While there are constraints on the role freelancers can assume in the marketing sector, along with enduring cultural and operational disparities, it would be prudent for businesses to engage with the freelance workforce they hire and explore avenues to fortify their working relationship.

For instance, a majority of freelancers (53%) advocate for heightened professionalism and stricter standards in the freelance experience, yet fewer than a third of businesses (30%) share this perspective. Furthermore, only a slightly larger fraction (36%) of businesses employing freelancers acknowledge the persistent operational challenges in the freelance industry and recognize the need for its integration and acknowledgment as a vital workforce component—contrary to the beliefs of nearly half (47%) of freelancers.

In general, 79% of freelancers opine that the role of freelancing lacks consistent handling to become an integral part of an organization’s workforce. Similarly, 75% of businesses utilizing independent contractors perceive freelancing’s overall role in their workforce as limited.

Persistent issues in the freelance realm, according to freelancers, include a dearth of professionalism or collaboration (42%), unclear job specifications (38%), misalignment with team culture (31%), insufficient expertise (31%), and inadequate management (30%).

Operational challenges (63%), a deficit in professionalism and collaboration (49%), and a lack of commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts (36%) are cited as primary reasons by freelancers for terminating relationships with clients.

Conversely, businesses often cite reasons such as the individual not being a suitable fit (22%), excessive compensation demands (20%), or inadequate compensation requests (18%) for not proceeding with a freelancer.

According to the report, full-time freelancers are more inclined to rely on company acquisition teams, self-marketing efforts, or talent marketplaces, while part-time freelancers frequently engage staffing firms to secure work.

The report indicates that on average, full-time freelancers have been in the industry for five to six years, despite recent growth in freelancer numbers.

In late 2023, Wripple conducted a survey of over 400 marketing and creative freelancers and companies for their “2024 Team Up Report.”