The collaboration between freelancers and

client organizations A qualitative study among HR-managers and freelancers

Master thesis

Human Resource Studies

Name : Maartje Jansen

ANR : 387132

Emplid nr. : 1273737

:

: Master thesis

: Sjanne Marie van den Groenendaal MSc

Course

Supervisor

Project theme : The collaboration between freelancers and

their client organizations and whether

HR-practices are offered to freelancers which

contribute to freelancers’ employability.

Date : August 2019

Institute : Tilburg University

Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences

Master Human Resource Studies

2

Abstract This research explores the collaboration between freelancers and client organizations. Data

was collected through semi-structured interviews among nine couples of freelancers and the HR-

managers of their client organizations. The results show that freelancers and client organizations have

different motives to collaborate, for example client organizations hire freelancers especially for the

flexibility obtained by hiring them. While freelancers collaborate with client organizations in order to

maintain their employability. Moreover, the results show that there are mutual benefits obtained by

client organizations offering HR-practices to freelancers and that especially the content of freelance

work, continuously changing assignments and client organizations, contributes to the employability of

freelancers. Still, the results showed that being offered HR-practices by the client organization could

enhance freelancers’ employability as well. It is recommended for future research to take into account

the context in which organizations operate to examine whether this results in differences in client

organizations offering HR-practices to freelancers.

Keywords: Freelancers, Client organizations, HR-managers, Motives, HR-practices,

Employability

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1. Introduction In order to survive in this rapidly changing world, organizations need to be flexible

(Englehardt & Simmons, 2002), which results in a need for temporary or project-based expertise

(freelance markt index, 2019). To achieve this, organizations have to work with well-educated and

flexible knowledge workers (Boot, 2007). This results in a rise of nonstandard work such as part-time

work, temporary employment and solo self-employment (Hipp, Bernhardt, & Allmendinger, 2015).

According to Burke (2011) freelancers are a form of solo self-employment (which contains a

heterogeneous category of labour force participants). Freelancers are often well educated (Shevchuk &

Strebkov, 2012), highly skilled and they supply labour on a temporary basis to a range of business

clients (Kitching & Smallbone, 2008). Furthermore, freelancers are their own boss and therefore they

can decide for themselves how much and what time they want to work (Kazi et al., 2014). Generally,

freelancers work for clients under a contract for services and are responsible for paying their own tax

and national insurance contributions (Kitching & Smallbone, 2012). Kitching and Smallbone (2008)

give a definition of freelancers: “skilled professional workers who are neither employers nor

employees, supplying labour on a temporary basis under a contract of services for a fee to a range of

business clients” (p.5). This definition will be further used in this research.

On the one hand, in response to changing demands and as a way to retain the ‘core’

employees, organizations deploy freelancers as specialized externals for short-term projects or to

produce a one-off piece (Cohen, 2015; Holland, Hecker, & Steen, 2002; Ruiner, Wilkens, & Küpper,

2013). On the other hand, freelancers sell their professional knowledge and skills (Kazi, Yusoff, Khan,

& Kazi, 2014), which makes it extremely important for them to maintain their employability (Kazi et

al., 2014; Short & Opengart, 2000). Subsequently, due to the ever-changing professional environment,

organizations and freelancers have different motives to collaborate. To create a better understanding of

why both parties choose to collaborate and to explore whether there is a match in motives, the first aim

of this research is to provide more insight in the motives for the collaboration between freelancers and

their client-organizations. Which leads to the first question central in this study: (1) Which motives do

freelancers and organizations have to collaborate and is there a match in those motives?

Due to the different motives that organizations might have to hire freelancers, they might not

be willing to invest in the freelancers. The interest of the organization is flexibility in terms of

expertise and number of employees. As a result, organizations may apply an HRM perspective that is

focused on economic rationality with productivity as one of the major organizational outcomes and

they are less likely to offer HR practices to freelancers (Borghouts-van de Pas & Freese, 2017).

Thereby, the HR-architecture model (Lepak & Snell, 1999) is formed based upon the recognition that

not all employees possess knowledge and skills that are of equal strategic importance for organizations

(Lepak & Snell, 1999). Moreover, this model assumes that differences in employment are likely to

reflect differences in human capital, which results in various HR configurations used to manage

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individuals.

