Freelancers have valuable role to play in business

According to the Professional Contractors Group (PCG), freelance contractors and consultants have a valuable role to play in complementing the UK’s permanent workforce, especially when organisations are experiencing the effects of a tight labour market.

PCG chairman Simon Juden was commenting upon the ‘2005 Recruitment, Retention and Turnover’ survey just published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), which found that 85 per cent of employers experienced recruitment difficulties last year and that a lack of specialist skills was cited most frequently by survey respondents as the reason for recruitment difficulties (63 per cent), followed by a lack of the required experience (59 per cent).

"Freelancers can be the perfect complement to a permanent workforce, especially when competition for staff is tough," said Dr Juden. "They offer staffing flexibility, value for money and cost-effective deployment, without the burden of employment costs and responsibilities."

"Expert consultants are notoriously difficult to find, and often harder to afford," he said. "Most of them prefer project-based work where they can use their skills and experience. A major advantage to organisations is the knowledge transfer and best practice that freelancers bring for the benefit of their permanent staff. Freelancers’ expertise and experience is usually enriched by working for several clients."

PCG’s latest annual survey showed that of those members who responded, 62 per cent had a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, 18 per cent had a master’s degree, 33 per cent had professional qualifications and 22 per cent had technical qualifications.

"This clearly indicates that we have a well-educated and well-trained talent pool," Dr Juden said. "In terms of organisations’ concerns about experience, our survey showed that 90 per cent of respondents were over the age of 35 and 73 per cent of them had been freelancing for over five years. This is impressive when you consider that freelancers live or die by their reputations."

"Since the introduction of our Quality Systems scheme last year, many of our members can add ISO9001 certification to their list of valuable attributes, making them suitable candidates for more public sector and corporate projects."