6 Proven Strategies for Managing Large Teams of Freelancers

[author_more]

Are you a good team manager? Many entrepreneurs are not. Trust me, I know… I used to be one of them.

A study from the University of Ottawa shows that 33% of business projects fail because of lack of involvement from senior management, which means that managing your team of freelancers efficiently is crucial to guarantee a better performance from your team, especially with large teams.

Mismanaging large teams of freelancers can cost you hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars, as most freelancers need the right leader to help them reach their full potential.

Fortunately for you, I took on the task of figuring out the best strategies for leading a strong, successful freelance team when I had to take this task on myself. Here’s what I discovered.

1. Schedule Team Meetings

When freelancers start working on a project, they’ll always have suggestions and updates. In order for you to be a good team manager, you must be all ears by scheduling regular meetings with your team members so they can communicate and make any necessary project adjustments. Skype and Hangouts are the most popular software tools for such meetings.

According to a Computerworld study, 87% of desktop video conferencing users feel more connected to their teams.
The meetings must be short and prolific, and all team members should participate. If you schedule progress conversations on a weekly basis, schedule 35 minutes for video calls, and 23 minutes for phone calls (the average attention spans for each). The more frequently you check in with your team, the shorter each conversation needs to be.

Meeting with small groups within the team separately is better than gathering the entire team at once. Which brings us to the next strategy…

2. Divide Your Team into Small Groups

Dividing your team into small groups by each member’s specialization is a task that simplifies communication with your team, and saves both time and rework.

Not only should you divide your team, but you also must establish connections between each group’s members. Holding frequent meetings is the best way to establish this (see above).

There are many benefits to having freelancers work together, including:

• Better teamwork between each small group’s members, making it easier to solve problems, make choices, and work together.
• An enhanced culture of creativity and collaboration towards attaining a common goal in your team.
• Expediting the work process.

3. Create a Friendly Atmosphere

Generating a pleasant atmosphere is a must-do that every business should use to boost the creativity and well-being of all teams, not just large teams.

It may seem hard for you to apply this rule to a team of freelancers as you’re probably connecting via text message and emails, instead of having physical, eye-to-eye contact. But even without in-person communication, there are still many ways to develop a strong rapport with your team members.

Continue reading %6 Proven Strategies for Managing Large Teams of Freelancers%

by Yassir Sahnoun via SitePoint