In a similar vein, the study of Ruiner et al. (2013) indicated that organizations might consider

working as a freelancer itself as a manner for freelancers to remain employable. Conversely, client

organizations could regard offering HR-practices to freelancers as a way to go beyond the freelancers’

expectations and to stimulate the freelancers to show higher levels of commitment (Ashfort & Mael,

1989), as their employability is likely to increase by those offered HR-practices. By applying the HR-

architecture model of Lepak and Snell (1999), this research will investigate whether organizations

invest in freelancers by offering them HR-practices. Furthermore, this research explores whether

offering HR-practices to freelancers by client organizations, results in mutual benefits. Which leads to

the second research question of this study: (2) Which HR-practices result in mutual benefits for both

the freelancers and the client organizations?

As described in the model of solo self-employed career development, freelancers are often

considered to be solely responsible for maintaining their employability (Van den Groenendaal, Kooij,

Poell, & Freese, 2019), which in this research refers to their personal, human and social capital.

Personal capital is referred to as “an individual’s basic personal qualities and reflects the quality of an

individual’s psychological, physical, and spiritual functioning” (Tomer, 2003, p. 456). Where human

capital are the skills and knowledge collected by investments in development opportunities (i.e.

workshops or courses) (Van den Groenendaal et al., 2019). Lastly, social capital is referred to as “the

resources obtained from knowing others, being part of a social network with them or merely from

being known to them” (Baron, 2002, p. 247; Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1992).

There are conflicting views in the literature regarding the responsibility of client organizations

in offering freelancers HR-practices aimed at enhancing their employability. While Short and

Opengart (2000) assume that HR-practices could be seen as resources to attract and retain freelancers,

Ruiner et al. (2013) argue that freelancers remain employable by just doing their work, which results

in client organizations having no obligations with regard to offering HR-practices to freelancers.

These opposite perspectives of client organizations show the relevance of identifying the role of HR-

practices in enhancing the employability of freelancers. Hence, the third question central in this study

is: (3) Which role do HR-managers and freelancers perceive HR-practices have in enhancing the

employability of freelancers?

In sum, the aim of this study is threefold: this study intends to identify (1) which motives

freelancers and organizations have to collaborate and whether there is a match in those motives, (2)

which HR-practices result in mutual benefits for both the freelancers and the client organizations and

(3) the role of HR-practices in enhancing the employability of freelancers from both the perspective of

client organizations and freelancers. The outcome of this research is of practical relevance as it will

provide organizations with knowledge regarding which HR-practices offered to freelancers will be

beneficial for the organization as well. Furthermore, this research will contribute to the knowledge of

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freelancers in what they can expect from the client organizations with regard to being offered HR-

practices and how HR-practices can help them in remaining employable.

2. Theoretical framework

2.1 The motives of both freelancers and client organizations to collaborate

As previously mentioned, organizations need to be flexible and have a need for temporary or

project-based expertise (Englehardt & Simmons, 2002; freelance markt index, 2019). In response to

changing demands, as a way to retain the ‘core’ employees and in order to close ‘knowledge gaps’,

organizations adjust and utilize the available human resources in a flexible manner (Holland, Hecker,

& Steen, 2002; MacKenzie et al., 2010). Thereby, due to competitiveness, organizations have the need

to flexible possess the temporary or project-based expertise, therefore they have to work with well-

educated and flexible knowledge workers (Boot, 2007; freelance markt index, 2019). According to

Heyma, Hop and Smid (2010) using temporary and flexible workers is a way of decreasing costs for

the organization, since after the project or assignment ends, both the organization and the freelancer go

their own way. Furthermore, by hiring freelancers based on their specific knowledge or skills, the

organizations do not need to have those knowledge or skills in house continuously in order to reach

their strategic goals (Lepak & Snell, 1999). In addition, organizations create knowledge between

organizations by relying on those flexible specialists and they evade dealing with outdated knowledge

(Matusik & Hill, 1998).

Organizations deploy freelancers as specialized externals (Ruiner et al., 2013). The

organization requires the specific knowledge of the freelancer for that specific occasion (Ruiner et al.,

2013). Freelancers are a category of solo self-employment (Burke, 2011) and they are often well

educated. As a result, freelancers are referred to as knowledge workers (Boot, 2007). However, there

are different terms used to refer to freelancers, such as contractor or portfolio-worker (Henninger &

Gottschall, 2007; Kitching & Smallbone, 2008). Stroh and Reilly (1997) argued that freelancer roots

from the term free agents, while Tams and Arthur (2010) concluded that initially freelancer was

referred to as boundaryless worker. Boundaryless workers are individuals who build their careers

across physical and psychological boundaries, while using their career relevant skills (Forrier, Sels, &

Stynen, 2009).

