The more companies tap the freelance economy to handle major tasks and projects, the more managers have to collaborate with people other than their direct reports. It can be tricky to know the right thing to say when you’re managing a project that’s being done by people other than full-time employees who you see every day.
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A mentor of mine in high school often said "Ambiguity is the death of art." He explained that each piece, regardless of its medium, must clearly communicate its message, or the characteristic that makes the piece into art is gone. If an audience doesn't understand what you are trying to communicate, then they cannot truly appreciate a piece. This article makes clear that this concept goes well beyond the hazy boundary that defines art. In collaboration and communication, we must polish our ideas to have clarity, else expectations cannot be met. When hiring a freelancer, as the premise of the article states, one must recognize that he or she comes from a different perspective, and thus may need guidance to fit within one's own expectations. Vague responses that don't clearly define a dialogue's purpose fail to effectively engage either party in this scenario, wasting company time and money.
I feel like this article really really applies to the field of theatre, and specifically stage management. Because in reality, the only true “Boss” in a production are the Production Managers (sometimes) and the Producers. So learning how to manage, or even just work with, people who are under your supervision (sort of) but you don’t really have power over, is important. A lot of the principals outlined in the article however, are true for any interactions with any employees. You should ask for things nicely because you should strive to be a nice person, not just because you want a better product. I think the key to managing freelancers is more along the lines of recognizing that no one wants to do a bad job. Everyone is there to put out work they feel proud of, and everyone’s process is different. Recognizing that and keeping it in mind during your day to day should lead to a really meaningful process.
Though this author is focusing on relationships in their specific field, I think what they have to say is very beneficial to any work force that you go into. Showing someone kindness can go a long way, asking how someone is doing, or smiling when you pass them could change their day and/or mindset in ways that you might not be aware of. Even if you disagree with a person on their artistic choices or design choices for a project, criticizing them in a harsh way will not only damage your relationship with them but also their own attitude towards their artwork. So it's always good to keep in mind that an artist can be their own biggest critic and working with them in a friendly manner will help all around.
Working with freelances and independent contractors can be tricky sometimes – they are not your employees so you do not have control over how they do their work, but technically you pay them to deliver the end result, be it a design or a product. People who always have bad experience of collaborating with a freelancer or independent contractor almost always thinks they ARE the boss. The article is basically saying: treat people nicely, don’t give soul-crushing criticism when the design is not satisfactory to your standard, be more clear about what you want and provide more background information (like branding, company culture, etc.) If by any chance this can lead to a long-term collaboration, the company will save a lot of effort and potentially money in the future.
This applies to our world as well. When a theater brings in designers who are usually freelancers, it is very important for the PM to make sure the director is clear about his/her vision, that there should be no personal attack, and that people are paid on time (provided that design is delivered on time).
This is a skill that is very important, especially in the entertainment industry. As a manager you work with many free lance designers and often find that you have to manage those that are not directly under you as an employee. I think the most important thing, that the author does not really go into detail over, is that you have to treat them as the creative individual they are. Understanding their way of working is going to be one of the best ways to collaborate and get the best end product. I think tips that are pretty obvious are definitely important, however sometimes you are the one that has to work with them, but not the one giving out their pay check. The idea of bossing people around is not something anyone really wants to be on the receiving end of, especially designers who take a creative license in the work. So I think the most important thing is to have a mind of collaborating.
What the article laid out are all very basic. Make specific requests instead of making ad hominem attacks. Have a clear vision and a big picture. Be nice. Make payments on time. Do your homework and hire the right kind of person. But as always is the case, people can forget about the very elementary. I believe theaters and performing industry are relatively good at working with freelancers because they constantly hire freelancing designers, technicians and stage managers. As other people pointed out above, establishing good relationships with freelancers can save a lot in a long run. Therefore, bigger and established companies have their go-to favorite freelancers already. Breaking into the established relationship will be the most difficult step when you first step into the community and start out as a freelancer. But it also means that once you put your name out there, there will be constant demand for your service and you'll quickly learn which company is the best fit for you or which company should be avoided.
A lot of the things this article talks about is common sense, but in the heat of the moment can be really hard to remember. Of course you should be nice to your freelancers and not just bash their work. Of course you should pay them on time and show them that you value the work they did or at least the time. Of course you should have a clear vision of what you want since that is what you want. And while you are paying this person to make something for you or design something you should be able to explain what you want. So it’s good to read this article now and to take a moment to remember all these things. And this doesn't even just apply to freelancers. Even if you are actually someone’s boss you should take these pointers into account since no one wants to feel like their work isn't appreciated or is always wrong. That’s why people leave jobs.
