The Newest HR Trend – How Can One Become A Freelance HR Consultant
Doing their own thing, taking the road less traveled, being their own bosses, etc., are just some of the terms associated with freelancers. Not doing the good old 9-5 job thing-ey but doing what they like in their own field is something a freelancer would do. They are independent workers who believe in doing things at their choice of time and place. Itâs a giant leap to take, but sure a worthy one if one knows just how to work it out. It is exciting and overwhelming at once. With a head full of dreams about being independent and without much thought of getting a steady income, freelancers have been very much in demand lately.
Freelancers are a part of almost every business sector these days, including the human resources. In fact, according to statistics, freelancers have grown so much accustomed to being independent that almost half of them say they wouldnât want to return to the job culture. HR freelancers are in a lot of demand in cities across Canada and the world. There are a lot of questions to ponder upon before working as an independent HR, but with the right strategies, it might be easier to jump the gear.
What Are The Duties Of A Freelance HR Consultant
Independent HR consultants are usually asked to put their expertise into working and provide creative employee-related approaches to the organization. They are responsible for maintaining the staffâs productivity and keeping them engaged at work. With their ability to think critically, they are given the responsibility to plan out employee-related strategies, mainly regarding retention. They are told to keep the staff happy and satisfied with work by keeping up with their needs and wants, both personally and professionally. Right from recruitment to planning the staffâs exit strategies, they are responsible for the entire workforce of the company.
Apart from freelancing and outsourcing your human resource processes, companies can also make use of digital hr solutions to manage the workforce of your organization. Such programs automate all of the businessâs HR tasks and take a heavy load off the departmentâs back, allowing them to focus on other critical tasks at hand. When the issues that hold greater importance are given the required attention, the productivity of the business as a whole increases, thereby paving a way towards greater success.
The main steps to keep in mind before becoming an HR consultant are given below.
How To Become A Freelance HR Consultant
Given below are the strategies to follow while you are on the running to become an independent HR manager-
Make Sure You Have The Required Qualifications
It is necessary to have an HR specified or a business administration degree for making a career in human resources. You should have both a bachelorâs and masterâs degree with a background in HR, which will take a total of 5 years. A Ph.D. in HR will also be greatly appreciated. These can be done either full-time or part-time, both offline as well as online. School and college education matter a lot when asking for a job, which is why you should have a relevant degree that relates to staffing management. Apart from that, industry experience is also a must. While most organizations ask for 5-6 yearsâ experience, some companies might even ask for more than that. The background should be related to HR and its niche, professional, or employee.
Understand What Motivates You
You need to set a target goal in mind before becoming anyoneâs freelancer. Stuff that drives you and makes you productive for work should be on your priority list. You should know what kind of industryâs work you would be good at and whether it will push you towards giving it your best. It would be best if you also kept in mind all the things that you want out of working as a freelancer, i.e., the flexibility to work anytime, anywhere, earning money, an office with walls, etc. You need to set an agenda about how you want to work. For example, if you are motivated by vibrant and colorful office spaces, you should throw some of it into your personal working space by adding a wall hanging on one wall, graffiti on the other, etc. Similarly, if you are inspired by the idea of plants growing around you, you should plant one in each corner of your office and also put a tiny succulent on your table so that you can look and even talk to them.
Plan And Prepare
After deciding to freelance, you should plan and strategize things like the type of work you will do, when and where you will do it, how you will represent yourself in front of the companies, your unique skills and talent, whether you would be working remotely or going to the office, etc. Besides that, you should also decide how much you will charge for each project, the average deadline you will take to finish it, what type of quality you will provide to them, and if or not you will give any added benefits. You should also keep some money aside as backup since you probably wonât get it right away. Extra money is always a good option to fall upon since freelancing doesnât always incur a steady income.
Identify Your Target Market
The next step is to decide which industry type and company you would want to be working for. For example, if you are interested in working for the retail industry, you should look for freelancing jobs in retail companies accordingly. You shouldnât go âall inâ and do everything at the same time, for no one person can possess all the skills. Not everything can be done by you. That is why it is essential to select a target market you want to serve. After choosing an industry type, you should find out ways of approaching them by creating profiles online.
Make A Presence Online
Technology plays a very important role when it comes to companies recognizing and considering you as an option. That is why It is crucial to have a presence online and on job sites. You should make a portfolio and submit it on freelancing websites and job portals like Fiverr, Truelancer, LinkedIn, Indeed, etc. This way, the companies you want to do business with will have your details and concrete stuff about why they should hire you as a freelancer. You can also create a website through free plugins describing your background, strengths, weaknesses, etc.
Decide On A Fix Pay Rate
Before deciding to join hands with the business of your background, you should decide on how much salary you would want them to pay to you, whether it should be fixed or performance-based, yearly, monthly, or quarterly, etc. Your pay should be decided keeping in mind your expenses like data, PC, phone bill, etc. You will also have to give them a calendar based on the time you decide to work. Although many freelancers work according to their own schedule, depending on the contract terms, such calendars should include the number of casual leaves you will take, festivals and other bank holidays, medical leaves, etc.
Execute The Strategies
The last part of the plan is to execute the plan, i.e., to give wings to everything you gave your heart to, to give voice to your dream. Go on and walk on this road of independence, and you are bound to achieve success solely but steadily.
To End Things,
As happening as being independent and doing your own thing might sound, it is just as difficult. Because it doesnât always provide a steady income, it is tough to find work regularly, leading to one sitting completely idle. This leads to productivity loss and disengagement. This can be dealt with with the help of choosing multiple clients at once and finish them all one by one.
Apart from no regular work, working on your own terms also limits the benefits you get while being an employee, like bonuses, praises and recognitions, office parties, etc. Because you are your own boss, you can deal with this issue by rewarding yourself with your favorite pizza, maybe two, after successfully completing a task, or take a break from working and go on a holiday.
We all strive to work hard to earn money, but just as important it is to earn, it is equally important to focus on yourself. You shouldnât involve yourself so much in your work that you forget that there exists a life beyond work too. A little me time during work wonât do you anything bad; it will instead help you charge yourself. You should learn to give importance to yourself.