In line with the boundaryless workers, freelancers see themselves as organizations (Boot,

2007) and therefore it could be argued they craft their own job across physical and psychological

boundaries as well. For example, freelancers are specifically seeking jobs in which the required skills

largely overlap with the ones they have. However, since freelancers have an incentive to develop

valuable skills as well, the job should also provide opportunities to develop new skills (Ebbers &

Wijnberg, 2009). Süß and Becker (2013) argue that freelancers’ success depends on their individual

competences in meeting market demands. Especially for freelancers it is important to become rapidly

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competent in unknown situations, this because they continuously have to do new tasks and are

involved in unfamiliar company structures (Süß & Becker, 2013). Freelancers have a high job

uncertainty since they are hopping from project to project. Those projects are defined in time,

therefore after finishing the current project it is uncertain what the next project will be (Kroon &

Freese, 2013).

Based on both the need of freelancers in developing and maintaining valuable skills and the

organizational need for flexibility and expertise, the first research question central in this study focuses

on the motives both have to collaborate. However, since those motives are already known in the

literature, this research explores whether there is a match in motives between both parties as well.

Based on this, the first research question central in this study is formulated: ‘Which motives do

freelancers and organizations have to collaborate and is there a match in those motives?’.

2.2 HR-practices offered by client organizations to freelancers

As previously mentioned, freelancers and organizations differ in their motives to collaborate,

which might result in conflicting interests. On the one hand, freelancers sell their professional

knowledge and skills, which requires them to invest continuously in their employability (Cohen, 2015;

Kazi et al., 2014). Which is referred to as a person’s ability to satisfy labour market demands in order

to gain new employment or to retain their job (Fugate, Kinicki, & Ashforth, 2014). On the other hand,

organizations ought to be flexible and deliver quality, and therefore, hire freelancers for short-term

projects or to produce a one-off piece (Cohen, 2015). Subsequently, organizations may apply different

strategies in managing temporary and traditional long-term employment (Lepak & Snell, 2002).

According to Lepak and Snell (2002) organizations establish different employment relationships with

individuals, depending on their expected contribution to the firm. In line with this, the HR-architecture

model (Lepak & Snell, 1999) (Figure 1) describes the relationships between human capital

characteristics and employment modes (Lepak & Snell, 2002). Thereby, the model shows that

differences in employment result in different HR-configurations used to manage individuals. This

implies there are differences in treatment, regarding temporary and permanent employees.

According to the HR-architecture model (Figure 1) of Lepak and Snell (2002) there are four

employment modes: (1) knowledge-based employment, which is structured around the skills and

competencies of employees (Lepak & Snell, 2002). (2) Job-based employment, which consists of

individuals being hired to perform predetermined tasks (Lepak & Snell, 2002). (3) Contractual work

arrangements, individuals in this quadrant are perceived as not having a unique or strategic value for

the organization (Lepak & Snell, 1999). Lastly, (4) alliances/partnerships which consists of external

individuals providing services to client organizations (Sharma, 1997). Based on the HR-architecture

model (Lepak & Snell, 1999) individuals in the categories contractual work and alliances/partnerships

are external. Freelancers belong to one of these categories and as previously mentioned, organizations

are not likely to invest in education, training and skill development when they are transferable (Lepak

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& Snell, 2002). Thereby, according to Ebbers and Wijnberg (2009) organizations are not willing to

invest in freelancers since freelancers are hired for projects based on their knowledge and skills.

Figure 1: Human capital characteristics and employment modes (adapted from Lepak and Snell (1999)). Based on the different strategies of how organizations manage permanent and temporary

workers, it is relevant to examine the freelancers’ perception of the organizational strategy, as

perceptions shape their expectations, attitudes and behaviors which might affect their commitment to

the client organization (Liden, Wayne, Kraimer, & Sparrowe, 2003; McLean Parks, Kidder, &

