The Internet has revolutionized the way people work, enabling them to make a living and communicate with their employers from any spot on Earth. It has literally broken all geographical boundaries and initiated the appearance of a new type of worker – a remote employee, a.k.a freelancer.
Today, more and more people prefer freelancing since they aren’t bound by any full-time job obligations. They receive orders, fulfill them and get their reward – and remain their own bosses. It is an excellent opportunity to live the life to the full, travel around the world and still get paid and develop professionally.
The most popular freelance jobs are traditionally:
- developers – from websites to games and mobile apps;
- graphic and web designers;
- writers and copywriters;
- marketers and sales agents, SEO and SEM specialists;
- translators, teachers and tutors etc.
Using the work of freelancers is very convenient for employers, too. First of all, they can find the specialist with the high level of proficiency, which isn't available in their location. Secondly, they can refer to freelancer's services whenever the need arises instead of hiring a full-time employee. Finally, a freelancer works remotely, and doesn’t need a table and office equipment, so it’s attractive in terms of saving money.
Challenges related to working with freelancers
Still, in spite of the apparent benefits, a great number of companies shun remote workers. In the majority of cases it happens due to the following reasons:
1. Lack of control
Employers aren’t sure whether the freelancer is working only on their project and fear that he/she might be attending to other projects or personal matters at the same time.
2. Lack of transparency with billing
It is especially pressing in case with billable time as it is hard to learn exactly how much time the remote worker spent on your very project.
3. Insufficient communication and low engagement
Traditionally, Internet remains the major means of communication, but in case of big time difference it gets harder to communicate, especially if it is important that an employer is in total control of the process and has to make the necessary alterations. Moreover, a freelancer might feel not really engaged in the work due to being outside of the team.
Was remote employee time tracking can help
Adopting the tools for remote employee time tracking help successfully deal with all the abovementioned challenges. Apart from it, they can be used to monitor the work of all office employees, too.
So, how does a time tracking service facilitates the collaboration with freelancers?
1. Automated data collecting
Once installed on the person’s computer, a time tracker automatically records the data on all websites and software used and exact timing for each of them. There’s no way of cheating, and no human error possible. This means, you’ll be able to fully control the work progress.
2. Accurate info on the time worked
Remote employee time tracking software provides you with the precise data on overall time worked, the percentage of productive/unproductive time and the number and duration of breaks taken. This enables transparent billing and is beneficial both for the employer and the freelancer, who can easily provide proofs for their clients.
3. Deeper engagement
The time tracker to an extent performs a supervision role – a freelancer feels that the process of their work is being tracked and evaluated along with the result. This can be an incentive to be more diligent and feel a part of a team, especially if the person responsible for the project makes remarks on the progress and gives their recommendations.
Bottom line
Now you see that thanks to the remote employee time tracking services like Yaware.TimeTracker both freelancer and you as their boss are in the “win-win” situation. Still apprehensive? Then, simply take a minute to register your account and receive free 14-day access to all the features of Yaware.TimeTracker to discover the great opportunities of using the remote employees’ work.
