Once again, the age-old debate of freelancing has come under the spotlight. I say age-old, and I mean Age-old. For the last 1,200 years, we’ve poked and prodded the subject matter with our collective lance. The pendulum has slowly swung from medieval battle-winning heroes to the more recent trope of (and I quote … ) ”if they were any good, they’d have a proper job.” 

Speaking to one battle-weary team based in Scotland, it was clear that freelancing meant out of sight - out of trust in London agencies.

“Over the years we’ve tried to speak to multiple agencies down South - we’re not a junior team - we’ve done lots of award-winning work but it's difficult to get the foot in the door as a freelancer and be trusted to deliver if you're not going to be checked on.”

But as the swing slows, hope is emerging and independent workers are taking back control. The Liberty Guild is proud to boast a freelance community of over 420 of this creative and strategic elite who, in very different freelance roles, have felt like the poor relation.

Leaving the warm bosom of a London agency, the monthly pay packet, and being part of a workforce, can be hard. But the leap into freelancing gives choice, control, balance and flexibility. No longer are they pawns in a big agency game, working long hours, missing family gatherings or making themselves ill.

One of the most awarded female creatives in India noted:

“Older agencies want unconditional availability but people now value mental health and families or have parallel careers or alternative careers. The amount of trust from the people at the top to youngsters is missing. They know the traditional ways inside out but young people have that plus new views and culture. They have to combine traditional and new ways - there has to be a marriage, and older agencies aren’t doing that.”

We’re taught we need stability to survive but the last five years have shown that we can actually thrive in instability and uncertainty. Our collective resolve and Creativity’s untamable nature has seen more Creatives leave the safety of full-time and launch into freelancing. Here the hours aren’t 9-5, but whenever you’re brain is firing; where politics, lethargy and unproductive nonsense are left at the door; where you have control on what you work on and who with; and balance in life isn’t a fad appearing in an Agency manual - but very real choices you can make for yourself and the people you care for.

“The biggest issue for creatives is that the creative process is a non-linear process. To try and force it into a time-based, hierarchical structure automatically has issues.”

So we’ve established that brilliant minds can have brilliant freelance careers and side hustles.  So why are some Agencies slow to catch on?

It comes down to trust. Agencies struggle to embed them fully into the business. And worse still if the team is working remotely. They’re outsiders at best, and outcasts at worst.

But what if there was another way? Where these roaming elite were seen as the ‘trusted thinkers’ they should be. The mature minds who are focused, accountable and reliant on doing a job so brilliantly it will lead to another?  What if the telescope of trust was turned around and you could see that the full time staff are the ones who are likely to be the least motivated and the least happy with their freedoms (or lack of)?  When you’re paid a monthly set wage, you have less reason to excel, to exceed and to WIN. The pay packet will be the same, come what may.

What if freelancers had a rebrand? A shift away from the sullied term to something more de rigeur? We’ve done nomads, remotes and independents. Maybe including ‘Fractional’ or ‘Consultant’ would give them the respect they so rightly deserve.

Having built The Liberty Guild on the wonder of distributed freelancers (a long time before Covid), we have learnt how mutual trust is key. The freedom they have to work on the briefs they chose, the financial incentives they’re given to become the author of the final work and the care and kindness we wrap around them, make sure they trust us. And we trust them implicitly.  They are the world's most awarded and diverse Creative department. They are our lifeblood, our unfair advantage and we trust them to deliver the best work of their lives on every brief.

We do what we can to dampen the qualms of freelancing by building a community, paying promptly and returning all IP that isn’t ‘bought’ by the client right back to them. Because that is the right thing to do.

And as Hollywood has already shown, the creative diaspora are the future. And it is our duty to nurture their trust. Because one day, we’ll need them more than they’ll need us.