One of, if not the largest hurdle faced by every new freelancer is the fact they will need to learn how to work remotely. Working remotely describes the situation whereby an employee does not work within premises provided by the employer. For most this usually means that the employee or freelancer is working from their own home or small office, whilst the employer or project buyer is part of a larger organisation.

The remote working freelancer may find that working from home presents far too many distractions. It can be very difficult to segregate your work life from your home life if your office is in the same place that you spend time with your family. This is doubly true of those remote workers who have small children, as they will often find it impossible to set aside an adequate amount of time for their work day. Another area remote workers may have problems is in the fact that they will have to work almost completely unsupervised. For some people this is not a problem as they thrive in this environment. For others who are used to firm management and who require encouragement and support throughout their working day, this can be a major hurdle. Additionally, some people have motivational problems when they are not supervised or monitored, when you are sitting in your company office and your boss is looking over your shoulder it is not so easy to be lazy. When you are sitting at home trying get some work done the temptation is always there to walk away and leave things until later.

For employers the problems are almost equal and opposite. Most employers are completely used to managing their staff and monitoring their results almost constantly. Employers find that for remote workers this is just not possible, as they do not have easy access to them. For some types of managers this can be a major headache, especially for those who prefer a very hands on style of management. Almost every line manager is used to being able to walk outside of their office and talk to a member of staff whenever they please, when managing a remote worker this is no longer possible, leaving them feeling they are no longer in control of the people who are working for them.

So how can both sides meet in the middle? The simple answer is by constant communication. It is recommended that for longer projects either the freelancer or the buyer initiates a short telephone call twice a day, this lets both parties know that the other is actively working upon the project and allows a short session for any discussion required over the project scope. Freelance remote workers may find it useful to submit a daily or weekly schedule of work to their employer, outlining what they propose to do during the next day or week and asking for the proposal to be accepted. Employers will find it useful to set sensible milestones and goals which will be reviewed fully once they are reached. This allows them to keep a finger on the pulse of the project and insure themselves that there is no scope slip.

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