Image Source: Synergy Global
Hiring people is hard. There’s a lot that goes into the decision. From recognizing the need to justifying the costs, sifting through applicants and interviewing standouts, negotiating contracts and onboarding new hires — it’s a complex process with a lot of room for error.
The stakes are even higher for startups. Every penny spent has got to delivery a return, and new hires take a whole lot of pennies. What’s more, those new hires, if they’re worth their salt, are probably going to turn around and ask you to spend even more pennies to make it possible for them to do their job. This is especially true when it comes to marketing and design.
But this is where crowdsourcing can help minimize risk and maximize return.
Wait a minute, you might be thinking. Crowdsourcing as a talent acquisition strategy? Since when?
Since… well, always. There are three distinct ways using crowdsourcing platforms for your creative needs can help you better manage how you scale your team.
1. Temporary talent stop gaps — Let’s face it. Sometimes a startup simply does not have the budget to hire a designer full-time. Sometimes they don’t have the money to hire a traditional freelancer. In these cases, crowdsourcing platforms allow them to fill their design needs at a minimal cost while benefiting from the competition associated with crowd contributions.
2. Longer-term Freelance Relationships — One of the really cool things about creative crowdsourcing platforms is that they are a seriously deep talent pool where you’re exposed to tremendous professionals you might not otherwise have been able to reach with your recruitment efforts or in your own searches for assistance on the web. Once you’ve identified some of those professionals who you really admire, crowdsourcing platforms can allow for one-on-one work with the talent you trust in a secure fashion. No need for you negotiate payment methods or create your own contracts; the platform takes care of all the logistics for you.
3. Employment Auditions — Perhaps one of the most underutilized features of creative crowdsourcing platforms is the leveraging of the talent pool for direct hiring purposes. Not only do these projects let you see the design chops of the participants, but they showcase things like communication skills, receptiveness to criticism, work pace, and more. These are all points of evaluation that can be hard to figure out during a traditional hiring process. Why go through the hassle of posting a job ad and sorting through resumes when you’ve got so many intensely talented folks right in front of you, ready and eager to prove themselves?
In other words, yes, crowdsourcing is a great way to get the creative results that you need. But to only see those benefits is a narrow view of such platforms. It’s also another arrow in your talent management quiver, and one you should use regularly.
