Project management in the gig economy: Navigating freelance and short-term teams

The rise of the gig economy has transformed the way businesses manage projects, requiring a new approach to leading freelance and short-term teams. As companies increasingly rely on freelancers and contractors for specialised skills, project managers must navigate the unique challenges and opportunities this flexible workforce presents.

So, how can project professionals effectively manage freelance and short-term teams to achieve successful project outcomes?

What is the gig economy?

The gig economy refers to the growing trend of temporary, flexible jobs where individuals work on a short-term basis, often as freelancers or independent contractors. Unlike traditional full-time employment, gig workers are typically hired for specific tasks, projects, or roles, and their work often involves a higher level of autonomy. In recent years, advancements in technology and shifting workplace preferences have led to a surge in gig economy participation.

For project managers, working with gig workers presents unique challenges, such as team cohesion, communication, and accountability. However, with the right approach, leveraging the gig economy can increase project efficiency, reduce costs, and bring specialised skills into the team.

The benefits of gig workers in project management

Freelance and short-term teams offer several advantages, particularly in project-based industries where resources need to scale quickly or for businesses requiring specialised expertise without long-term commitments.

• Specialist skills: Project managers can hire freelancers with highly specific skills on a temporary basis to fill skill gaps without needing to recruit full-time employees. This allows teams to remain lean and flexible
• Cost efficiency: Hiring freelancers or contractors can reduce overhead costs such as benefits, training, and office space. Since gig workers are paid for specific tasks or projects, there’s no ongoing commitment, which makes budgeting for projects more straightforward
• Flexibility and scalability: Freelancers provide the flexibility to scale up or down as needed. If a project requires additional hands for a short period, gig workers can be brought in to support the core team. Similarly, if the project scope changes, the team size can be adjusted accordingly
• Diverse perspectives: Gig workers often come from diverse backgrounds, industries, and geographical regions. This diversity can bring fresh ideas and different approaches to solving problems, improving the overall creativity and innovation within a project team

Challenges of managing freelance and short-term teams

While gig workers bring flexibility and expertise, managing a team that includes freelancers and short-term contractors presents distinct challenges. These challenges include managing communication across different time zones, ensuring accountability, and fostering team cohesion.

Communication

One of the most significant challenges is maintaining clear and consistent communication, especially when team members may be scattered across different time zones. Freelancers often have other clients and projects, so maintaining regular contact and ensuring alignment can be difficult.

Tips to manage this:

• Set clear expectations early: From the outset, establish communication protocols, including preferred methods (e.g. Slack, email), response times, and regular check-ins. Ensure all team members are aware of the project timeline and milestones
• Leverage collaboration tools: Use cloud-based project management tools to facilitate collaboration. These tools provide a shared workspace where all team members can track progress, assign tasks, and communicate updates in real-time

Accountability

Since gig workers often operate independently, ensuring accountability and maintaining quality can be challenging. Freelancers may be juggling multiple projects, and it can be difficult to gauge their level of commitment to your project.

Tips to manage this:

• Defined roles: Clearly define each team member’s role, deliverables, and deadlines. Ensure that freelancers understand the quality standards required for the project
• Clear milestones: Break the project into smaller milestones with clear deadlines. This allows project managers to check the progress regularly, providing opportunities to address any issues before they escalate
• Feedback loops: Provide regular feedback on work submitted to ensure it aligns with project goals. A clear feedback loop helps freelancers understand expectations and improves the quality of output

Team cohesion

Building team cohesion can be difficult with freelancers not part of the organisation's core team. Gig workers may have limited engagement with the project or organisation beyond their specific tasks, which can lead to a lack of unity and shared purpose within the team.

Tips to manage this:

• Foster inclusivity: Make an effort to integrate freelancers into the team by involving them in team meetings and project discussions. Encourage collaboration and communication between full-time employees and freelancers
• Create purpose: Help gig workers understand the bigger picture of the project and how their contributions fit into the overall goals. This sense of purpose can increase their commitment and engagement with the work
• Use onboarding: Even for short-term hires, providing an onboarding process can help freelancers understand the organisation’s culture, expectations, and communication norms

Best practice for managing short-term teams

To effectively manage gig workers and short-term teams, it can be beneficial for project managers to adopt new strategies that accommodate the unique needs of freelancers while maintaining project goals.

Agile project management

Agile project management is particularly well-suited for managing freelance teams due to its iterative, flexible approach. Agile allows for shorter project cycles, frequent feedback, and adaptability, making integrating gig workers into the workflow easier.

With Agile, you can divide the project into shorter sprints, allowing freelancers to contribute to specific tasks. This approach also provides regular checkpoints to assess progress and adjust as needed.

Another aspect of Agile is short, focused stand-up meetings (either virtual or in person), which can also help keep the entire team aligned. Even gig workers can participate remotely, ensuring they remain connected to the project’s ongoing efforts.

Outcome-based management

Managing freelancers effectively often means focusing on outcomes rather than processes. Gig workers thrive when they have the flexibility to manage their time and work independently, so it’s important to measure performance by results rather than micromanaging.

It can help to set clear, measurable goals for each freelancer. Focus this on the deliverable rather than how or when the work is done, as long as it meets quality and deadline expectations. It can also help to check in with gig workers periodically to assess how they are progressing towards their deliverables.

A pool of trusted freelancers

Working repeatedly with the same freelancers allows for greater consistency, trust, and efficiency. Building a reliable network of freelance talent can reduce onboarding time and improve the quality of the project.

It can help to keep a list of freelancers you’ve had positive experiences with. When new projects arise, you can quickly tap into this pool rather than spending time searching for new talent. While freelancers work on short-term contracts, maintaining a positive relationship can lead to future collaborations. Regularly communicating, offering feedback, and paying promptly helps build long-term loyalty.

Navigating the gig economy in project management

Embracing the unique dynamics of gig work while implementing structured management strategies will allow businesses to maximise the benefits of this evolving workforce model. However, it may help to set up your project team with the practices that enable effective gig economy support, such as an Agile approach.

Develop a project team that understands the structure of PRINCE2®, and is able to combine this with the flexibility of Agile, using our PRINCE2 Agile® training courses.