Many contractors prefer to employ freelance developers since it offers plenty of benefits for both parties. However, these benefits also bring along certain risks that cannot be avoided. But what are these risks, and how can they be mitigated? Let’s understand.

Risks and Associated Solutions When Hiring Freelance Developers

1. Mediocre Quality of Work

Freelancers are far less expensive to hire than coders who work full-time. However, it is not easy to ensure the quality of the services offered by freelancers.

Software development requires a little financial investment if you want to create high-quality software. This involves paying your freelancer enough money so they can work more diligently and deliver high-quality results.

You must conduct some investigation if you want to find affordable, dependable freelance developers. Keep in mind that you cannot sacrifice the quality of your software to save money.

Solution

Before you hire a freelance developer, you should do rigorous interviews. While Gig4U connect you with the vetted freelancers, you can do this for your peace of mind too. This can help you gain a better understanding of the developer's credentials, experience, and talents, and help you evaluate if they are the best fit for your project.

Do not hesitate to ask for their portfolio of their previous work. Assess their communication and teamwork abilities as well; this will guarantee that working with them goes well.

2.   Missing Project Deadlines

Working with freelancers also carries the danger of not knowing whether the task will be completed by the deadline. Every employer who uses freelancers has this problem frequently. This is due to the fact that, unlike full-time workers, freelancers are independent and manage several projects simultaneously and work for numerous clients rather than just one.

Solution

Start with a modest test project to lessen the risks of employing a freelance developer. This allows you to analyze the developer's talents and compatibility with your team. It can also help you assess their communication and teamwork abilities. You can check whether they are capable of meeting deadlines, which is critical for a productive working partnership. Gig4u also provides a milestone-based project feature to get the freelancer to deliver on time, right from the start. Ask for updates after hitting every milestone or discontinue working with them if things do not go as per plan.

3.   Miscommunication And Misunderstandings

Miscommunication between employers and freelancers is a common issue. Both the employer and the freelancer may miscommunicate. It can occur for a variety of causes, including:

● Clients provide freelancers with insufficient project information.

● Requirements that were misheard or misinterpreted and the project's specifications.

● Unclear communication of the deadline (both parties).

● Expectations for the output are not clearly stated.

Miscommunication can occur for a variety of other causes, and it almost always results in loss of time, money, and resources. As a result, when you engage a freelancer to manage a job, you must first try to minimize the communication gap by getting to know them personally.

Solution

Clear project concept notes beforehand. Define project guidelines at the outset and ask for consistent updates from freelancers. It would help if you could track the work on a consistent basis. Precisely defining the project scope and objectives would help freelancers know of the expectations. Develop a precise project plan and scope document that includes deliverables and milestones as well. Establish a clear communication plan and timeline for the project. You will be able to guarantee that you and the developer are on the same page and working toward the same goals by doing so.

4.   Confidentiality Risks

To prevent unauthorized usage or code theft, it is crucial for IT organizations to maintain the security and confidentiality of the data and coding of the systems they create. You can prevent plagiarism and maintain the total authenticity of your efforts in this way.

Employees who work as in-house developers are constrained by particular corporate privacy regulations, which demand that they keep their work a secret. However, there is a significant danger of having your private information disclosed while working with freelance developers. There could be issues of freelancers misusing the information related to the project after it is over for ulterior motives.

Solution

To mitigate the risks involved with employing a freelance developer, associate with a well-known trusted gig platform like Gig4U. Sign a formal contract with the platform outlining the project's terms and conditions along with a non-disclosure agreement to address any risks of working with freelancers.

Additionally, ascertain that your security level is adequate and that your laptops and PCs are protected by security features such as disk encryption, VPN, patching, firewalls, etc. Do not forget to update all the access controls and passwords after the project is finished. Remove extra people from the project's workspaces, emails, and chats. Make all of this a routine so that you have peace of mind once the project is over.

5.   Ghost Freelancers

You must be ready to avoid falling victim to one of the many scams that have been committed under the guise of freelancing. It is incredibly typical to get caught in a ghost freelancer's trap.

However, just who is a ghost freelancer? A ghost freelancer is a con artist that poses as a freelancer to con you into giving them an assignment, then vanishes with your money.

Solution

Use a reliable freelance platform that checks and certifies freelancers while seeking independent developers. Platforms like Gig4U offer ESCROW payment mechanism, built-in protection, and dispute resolution mechanisms.

By doing this, you can make sure that the developer you are dealing with is respectable and that you have some protection in case something goes wrong. No ghost freelancers on the platform here!

Also, they retain payments until the job is finished and accepted. By doing this, you may make sure that the work is finished to your satisfaction before paying for it. 

Nonetheless, Gig4U always connect you with the top freelance developers with the best hands-on experience in what they do.

What To Check Before Hiring a Freelance Developer?

Here are a few skills to check for before you hire a freelance developer on the Gig4U platform:

1. Communication Skills

Developmental skills and effective communication are tightly intertwined. Effective project-related communication is a skill that the ideal developer must possess.

2. Technical Skills

Knowledge of the several technologies needed for a project is the most crucial trait for a developer. The ability to use full-stack and deployment procedures, as well as version control tools, development and task management software, is crucial.

3. Client References/Rating

It would be easier for you to feel more confident in your choice of freelancer if you have concrete client references to go through. These references are readily available on their profile.

4. Work Portfolio

Working remotely has its own set of difficulties. For instance, the freelancer must work independently to remain focused, proactive, preserve papers correctly, and manage their time well. And only the most well-organized developers can complete everything on time.

Conclusion

It is understandable for businesses to think that hiring a freelancer developer is a risky business. However, when you hire a freelancer from Gig4U, you can be assured that they have already been screened and carefully hand-picked for the skills they offer. Gig4U is an incredibly trustworthy freelance platform to source your freelance developers.