Freelancer and contractors are unsung heroes and Xchangeteam’s Emma Brierley has made it her mission to get freelancers the recognition they deserve. This month’s Freelancer of the Year Awards are only the beginning…

Why Freelancers Need To Be Celebrated

At some point in their career no less than one in seven British workers will be their own bosses and work for themselves either in a shot-term, temporary capacity or as long-term freelancers. This large and important category of employees includes some of the most experienced and knowledgeable UK workers.

It’s also a highly-skilled, highly mobile and highly-flexible 21st Century workforce that is set for even further growth. At the same time, such freelancers form a central role in what is one of the most distinctive contributions of UK Plc to the global economy – the creative industries. That’s a fact recognised by the Government, which in February 2008 outlined its landmark Creative Britain strategy (www.cep.culture.gov.uk), aimed at supporting the promotion of talent in this area – a vital area for the national economy.

Read on for more reasons to be cheerful…

Who are these freelancers? More often than not they are trusted advisers and consultants to all sorts of organisations, offering hard-won industry knowledge and expertise. They prove time and time again they are capable of moving quickly between jobs and assignments, transferring ideas, skills and positive attitudes from British work environment to work environment. They provide the kind of flexibility UK businesses look to to manage fluctuating demand and so take advantage of rapid, low-cost hiring or obligation-free downsizing, as market conditions dictate. And as economic conditions worsen and the job market gets tougher, where best to look for flexible resource than the freelancer?

Freelance and interim consultants may in fact turn out to be the best way to deliver the speed, skill and suppleness essential to an organisation’s capacity to make it through the current tough times.

But it’s a puzzle that this contribution doesn’t get anything like the recognition or acknowledgement it deserves. To some extent these workers are not so much Cinderellas as Invisible Men to too many managers. Despite their widespread involvement and usefulness, the freelance professional finds him– or herself inhabit a legal ‘no mans’ land’ where they are not held to be either a proper employee or legitimate supplier. In the context of the very organisations they make the most contribution to, the teams they work in get credit – but their efforts are hardly ever singled out.

Based on our exposure to the realities and real successes of the freelance market, this is an unfair situation. That’s why we set up the Xchangeteam Freelancer of the Year Award five years ago not just as a mechanism to publicise the  achievement of outstanding individuals but also to gather wider industry recognition of their value.

For example: “Winning the Award has also had a huge impact on my career, in terms of being able to raise my profile in the industry and attract the interest of potential hirers,” says the 2007 Overall Winner, Rona Levin. “Freelancers usually work in the background and don’t seek attention for their work, but one person really can make the difference others value. The Awards recognise that contribution and celebrate it.”

Similarly, Anna Hollisey, who won a Freelancer of the Year Award (Editorial) last year too, comments: “The Award was a good boost to my credibility; it’s a good thing to put after my name or on the website and it gives me extra clout – and it’s a valuable quality indicator, I think.”

She also thinks the Awards have a useful role to help clients too. As she points out, there aren’t prominent industry Associations for freelancers. “So for the client I think it can be difficult sometimes to find a way to distinguish between freelancers, to guarantee they’re going to know what they’re doing.”

The verdict is clear – as 2009 dawns and the economy braces itself for different times than many of us are used to, the flexibility, skills and can-do attitude of the professional freelance may be what many UK organisations – of all sizes – will turn to to get them safely to 2010.

Stay tuned for an announcement on the Winners of this Year’s Freelancer of the Year Award including the overall Grand Prix Award winner chosen from all the Award categories. For full Awards information, and to grab a ticket for the event, go to www.freelanceroftheyear.co.uk.

by Emma Brierley