Freelancers Are the Network Economy’s Supply Chain
Due to the non-stop accessibility of the internet, the freelance world, as well as the growing impact of crowdsourcing networks, has reached new heights over the years. With the arrival of this new breed of freelancers, namely those who work via remote location over the internet, businesses are able to find the right person for their assignments from a pool of people that stretches to all across the globe.
And “freelancers” don’t always consider themselves as such. In fact, here’s a high level industry breakdown of today’s network economy workers:
| Industry | Payee |
| Traditional Accounts Payable | Suppliers / Vendors |
| Ad Networks | Publishers / Site Owners |
| Affiliate Networks | Affiliates / Referral Partners |
| Monetization Networks | Publishers / Content Owners / App or Game Developers / Licensors / Artists / Producers |
| Crowdsourcing Networks | Contributors / Freelancers / Gig Workers / Contractors / Drivers |
| Marketplaces (Online) | Partners / Suppliers / Vendors |
| Translation Networks | Translators |
| Learning Networks | Educators / Contributors |
A great deal of online freelancers may hail from North America; however, regions such as Europe, Central and East Asia, the Middle East, and South America are also showing a great deal of growth, which only serves in expanding the talent pool that empowers business to have what may seem an infinite, on-demand workforce.
That said, freelancers often make their living on a volume-based system, as they are more often getting paid for the amount of work that they can produce, rather than the amount of hours they clock in.
The best way for a company to ensure that they are receiving the highest quality work possible is to keep their freelancers happy.
How do you keep freelancers happy?
One way is to give them all the information that they need in order to execute their job properly: clarity in instruction does wonders, for sure.
The other is to simply be punctual with your payments. While people around the globe may have many differences, one thing that’s universal is that everyone appreciates being paid on time. This is more than a reasonable way to heighten morale and manage a diverse group of people from all around the world.
To add even more value, paying in their local currency increases the convenience factor, and giving partners a choice in their payment method (not everyone wants PayPal or an expensive wire transfer), expresses a business’s commitment to their freelancers.
Today’s freelance partners of the network economy are essentially the supply chain of time, talent, and ideas. They may even have direct communication with your customers so you want to maintain a quality relationship.
