Using Freelance Staff to Build Your Agency with Shahar Erez

May 5, 2022

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One of the most frequent conversations I’m having in my agency group and my private clients is around talent or the lack of it right now, and therefore the need to find more creative ways to find good people. And of course one of those ways is finding great freelancers.

So that’s the topic for today’s podcast and I’m really excited to be joined by Shahar Erez who is Co-founder & CEO of Stoke, an on-demand talent platform empowering companies to adopt a hybrid workforce model that scales as quickly and efficiently as needed.

In 2021, Stoke was acquired by Fiverr for $110M just 15 months after coming out of stealth mode.

Time Stamp

[01:22] The state of talent in the current market (spring 2022)

[02:35] There is a workforce revolution taking place: 2018 research (in US) showed that Gen Z didn't want to take a full-time job but instead wanted flexibility and remote working opportunities

[04:30] By 2030 60% of the workforce will be freelancers

[06:10] Companies must evolve to recruit freelance staff as well as full-time employees. Their mindset must change

[07:10] How should people be recruiting now?

[09:30] Case study of how WordPress recruits

[10:58] Freelancers work for a number of companies every year so they bring a wealth of knowledge and this helps the agency learn

[12:12] How do you stay profitable when you are hiring (more expensive than FTE) freelancers?

[16:20] How do you ensure freelancers fit in your agency, culturally?

[18:44] A freelancer will always work hard because if they don’t they will be gone the next week!

[19:30] How do you manage a freelance team member?

[21:50] What is the best way to pay freelancers?

[22:58] A cautionary tale of paying day rates to freelance staff. Advice to avoid issues

[24:10] How do I find freelancers?

[26:15] The recent acquisition of Stoke Talent by Fiverr and future plans

[32:06] If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?

Quotations

“There isn't really a talent shortage, it's just most agencies are still trying to recruit the way they did 5-years ago and that no longer works.” - Shahar Erez

“For agencies, it’s more efficient to hire expert freelancers than full-time staff equivalent” - Shahar Erez

“Looking for a freelancer when you need one (without having built your database of freelancers) is like having a podcast and only recording an episode when you have something to say!” - Shahar Erez

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Useful links mentioned in this episode: