Freelancers are getting worse.

I've seen an increasing number of posts recently, decrying a decline in the quality of freelancers' work.

"Missed deadlines", "Poor communication", "Lack of professionalism", "Refuse to work on-site", the list of issues goes on.

Whilst one or two individual views absolutely do not represent the overall quality of work from all "freelancers", and whilst it would be impossible to really get any accurate data on whether 'quality' is declining - I think there are a number of factors at play here.

And as questions arise around whether we're already facing a market saturation in the number of freelancers out there, I think it's important to consider the following factors:

1. Freelancing is being sold to many as a golden-ticket.

In the US, there's been a 260% increase in the number of businesses hiring freelancers, and a 13% increase in the number of freelancers.

Big numbers. This is not in part due to the significant amount of redundancies and lay-offs across many sectors in the US, as well as the constant selling of freelancing as a quick path to financial independence.

Whilst numbers of freelancers in the UK is not significantly growing or declining, we are also seeing lots of people finding themselves in self-employment due to redundancies, or being unable to find perm work (perhaps as a carer, disabled, long-time sick or neurodiverse, or simply a poor jobs market).

More freelancers who are looking for a quick-win and more freelancers who didn't decide to be self-employed are not necessarily going to make for increased quality.

2. Freelancing is being commoditised.

Massive platforms which aim to connect you to talent 'on-demand' encourage 'speed' over 'quality of hire', i.e. you've got a long list of people, and filtering by availability and cost, rather than vetting people based upon experience and quality, is also going to lead to poor experiences.

Last minute briefs are also a massive issue - looking for someone on a Friday to start work on a Monday, when you've never worked with them before, is a high risk, yet it happens constantly, and again, prioritising availability over experience and quality is going to lead to poor experiences.

3. Expecting the freelancer to navigate the project for themselves.

Many hirers are not putting effective process in place to onboard, to communicate clearly, to establish ways of working.

They're hoping the freelancer will just figure out what needs to be done - and when they can't, the blame is placed back to the contractor, rather than the relationship.

The marketplaces have also made it "easier" to hire freelancers, so more and more people who have never worked with a freelancer before, will be trying this for the first time - and won't necessarily know how to get the very best out of their collaborators.

4. There's also been an increase in 'side-hustling' and part-time freelancing

People looking to generate additional revenue in the evenings and weekends, and perhaps are not able to give a project the attention it deserves.

Many full-time freelancers are also seeing depressed day-rates, and frequently cancelled projects, meaning they're having to take on more work than perhaps they can adequately manage, or projects end up overlapping due to poor management (on both sides).

The reality is more nuanced, and is a failing on both sides.

There are lots of freelancers who are not hitting the mark, because they simply don't have the experience or professionalism.

There are lots of freelancers who are doing amazing work, in spite of the challenging circumstances they're facing.

There are many freelancers who are absolutely doing simply good-enough.

But bad experiences with freelancers cannot always be wholly blamed on the freelancer.

Working with ANYONE is a relationship.

Without establishing ways of working, without setting up good process, without due care to find the right people and without good quality management - even the most talented people will struggle to do a good job.

It takes the hirer and freelancer to work TOGETHER to do a good job. Unfortunately, that often doesn't happen, and the net result is often "working with freelancers doesn't work for us".

So some tips for hirers:

1. Don't wait for a brief to find good freelancers - proactively build your networks, and vet people carefully.
2. Don't just hire and hope for the best - ensure you've got good onboarding and process in place for working with freelancers
3. Don't pay and forget - keep your trusted good quality freelancers close, engage them beyond the brief, to keep your pool warm.
4. Get strategic - don't see freelancing as on-demand, but as an opportunity to bring in specialists to augment your team

And some tips for freelancers:

1. Ensure you're setting up ways of working when you start - don't just jump in, make sure you've got everything you both need to do good work
2. Communication is absolutely crucial - don't hide away and focus on the work, you're running a business, not just delivering the work
3. Prioritise hirers who support you to do your best work - so Freelance Friendly organisations continue to access the best people.
4. Only take on what you can manage, else you risk damaging your own reputation, but also of freelancing as a way of working.