How to Leverage the Freelance Workforce for Exceptional Events

Join Tracy Judge, Soundings Connect founder, to learn how to turn to holistic freelance staffing solutions to enhance your team for unforgettable events.

Tracy Judge, founder of Soundings Connect, the platform for leveraging freelance talent in the event industry, joined us for the Cadence Collective to speak on how event professionals should be leveraging freelance and contract talent to elevate their events.

Watch the whole session above, or read on for some of the highlights of Tracy’s session:

• Event Organizers Need Freelance Talent

  • After the mass downsizing many companies experienced because of COVID, teams are now smaller than ever and still without the budget to hire permanent team members back. This is where Tracy says freelance talent comes in.

  • And freelancers can be a great way to supplement that team during peak times, or for skill sets that you need.

    Tracy Judge

  • With major team and budget cuts, freelance talent can fill the gaps your team might be experiencing after the pandemic’s shake up. Whether you’re simply looking for manpower, or people with specific skillsets, like production or graphic design, sourcing freelancers is a great way to pinch pennies without sacrificing quality work.

• Supply and Demand of Event Industry Freelancers

  • The pandemic changed countless things, one of them being the culture of workplaces. After over a year of rapid development of work from home culture and technology, these changes aren’t going away overnight. In fact, their newfound presence in the industry is actually increasing the demand for freelancers. And where the demand for freelancers is increasing, the supply does, too.

  • With all of these factors of cultural changes within organizations and then all of the technology being now really well used and the demand from the work from home culture, it’s going to start increasing the demand for freelancers. But it’s also going to start increasing the supply of freelancers as new freelancers start to enter the market.

    Tracy Judge

  • This is a great incentive to start talking with your team about the possibility of utilizing freelance labor. Have an extraneous project that no one has the bandwidth for? Freelance it. Your team is strapped, and you need someone to manage a 5-day event? Freelancers are your friend!
  • Tracy recommends having open and honest conversations about needs and expectations with your team before you go out and hire a freelancer. Freelance work won’t be as efficient if there is a power struggle or general confusion on your team.

• Tips for Success with Event Industry Freelancers

  • Tracy has two tips for success when working with freelancers in the event industry:
    1. Regular communication is key. The best way to help freelancers succeed for your event is to employ regular communication with them. They won’t be fully aware of the unique procedures your team follows, so be thorough when explaining the role’s requirements and workplace expectations.
    2. Leverage the freelancers for their expertise. Try and use freelancers for their inherent skill sets and specialties to enhance your team’s efficiency.

  • And then leverage the freelancers for their expertise and use them for the specialties that you need on your team. Not only to operate that part of your event, but for you and your team to learn from them, as well.

    Tracy Judge

Watch the full video for more statistics on the freelancing market and how freelancers can elevate your future events. You can also check out Soundings Connect to explore how to get in contact with freelancers in the event industry.

Love the look of the session’s video? Explore what Cadence and its partners can do for your event’s branding and flow, and book a demo today!