Skip the 3 idea-blockers: bring more speed to implementation with dynamic teams
One of the most common arguments against the quick implementation of ideas: "We don't have time for that". One solution: Work in a targeted way with freelancers. In this article, we will share how it's done.
There are many reasons why potentially good ideas are not implemented in companies. Especially in larger companies, these hurdles are anchored at different levels:
Idea block 1: Management - values and direction
Without direction, it's going to be difficult. If no guard rails are given from the very top, priorities quickly change. Teams and individual employees have no decision-making guidelines and try to compensate for the missing strategy at any cost.
Idea block 2: Team - responsibilities
We all know it: long team meetings without clearly defining who is responsible for the next steps at the end. When teams don't set clear responsibilities, the result is often more meetings without anything ever being implemented. *Analysis Paralysis* says hello.
Idea block 3: individual - skills
What a luxury problem – the strategy is clear and it is clear in the team who is responsible for implementation. But: The technical skills are missing! Or at least the ability to work with the right tools to bring a minimum product (MVP) to the target group.
Why problems can be solved quickly "from below"
I have worked with many startups and scaleups that were victims of idea blocks 1 and 2. It would be easy to just give up here and hope for *better* *management*.
However, the reality is often that managers depend on experiments and insights *from* *down below* in order to obtain decisive impetus for good strategies.
The technical bottleneck
Almost every function in the company today is infinitely complex. And *growth* experts like us, of course, know hundreds of tools that can be used to quickly test things...
But often help is needed to implement something, and of course, the internal resources *never* have time for ideas.
But it's 2022, and like tools, you can get up and running pretty quickly with experts on just about anything. Without any agencies. But how does that work if you've never worked with freelancers before?
Implement ideas faster with freelancers
There are no longer any excuses for areas such as software development, graphic design and texts: With freelancers you can implement ideas quickly and inexpensively if the skills are not available internally and your colleagues don't have the time again.
But there are stumbling blocks when working with external parties. So I recommend following these four steps.
1. Define clear responsibility
Freelancers work best when used as specialists. Examples of this:
- Graphic designer for print
- Google Ads Expert
- WordPress landing page developer
For more complex projects, it makes sense to work with several freelancers.
The key point: isolating a potential freelancer's activity for better results.
2. Find freelancers
You used to have to rely on word of mouth and LinkedIn to find good freelancers. Fortunately, today there are freelance platforms that can be used to find freelancers for pretty much any budget:
- Designers on Designmatch.io
- Copywriter on Fiverr
- Software developer on Lemon.io
- Financial analysts on Fintalent.io
On all of these platforms, you can usually start working with the freelancers within 48 hours and at the same time benefit from reviews and referrals from other customers. It doesn't get much faster!
3. Freelancer onboarding & communication
Are you starting out with a freelancer? Now it is super important to set up communication and onboarding effectively. Especially at the beginning of your relationship, communication should be particularly close.
What you need to clearly define for onboarding
- Access to necessary tools
- Invitation to the necessary communication channels (e.g. Slack)
- What should be delivered when?
- Where are results shared?
Especially at the beginning of your relationship, it is important to communicate very closely and preferably a little too much.
4. Regular exchange
Freelancers are often on the road for many different companies at the same time. It is therefore important to be able to work asynchronously in communication and to clearly define when the other party can be reached. This way you can ensure that you can provide and receive important information at the right time.
- This article was written by Matias Rodsevich, freelance PR consultant and CEO of PRLab.
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