Remote work and freelance-based contractors are the future of the working economy. This is why, if you want the best outcome (not to mention developer retention), you’ll go all-in on treating freelance developers the same as you do your full-time, in-house staff.
Remote employees can easily feel out of the loop and removed from the team, not just physically, but mentally as well. A recent Harvard Business Review survey found that remote workers often feel ignored and alienated in comparison to in-office employees.
Chris Boyce, CEO of Virgin Pulse, confirms this data. He said,
Since they’re not able to participate in the casual conversations that naturally occur in a workplace, remote employees can feel socially isolated, anxious, and out of the loop. Company culture doesn’t necessarily translate virtually, so [our] company integrates virtual, team-based activities to ensure remote workers are in touch and collaborating with in-office teams.
Chris Boyce, CEO of Virgin Pulse
Treating freelance developers like in-house employees gives them a chance to succeed and makes it easier to connect, share ideas, and get feedback.
Below are a few strategies for how you can actively engage your freelance development team members.
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1. Make it Easy to Connect
Consistent and accessible communication is the key to any remote employee relationship. One way to make that connection possible is with online chat tools like Slack, Skype, or even project management tools like GitLab.
Tony Ventrice, senior product manager at Eversight, explains: “Online communities, social collaboration software, and chat clients help bring remote employees inside the cultural conversation. It’s important that not all of these communications are even completely serious—much of what brings a team together is the shared banter.”
Read More: 5 Reasons Why Your Engineering Management Style Isn’t Working
2. Prioritize Consistent Feedback
Regular feedback is essential for remote freelance developers throughout the scope of their projects. Travis Kimmel, the CEO of GitPrime, explains, “No matter how well you think you may have communicated the specifications, developers will still have questions. Development is an iterative process … Just as ‘no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy,’ no set of requirements should be expected to survive implementation without a little bit of flex.”
Provide feedback and support throughout each stage of development for your freelancer developers, just as you would for in-house employees. While this may sound obvious, it’s easy to let this slip through the cracks. Rather than stopping by someone’s desk, you have to remember to schedule a call, send an email, or type out a brief Slack message.
3. Do “Lunch” Regularly
These meetings don’t have to take place at lunchtime specifically. The point is simply to check in with developers whenever possible, even in casual situations like lunch. Check-ins are not only an opportunity to project manage and ask questions on the fly but also to connect socially and make sure your freelancer feels connected to the organization’s overall goals.
David Mendlewicz, the co-founder of Butterfly, implemented stand-ups three times per week with in-house and remote staff. His entire staff of 15 gathers to share goals, progress, and successes. To bring in their remote staff, they use Google Hangouts. He explains, “While 3X per week stand-ups might seem like overkill, these 20-minute meetings help us build and bolster our unique culture. We point out each other’s new haircuts, get to meet our teammates’ cats, and set team objectives as a cohesive unit each week.”
Read More: How to Integrate Freelance Software Developers Into Your Current Team
4. Facilitate More Learning
Developers want to consistently learn and grow their skills — and they have to if you want your business to grow. In fact, a 2018 report found that, on average, developers spend seven hours per week of their own time learning new skills related to their careers. Yet, at their jobs, they only have access to an average of two hours per week of formal training opportunities.
This data suggests a gap in the learning that developers crave and the opportunities that are available to them. If your company can facilitate remote training programs for developers, you’ll not only engage your current employees but retain talent longer.
You may also see increases in productivity. The same 2018 report estimates an investment of $800 to $1,800 per year can yield a 20 to 30 percent increase in morale and productivity.
5. Invite Them to Events (Virtually)
Remote employees miss out on a lot, including opportunities to get to know their co-workers outside of the confines of work. If you host events for your team regularly, be sure to bring remote employees in on the fun as well. Ryan Rogowski, the CEO of Waygo, knew this was important and instituted a virtual happy hour for his distributed team.
He explains, “We take some time to chat about life, hobbies, and fun trips we are planning. Everyone will typically have a beer in hand. Coworkers will share pictures of interesting vacation destinations they’ve visited or tell the group what they did with their family over the holidays. The key part is really focusing on getting to know each other outside of day-to-day work tasks and keeping up with each other on life outside of work.”
Read More: How to Create a Remote Work Culture That’s Supportive, Positive & Fun
Stay Connected With Your Freelance Developers
A remote workforce of freelance developers provides on-demand staff for large projects or seasonal work that isn’t possible otherwise. Unfortunately, it’s easy for these employees to feel out of the loop and therefore disengaged with the work and the company.
Use these ideas to keep these important employees involved, whether you host a weekly happy hour via video chat or simply invest in chat software to stay connected all day. You may find that you hold on to great talent longer, which ultimately benefits the business.
Have you had success with any of these tactics, or found success with ones we did not mention? Let us know in the comments below!
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