Gallagher, 1998). When organizations offer HR-practices that go beyond what is expected based on

the contractual agreements, freelancers reciprocate those investments by developing positive attitudes

towards the organization (Tsui, Pearce, Porter, & Tripoli, 1997). Those attitudes result in higher levels

of commitment (Ashforth & Mael, 1989), which could lead to freelancer’s retention to the

organization for several projects in the future (Kroon & Freese, 2013). For example, when client

organizations offer training opportunities to freelancers, the freelancers’ work experience increases

and employability enhances, which promotes a future collaboration between the freelancers and the

client organization. Moreover, research of Liden et al. (2003) found that support of a client

organization, during assignments, increases the freelancer’s commitment with respect to the

organization. Thereby, HR-practices like information sharing allow freelancers to learn from other

specialists (Liden et al., 2003). In line with this, Burke and Cowling (2015) found that in some cases

freelancers form working relationships with employees, resulting in organizational benefits as

enhanced employee productivity. In this way, by working together with employees, freelancers

increase the firm-specific human capital of organizations (Chauradia & Galande, 2015), which is

according to Barney and Wright (1998) one of the key factors for organizations to gain a competitive

advantage. Based on the different benefits for the client organizations and the freelancers, that result

due to client organizations offering HR-practices to freelancers, the second research question central in

this study is: ‘Which HR-practices result in mutual benefits for both the freelancers and the client

organizations?’

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2.3 Role of HR-practices in enhancing the employability of freelancers

There are different perspectives on the value of offering HR-practices to freelancers. As

previously discussed, on the one hand, the study of Ruiner et al. (2013) found that due to organizations

aiming to attract expertise on a temporary basis, freelancers have many different projects in which

they increase their skills and work experiences (Kroon & Freese, 2013). In this way, the work itself

provides opportunities for learning and development to freelancers and client organizations are not

expected to further invest in them (Ruiner et al., 2013). On the other hand, Boot (2007) argues that to

attract freelancers, client organizations should provide them with projects in which they can enhance

their professional development. In this way, freelancers can develop and maintain their knowledge and

skills while executing their task (Ebbers & Wijnberg, 2009). Hence, there are different perspectives on

the value of offering HR practices to freelancers, which shows the relevance of identifying the role of

HR-practices in enhancing the employability (e.g. the human, social and personal capital) of

freelancers.

Freelancers are considered to be responsible for their own employability, therefore in order to

maintain their employability, the model of solo self-employed career development (Van den

Groenendaal et al., 2019) describes that freelancers should invest in their professional development

and their business development. Business development is related to the financial success of freelancers

and professional development includes the development of different types of capital (personal capital,

human capital and social capital) (Van den Groenendaal et al., 2019). For example, the research

finding of Burke and Cowling (2015) highlights the importance of social aspects in freelancers’ work

context (Süß & Kleiner, 2010). This concerns personal characteristics of supervisors and colleagues as

well as the work situation (Süß & Kleiner, 2010). The social aspects of the work context allow

freelancers to develop a network and build strong relations. Additionally, giving freelancers, for

example, the opportunity to work closely together with employees will result in freelancers

broadening their interests and capabilities, which prevents them from stagnating in their own

specialization (Oplatka, 2004). This is important, since according to Van den Born and Van

Witteloostuijn (2013) the success of freelancers depends on proactively developing a network and

building strong relations with fellow entrepreneurs and clients. Hence, HR-practices are likely to

enhance the human, social and personal capital of freelancers, leading to the third research question:

‘Which role do HR-managers and freelancers perceive HR-practices have in enhancing the

employability of freelancers?’.

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3. Method 3.1 Research design

To acquire information about the proposed research questions, an exploratory qualitative

research method was used. A qualitative research method gives researchers the opportunity to study

complex constructs and facilitates the exploitation of the construct (Baxter & Jack, 2008). To collect

data, semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted. With the use of face-to-face interviews,

the informal and nonverbal communication of the respondents was noted as well (Sturges &

Hanrahan, 2005). The researcher predetermined open-ended questions for the semi-structured

interviews, in addition there was room for extra in-depth questions to explore topics the respondents

experienced as important (Longhurst, 2003). The research was of cross-sectional nature, which means

that the data of each respondent was collected at one point in time (Dielman, 1983). Thereby, all semi-

structured interviews were held within a few weeks’ time and the respondents were asked permission

for recoding the interview. All interviews were recorded to make sure no data went missing while

analysing. Both the Ethics Review Board and a methodology department of Tilburg University

approved the research design and the research tools.

3.2 Sample

This study focuses on the collaboration between client organizations and freelancers.

