Last financial year, 28,127 Australian businesses stopped employing staff but kept trading. It's the same story in the BNSW June Business Conditions survey, the ability to hire is tightening under a range of pressures on small to medium businesses across Australia.

That said, small to medium businesses continue to find a way. Over the same 12 months, non-employing businesses grew by 83,105 and employing businesses grew by 2,025.

The shape of work is changing.

Just because there are pressures on the bottom line, and real risks that come with full-time hiring, doesn't mean expert help is off the table. Just like many of us tap in and out of accounting and tax help as needed, the same can go for marketing, graphic design, social media, photography, development and more.

In these tougher hiring times, small businesses need to change what they ask — from "who do we employ?" to "what do we need access to this quarter?"

The case for bringing in expert freelance talent at key periods has never been stronger. For the first time, more than a million Australians hold more than one job, up 11% on last year. Plenty of skilled people are freelancing alongside something else — a pool much bigger than the 1.1 million independent contractors in the headline figure.

 

When does it make sense to bring in a freelancer?

You don't always need a new hire, sometimes you just need the right person for a specific job. Here are ten moments when freelance or contract talent is the smarter call.

  1. Can't stretch to a full-timer. You need the work done, but can’t afford a whole salary, super and a desk you haven't got.

  2. Someone's off on parental leave. A key player is heading off for 3, 6 or 12 months with a new arrival.

  3. Hiring's dragging on. Three months in, a thousand CVs deep, and the work's still piling up.

  4. Building something new? Big idea, half the skills, none of the capital. Tap the right expert for each step.

  5. Too small for a full agency, too big to wing it. Not ready to lock in an agency retainer, but you need a professional.

  6. Agency with too much on. Won the pitch, signed the project, but don't want another name on the payroll.

  7. Wearing all ten hats. Founder, bookkeeper, marketer, dishwasher. Take one hat off and hand it to a freelancer.

  8. Slammed for silly season. It's December, your biggest sales season, and you're juggling ads, socials, sales and the phone. Don't run around like a headless chook — grab a hand for peak season.

  9. Fractional marketing muscle. FrGet senior help without the full-time bill and take your business up a gear.

  10. Genius idea at the pub. Third schooner in and you’ve cracked it, the one that changes everything. An AI powered esky that works for backyard cricket.


Whatever the moment, a freelancer can help a small to medium business grow and perform when it matters, without the same risks and pressures a full-time hire can place on the business.

 

Three tips to get freelance hiring right

(1) Be clear on the job, and clear while it's running.

Before anyone starts, write down what done looks like:

  • Desired outcome. What the work needs to achieve, and who it's for

  • Key deliverables. Exactly what's being handed over, in what format

  • Timing and budget. When it's due, and what it costs

  • Feedback rounds. How many rounds are included, and what happens if you need more

Then agree how you'll talk. That means one person who answers questions and signs off the work, one place where the conversation lives, and a reply time you'll both stick to. Most freelance jobs that go sideways don't fail on skill. They fail because nobody said what they wanted, or nobody answered the question on day three.

 

(2) Sort your paperwork once.

Freelance hiring rarely falls over on quality. It falls over on friction. Get these documents ready before the first gig, and reuse them every time after that:

  • Contractor agreement. Scope, fees, payment terms and what happens if either side walks away

  • NDA. Covers what they'll see about your business, your customers and your numbers

  • IP assignment. Makes it clear the work belongs to you once it's paid for

  • Classification and super check. A quick test of whether you owe super. You can owe it to a contractor who's paid mainly for their labour, even when they invoice with an ABN

  • Onboarding pack. One page covering brand assets, logins and who to ask

Once the paperwork's sorted, taking on your tenth freelancer is a 24-hour decision.

 

(3) Build your bench before you need it.

Most businesses go looking for a freelancer the week things catch fire. That's the worst time to judge anyone.

Do it in a quiet month instead:

  • Who. 5 to 8 people across the skills you use most, with at least two for anything you can't do without

  • How. A small paid job for each of them, so you've seen their work before it matters

  • What to note. Their rates, how quickly they turn work around, what they're best at and how they take feedback

  • Keep it warm. Rebook the good ones first, and check in with the rest every few months

  • Treat it as insurance. When the busy period hits, you're briefing people whose work you've already seen, not strangers.

The shape of work has changed. Hiring is becoming a dial. You turn capacity up when you need it and down when you don't.

The winners over the next five years will be the businesses that can reach the right person fast. Someone local, skilled and already verified, without adding to payroll when you don't have the capacity for it.

That's the whole reason we built Unjumble. For small to medium businesses in Australia to find local ABN-verified freelancers across a range of marketing and growth services, from videographers to fractional marketers to social media specialists. 

Unjumble is a strategic partner of Business NSW to help NSW businesses find quality local freelancer talent when they need. You can view more about the partnership here.