As a couple of other people have mentioned, a lot of the article’s advice applies to good management in general and not just management of freelance employees, but I understand why this information might need to be emphasized for those managing freelancers. Though I haven’t experienced this personally, I could see how a manager might exhibit some bad behaviors (dictation, negativity, lack of investment) with a freelance because they don’t have to “live” with them as a long-term employee. If you only have to work with someone for a short, contracted time and you know you can simply find someone else the next time around, it’s much easier to focus on “what you want” over building a positive relationship.
This article seems particularly pertinent to production management. PM’s work directly with freelance designers and have some influence over them (since they control resources and safety and help manage communication) but they are definitely NOT the designer’s bosses.
I think a lot of working with freelancers effectively probably comes down to trusting that you hired them because they will be able to do what you want done better than you can. This article touches on that when discussing not just telling them what to do. Separately, I think the idea of hiring someone for a small job to get a feel before hiring them for a larger project is really good. It is basically the non-exploitative version of spec work. It also allows you to be more confident in their work and understand their working process better so you are ready when the stakes are higher. In general, a lot of the rules this article discusses come down to just respecting the person you are working with. Paying them on time, communicating clearly, and giving them helpful feedback all come down to treating them like a person rather than just treating them as the source of the work you want done.
This is exactly what my thesis is tackling! I’ve been doing a lot of research into how the tax code has evolved in this way.
Some interesting developments include that having “benefits” come with a full time job has only been in place since World War II. Roosevelt enacted a wage freeze to curtail inflation and so the only way businesses could lure potential employees to work for them was the benefit package. The practice was supposed to end after the war, but people liked it so much that it stayed. One of the problems for gig workers is that businesses can deduct money spent on benefits as a business expense before taxes, but gig workers must pay taxes on that money.
I absolutely agree that the tax code needs to be updated. I think one of the main problems is that it needs to feel fair to the gig workers. W2 workers are used to seeing less money on their pay check than their actual salary and that is far less shocking than having to pay thousands of dollars all at once at the end of the year or quarterly.
This was really important I think for all forms of management. Berating or being more cruel with your own in house employees shouldn't be any more acceptable that rudeness to a third party. However, I did appreciate how the article outlined how much you have to toe a line of providing examples while not stepping on their own artistic vision and always kind of meander inside a gray area while still striving to be firm and focused with the vision and with the work that needs to be produced. Lack of proper communication with any employee, especially those that are in house is simply bad management. A freelancer cannot be blamed for an incomplete or incorrect design when they don't have the full picture.
Also I feel like paying third-parties promptly should be a "no-brainer." For someone who lives off of freelance any kind of delay in payment is not only a show of disrespect, but also has a direct effect on their livelihood.
This is an excellent article in terms of information, tone, and general explanation quality. The author clearly dictates where they are coming from in terms of perspective and experience, giving their argument more weight and brevity than some other writers. I really appreciate the background this author has because they went from being the freelancer for bigger companies to being the one to hire freelancers for bigger companies. Having both sides of the experience really builds up the expertise that can be established in certain jobs. My favorite example is people who are rude to any kind of service workers usually haven’t worked in any aspect of customer service of any kind. S the author says, building the relationship and establishing a good form of communication will go much further than simple back and forth criticism. I think the playtest model for using freelancers on smaller projects in order to see if they will fit on a bigger project/team is the perfect way to establish these relationships, unfortunately not everyone has the time and resources to accomplish this.
Learning how to work with freelancers is also useful in learning how to work with different people in theatre. As a stage manager you are in charge of the show, but you are not the direct boss of some of the departments working underneath you. As the stage manager it is very difficult if not impossible to tell a designer that you do not think what they have made is not very good and you had a different idea for it. It is not your place to say something like that because they were the ones hired to do that design work. A director’s role is the one to tell designers what they do and do not like. They need to be able to say these things in a way that the designer will not be very upset and that they will actually want to make the changes and possibly work with you again.
I think this article is extremely relevant when it comes to stage management, and theatre in general. Depending on what theatre you're working with, you will have a different variety of responsibilities, which may or may not fall into your regular duties. This summer, I worked for a theatre company where I had a lot of jobs that did not normally fall into my realm of responsibility, while also a lot of my typical jobs were handled by someone else. In that,there are constantly different people to be managed or handled that you may not be used to being charge of. This article is helpful in keeping some basic, fundamental guidelines in mind for situations like this where you are dealing with different power dynamics and egos. In stage and production management, at the end of the day you have to manage everyone, regardless of whether or not you are directly in charge of them, so it is definitely important to be able to handle people who are not specifically under your jurisdiction.
This article brings up some good points to consider not only in theatre, but any field in which there are personal interactions that go on with projects. Collaboration is key to almost every type of job, and keeping those relationships alive can be incredibly important for future projects. In theatre, there is no way in which one person is capable of doing everything necessary on a project, and so of course communication is incredibly important. As John Donne wrote, "No man is an island, entire unto himself."
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