Freelancers are often theoretically educated. The respondents are considered high educated when they

attended university or university of applied sciences before becoming a freelancer. According to Van

den Born (2009) the percentage male (50.1%) and women (49.9%) among theoretically educated

freelancers is almost the same. To include both perspectives of the relationship, in total nineteen

interviews were held. Due to time constraints and the unavailability of freelancers, in one specific

organization, to participate in the research, nine interviews were held with freelancers and ten with

HR-managers. Interviews were held until the researcher had the idea the moment of saturation was

reached according to the Comparative Method for Themes Saturation (Constantinou, Georgiou, &

Perdikogianni, 2017).

To include both perspectives, both freelancers and HR-managers were found based on

convenience sampling and snowball sampling. Convenience sampling refers to an approach in which

participants are easily accessible (Etikan, Musa, & Alkassim, 2016). Thereby snowball sampling was

used, which is referred to as the researcher accesses informants through contact information provided

by other informants (Noy, 2008). Since both perspectives were included, snowball sampling was for

example used by contacting HR-managers, and from thereof contacting freelancers who are temporary

collaborating with or have collaborated with the client organization. This resulted in all respondents

forming a ‘couple’. Which means all freelancers were linked to an HR-manager of a particular client

organization and vice versa. In Table 1 and Table 2 the demographic information of the respondents is

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provided.

Table 1:

Demographics of the freelancer respondents

Respondent Profession Gender Age Education level Years of

freelancing

ID 1-F HR-manager in the healthcare

sector

Male 57 University 0,75 years

ID 2-F Handyman in the hospitality

sector

Male 54 Different 26 years

ID 3-F HR-manager in several

sectors (financial, ICT)

Male 52 University 12

ID 4-F HR-manager in the profit

sector

Male 56 Higher

Professional

Education

7 years

ID 5-F Psychotherapist in the

healthcare sector

Female 57 Different 29 years

ID 6-F Facility manager in the

healthcare sector and public

services

Female 54 Higher

Professional

Education

7 years

ID 7-F Investment advisor in the

financial services

Male 49 University 6 years

ID 8-F Telecom + logistics Female 51 Higher

Professional

education

3 years

ID 9-F Engineering Male 28 Higher

Professional

Education

0,5 years

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Table 2:

Demographics of the organization and the HR-manager respondents

Respondent Function of the HR-

manager

Gender Age Years working

for this job

Profession of

the

organization

Size (amount of

employees) of

the organization

ID 1-HR Head of the HR-

department

Female 47 Almost 1 year Healthcare 3500

ID 2-HR HR-advisor Female 50 13,5 years Hospitality 65

ID 3-HR HR-officer Female 48 13 years ICT

consultancy

117

ID 4-HR Head of the

department ‘work’

Female 33 9 years Social services/

public sector

250

ID 5-HR HR-advisor Female 49 1,5 year Healthcare 250

ID 6-HR Team manager of the

HR-department

Female 47 1 year Social services/

public sector

650

ID 7-HR Chief Executive

Officer (CEO)

Male 56 10 years Financial

services

35

ID 8-HR Manager HR and

Sourcing

Male 58 42 years Delivery 4500

ID 9-HR HR-manager Male 46 3 years Engineering 35

ID 10-HR Head of the HR-

department

Male 45 20 years Department of

Justice

340

3.3 Procedure

First, in order to collect data in an ethical and legal way, the research proposal was sent to the

Ethics Review Board. After approval, respondents were found by using convenience sampling and by

using snowball sampling thereafter. In order to include both the perspective of the client organization

and the freelancers, both freelancers and HR-managers, of the client organizations they are working

with, were interviewed. The respondents were contacted via email or telephone and were asked to fill

in a short questionnaire containing questions on the demographics of the respondents. Thereafter, by

continuing contact via email or telephone, a date and time for the interview were set. The respondents

were asked if they preferred a certain location for the interview. In this way the researcher tried to

create a comfortable place for the respondents during the interview. The only demand was a quiet area

with as less distraction as possible. Since an area with background sounds could possibly cause

difficulties during the transcription of the interviews.

In order to gather demographical information of the respondents, a short questionnaire was

sent to the respondents. Respondents received this questionnaire and an accompanying letter via email.

