For those perfectionists among us, it can sometimes be difficult to let go and hand over the reins to someone else at work. But there will always be times when you need some extra support to help deliver on a heavy workload, or to provide external expertise.
Taking on a reputable and experienced freelancer or agency could be the answer, as they can immediately take projects or areas of work off your hands, provided they have a clear and detailed brief. However, if you then spend hours triple-checking their work and calling or emailing them for updates, this won’t be the best use of your time – and certainly won’t help you manage the overall picture. It’s important to find the right person for the job and then to get the reporting arrangements in place from the start and build the trust between you.
When you’re signing up a freelancer or agency to deliver on a project, agree from the beginning when and how you’ll want them to check in:
- Do you want verbal or written updates?
- Do you want them daily, weekly or monthly?
- Do you want to supplement these updates with a regular face-to-face meeting?
The frequency and types of updates that you need will often depend on the kind of work being undertaken and the schedules you’re working to. For instance, as well as regular catchups, you could ask for more in–depth reports at key milestones, or a progress report before each meeting where you need to update colleagues.
It really is up to you to decide – the key is to ensure you’re always as up to date as you need to be and that both you and the freelancer are clear on reporting expectations.
You can also test out a freelancer or agency by initially signing them up for a smaller project or short-term contract, to check that the quality of work is at the level you expect, that they are reliable, and perhaps most importantly, that they’re a good fit for you. If all goes well, this should give you confidence to use them again.
When you know you have reliable support from a good communications professional, you can focus on the areas you really need to and take a step back from the other projects, safe in the knowledge that your chosen expert is on the case – even if you hardly ever see them.
If you’re ready to dip your toe into the world of external outsourcing and could use a little extra capacity to edit a newsletter, write blog posts, proofread reports, update your website or manage a publication, contact us today for a no-obligation chat.