A few years ago, being a freelancer in the PR industry was as good
as admitting that you’d been made redundant and couldn’t find another
’proper’ job. Now, a freelancer is just as likely to be an account
director who has made a decision to quit the office backbiting and take
a more flexible approach to their career.
This is in line with a general shift in working patterns, as more people
in a variety of industries are choosing to use new technology to work
away from an office. But the freelance market isn’t just made up of
women who don’t want to go back to work after having children. It’s also
about PR agencies and in-house PR departments buying in experience and
expertise as and when it is needed.
Freelance PR placement agency PRXchange has just carried out a survey of
120 of the 400 freelancers on its books, ranging from junior account
executives through middle management, to director level. The survey
revealed that the majority of the respondents were happy with the
decision they had made, and for some convincing reasons.
Around two-thirds of those questioned said they would not go back to
permanent employment if it was offered. A number of benefits to being a
freelance came out strongly, the top ones being a better quality of
life, and no office politics. Also cited were the ability to give a more
personal service to clients, greater control of their working schedule,
and a greater variety of work.
In some situations freelancing can be an adaptable lifestyle which suits
working parents. It can also be very lucrative: 20 per cent of those who
responded to the survey are earning pounds 400-plus per day; 50 per cent
are earning pounds 200-pounds 350 per day, and 30 per cent are earning
between pounds 130 and pounds 200 per day. Around 70 per cent work a
full five-day week.
There are also downsides, however. Of those who said they would take a
full time job if it came up, the top reason was a desire for a regular
income and greater security. Others are not happy with the isolation and
lack of social interaction, and the difficulty of keeping home and work
separate as a freelancer. And the money may be good, but only if you can
get your hands on it: most freelancers in the survey said payment took
30-60 days, and it some cases it took more than 90 days, creating
cash-flow problems.
PRXchange director Emma Brierley, who set up the company with Alison
Starbuck in April this year, says freelancing has become much more
respectable as a career choice. ’People’s priorities are shifting and
they are more interested in quality of life and doing good work rather
than being part of an organisation. A lot of accomplished PR consultants
have the confidence to become independent because they’re good and are
in demand - we’re supplying freelancers for Shandwick, Coca-Cola,
Novartis, Hill and Knowlton and Burson-Marsteller, among others.’
More freelancers - about 60 per cent of those surveyed - are likely to
be working for PR agencies rather than in-house, as agencies tend to
have more project work on the go for which it is difficult to plan
permanent staffing. Brierley says when a freelancer is employed for a
set length of time on a project, this tends to involve working from
home. When companies want a boost in expertise, as is the majority of
cases, then freelancers go into the workplace. Freelancers, particularly
those at more senior levels, are often brought in to train permanent
staff while they carry out a project in a new area for the agency.
The qualities that make a good freelancer are hard to define, because so
much of it is down to personality, but adaptability and flexibility go
without saying. Freelancers also have to be able to absorb information
and understand different businesses quickly, as employers haven’t got
the time or the money to pay for temporary additions to the team. They
also need to be incredibly self-motivated.
Simon O’Brien has been freelancing for two years after an in-house
background.
He works from a home office with a portfolio of clients, mainly in the
finance sector, and is one of those who would not go back to full-time
work if it was offered: ’I’m hopeless at office politics, and I prefer
the direct contact with, and feedback from, the client, and being able
to choose the work I do.’
On the down side, O’Brien agrees that working alone doesn’t suit
everybody, and it is a myth that freelancers get more holiday and more
flexible working hours: ’You can’t afford to be away too much in case
work comes up, and you still have to work the same hours as your
clients.’
He also points out that one of the considerations for freelancers who
aim to work from home rather than working in an agency or corporate
office, is being realistic about what can be achieved alone.
’I do need to consider the logistics. The bulk of my work is straight
press relations, because I can’t event manage single-handed. Being in
business for yourself also means that you have to beware of making
promises you can’t keep.’
From the employer’s point of view, there are advantages to buying in
freelance talent. Freelancers can boost specialist skills and experience
in a team, strengthen teams on a temporary basis when needed, and even
provide interim management cover or develop one-off projects.
At Paradigm PR in Sheffield, director Surriya Falconer calls her
freelancers ’my valuable fluctuating workforce’. ’The key is to find
quality freelancers to meet increased demand at certain times. Knowing
that I have regular freelancers to call on to hit the ground running is
invaluable, as is having a fresh and experienced brain to bounce ideas
off.’
But Falconer says there are a number of caveats to using freelance staff
in an agency: ’I tend to have people in on a short-term basis first, not
only to see the quality of their work, but also where they fit in with
our team.’
Falconer also highlights one of the main points for agencies to bear in
mind when using freelance staff: it’s fine to use freelancers to
implement a campaign, but the client must still have direct contact with
permanent staff at the agency: ’They are part of the team, but they will
always be freelancers - you have to be aware of the difference,’ she
says.
Freelancers can supplement an existing in-house PR operation for
corporates for the same reasons as for agencies. At internet security
company InterClear, based in Egham, business development director Simon
Bailey is keen to use the ’high-level skills and flexibility’ of
freelancers, and he has taken on one freelancer as head of
marketing.
’I’d much rather tap into the range and depth of skills of a network of
freelancers than deal with an agency - I’ve had too many experiences
where you get a great pitch which is then implemented by junior
staff.’
One of the main downsides to taking on freelancers, for agencies and
corporates, is continuity. This can be overcome by employers planning
ahead and setting up long-term freelance relationships, but this is not
always possible.
So where is the freelance sector going in the future? Freelancers and
their employers believe that freelancing is here to stay as an option in
PR, and it will develop further. Agencies and corporates will continue
to have a core group of staff, but will build a preferred selection of
freelance personnel, made up of a mixture of specialists and
generalists.
The days when PR teams could afford to look down their noses at
freelancers in the belief that they couldn’t cut it are over.