The accompanying letter (provided in Appendix A, in Dutch) described the intention of the research,

guaranteed anonymity and assured confidentiality of the personal details of the respondents. In order

to get at ease with the topic guide and to become familiar with interview techniques, the researcher

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participated in an interviewing workshop. Thereby, the first two interviews were held together with a

more experienced academic. During those interviews the more experienced academic listened and

made notes to provide feedback on the researcher. Consequently, the researcher got familiar with

interviewing, which made the data collection as optimal as possible.

The interviews were approximately 60 minutes, partly depending on the length of the answers

per respondent. Before the start of the interview, all respondents were asked if they gave permission to

record the interview. At the end of the interview, to provide the opportunity to enlarge the data, the

respondents were asked if there was anything they would like to add. Afterwards, the interviews were

transcribed and summarised. Respondents received the summary within a week and were asked if they

agree with the summary. In this way, the data has been checked for biases in the interpretation of the

researcher during the interview or during transcribing the interviews.

3.4 Instruments

Prior to the interview all respondents were asked to fill in a short questionnaire (Appendices B

and C, in Dutch). The questionnaires were used to control for the requirement of the sample and

therefore contained questions on the demographics of the respondents. An example question of the

questionnaire for freelancers is: ‘Are you working as an employee for several hours a week, in

addition to working as a freelancer?’. An example question of the questionnaire for HR-managers is:

‘Does the organization often work with the same freelancers?’ The questionnaires helped the

researcher with gaining more knowledge about the background of the respondents. Resulting in, more

addressed questions could be asked during the interview. After filling in the questionnaire, the

respondents were contacted in order to make an appointment for an interview.

The interviews were semi-structured, which means that beforehand open-ended questions

were formulated which were asked during the interview (Appendices D and E, in Dutch) (Ayres,

2008). All the interviews started with a general introduction, in which anonymity was guaranteed, the

duration of the interview was explained and in which the researcher explained that a respondent could

always choose not to answer a question or to pull back during the interview without having negative

consequences. Hereafter, the interviews started with asking questions about the backgrounds of the

respondents. An example question is: ‘Could you tell something about yourself?’.

After discussing the backgrounds of the respondents, interviews with freelancers moved on

with questions regarding their employability. For example: ‘Are you insecure about attracting new

assignments on the right level?’ was asked in order to gain information regarding the freelancers’

point of view in remaining employable. The interview continued with questions regarding the motives

to collaborate with client organizations. ‘How would you describe the relationship between you and

the client organization?’ and ‘What do you believe are the reasons the client organization hires

freelancers?’ are example questions. This part of the interview went into the part with questions

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regarding HR-practices, for example: ‘Are there possibilities during certain projects to work together

with employees of the organization?’ was asked.

After discussing the backgrounds, interviews with HR-managers had practically the same

order, however instead of starting with questions regarding the employability of freelancers, these

interviews moved on with questions regarding the motives of the organization to collaborate with

freelancers. One example question is: ‘Why does the organization work with freelancers?’. Hereafter,

identical with the interviews of freelancers, the interviews continued with questions regarding, for

example, offering HR-practices to freelancers. ‘Do you offer freelancers a certain desk in the office?’

and ‘Are there any differences in how the organization treats freelancers and employees?’.

In all the interviews, the researcher wrapped up by asking if the respondent had anything to

add or felt an important part was left out. Hereafter, the researcher and respondent discussed in which

time scope the respondents were able to read the summary and if they were willing to provide changes

and suggestions to the summary. Furthermore, the researcher showed the respondents gratitude for

their participation in the research.

3.5 Analysis

The recorded interviews were transcribed literally in Word, while listening to the record via a

mobile phone. The transcripts were transferred into ATLAS.ti, which is used for coding the data.

Within this program, Strauss and Corbin’s (1990) method was applied to analyse the interviews. This

method consists of three steps: open coding, axial coding and selective coding, and makes it possible

to see similarities and/or differences in the interviews. The first step, open coding, was done by

reading the transcripts and linking codes to text fragments out of the data. Each text fragment was

analysed based on the underlying meaning of the sentences and was linked to a fitting code (Boeije,

2014; Burnard, 1991). A text fragment was chosen based on the relevance for the study. Some text

fragments have multiple codes, which resulted in using the data to the full potential. The codes were

based on the information of the respondent regarding the topics examined in the theoretical

framework. Examples of the first codes for freelancers are: ‘Challenge’, ‘profile of the job’ and

‘treated as employee’. Examples of the first codes of HR-managers are: ‘flexibility’, ‘depending on the

time period of the assignment’ and ‘via via recruitment’. The code tables with all initial codes can be

found in Appendix F for freelancers and in Appendix G for HR-managers (only in Dutch).

