the personal data was collected, unless a different period is specified by contract or applicable law. The User may withdraw their consent to the processing of personal data at any time by sending a notification to the Operator via email at hello@icu.agency with the subject line “Withdrawal of Consent to Personal Data Processing.”

10.5. All information collected by third-party services, including payment systems, communication tools, and other service providers, is stored and processed by those parties (Operators) in accordance with their own User Agreements and Privacy Policies. The personal data subject and/or User is solely responsible for reviewing such documents in a timely manner. The Operator is not responsible for the actions of third parties, including the service providers mentioned in this clause.

10.6. Any restrictions established by the personal data subject on the transfer (except access), processing, or conditions of processing (except access) of personal data permitted for distribution do not apply in cases where personal data is processed for state, public, or other socially significant interests as defined by the legislation of the Russian Federation.
10.7. The Operator ensures the confidentiality of personal data during processing.

10.8. The Operator stores personal data in a form that allows identification of the personal data subject for no longer than is necessary to achieve the purposes of personal data processing, unless a longer storage period is established by federal law or a contract to which the personal data subject is a party, beneficiary, or guarantor.

10.9. The grounds for termination of personal data processing may include the achievement of the processing purposes, the expiration of the data subject’s consent, the withdrawal of consent by the personal data subject, or the identification of unlawful processing of personal data.

11. List of Actions Performed by the Operator with Collected Personal Data

11.1. The Operator carries out the collection, recording, systematization, accumulation, storage, clarification (updating, modification), retrieval, use, transfer (distribution, provision, access), depersonalization, blocking, deletion, and destruction of personal data.

11.2. The Operator performs automated processing of personal data with the receipt and/or transfer of the obtained information via information and telecommunication networks or without such transfer.

12. Cross-Border Transfer of Personal Data

12.1. Before initiating the cross-border transfer of personal data, the Operator must ensure that the foreign country to which the data is to be transferred provides reliable protection of the rights of personal data subjects.

12.2. Cross-border transfer of personal data to foreign countries that do not meet the above requirements may only occur if there is written consent from the personal data subject for the cross-border transfer of their personal data and/or for the execution of a contract to which the personal data subject is a party.

13. Confidentiality of Personal Data

The Operator and other individuals who have access to personal data are obligated not to disclose or distribute personal data to third parties without the consent of the personal data subject, unless otherwise required by federal law.

14. Final Provisions

14.1. The User can obtain any clarifications regarding the processing of their personal data by contacting the Operator via email at hello@icu.agency.

14.2. Any changes to the Operator’s personal data processing policy will be reflected in this document. The Policy is valid indefinitely until replaced by a new version.

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