Conceptual saturation was reached when no new codes were generated from open coding

(Kendall, 1999). Thereafter the second step, axial coding was used for splitting, clustering, creating

and renaming the codes that came out of open coding (Boeije, 2014). The fragments which are

classified with the same code, were clustered (Borgatti, 2005), which reduced the number of codes and

therefore axial coding helps to systematically think about the data and how the codes relate to each

other (Boeije, 2014; Kendall, 1999). By using main and sub codes the importance of themes is shown

(Boeije, 2014).

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The final step was selective coding, in this step the core categories were defined by refining,

selecting and comparing the codes (Heath & Cowley, 2004). Hereafter the researcher formulated what

the respondents stated upon the research questions by signalling which subjects came back multiple

times. Finally, to get closer to related theories, the core codes were compared to what is stated in

previous literature on the topics examined in this research. In addition, besides the coding, relevant

quotes were highlighted in the transcripts. Quotes were carefully selected by the researcher and where

considered relevant whether they were the most descriptive or explanatory interpretation of the data.

Those quotes were used in the results section. By comparing the codes and the quotations across

different interviews, answers on the research questions were provided in the results section

(Appendices F and G, in Dutch).

4. Results 4.1 Motives of freelancers to collaborate with client organizations

When discussing the motives of freelancers to collaborate with a certain client organization,

the most frequently mentioned motive to collaborate is the profile of the assignment. Accepting certain

assignments over others depends on the content of the assignment: ‘Of course. That is what it is all

about!’ (ID-4-F). Important factors in their choice for a specific assignment are the complexity of the

assignment and the degree in which the assignment is assumed to be challenging for the freelancers: ‘I

consider the content of the assignment’ (ID-1-F). Especially freelancers with a lot of work experiences

are seeking assignments which are complex and challenging enough. Furthermore, the feeling that the

freelancers are adding value to the client organization by the execution of the assignment is an

important factor in the choice for a specific assignment: ‘My motive is to solve problems at

organization X, to add something and to be appreciated for what I have done’ (ID-4-F).

Another factor which is of importance while considering an assignment is the sector in which

the client organization is operating. In general, freelancers choose assignments in specific sectors for

two reasons. On the one hand, freelancers choose an assignment in a specific sector in which they

have work experiences already, since in that way they can specialize themselves in a particular sector.

On the other hand, freelancers are specifically seeking assignments in sectors in which they do not

have that much experience. Seeking assignments in other sectors will result in freelancers having more

experiences, which leads to generalization. Although freelancers decide whether they want to focus on

specialization or generalization, they do mention that the balance between generalization and

specialization is important in order to remain employable. Four out of nine freelancers mentioned they

enhance their employability due to the self-created balance between generalization and specialization:

‘Honestly, you should combine it. So, you should be a generalist, with at least 1 or 2 areas of

expertise’(ID-1-F). Noticeable is that not one freelancer mentioned that their motives to collaborate

depend on the client organization itself.

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Besides the nature of the assignments, the choice for an assignment seems to depend on the

level of financial insecurity perceived by the freelancer. Five out of nine freelancers indicated they

faced financial uncertainty during the transition phase of becoming self-employed, as they felt

uncertain about acquiring new assignments. Furthermore, three out of nine freelancers indicated they

still face financial uncertainty sometimes. The other six freelancers explicitly mentioned they are not

facing financial insecurity anymore: ‘Sure, I have been uncertain regarding my financial situation and

whether I would attract new assignments, we are talking about entrepreneurship. However, at some

point you have built a name and network.’ (ID-3-F). Still, due to the perceived uncertainty, some

freelancers accepted all assignments that were offered to them in the beginning, regardless the content

of the assignment: ‘I did not have an assignment at that moment and every month without an

assignment is a lack of income’ (ID-6-F).

Freelancers attract new assignments in several ways. On the one hand, they are actively

seeking assignments by using their network, which they have built over the years and which includes

intermediary agencies. On the other hand, their network often approaches them as well, to ask whether

they are available for certain assignments. In line with this, four out of nine freelancers mentioned the

most important way in which they attracted new client organizations to collaborate with, was by word

of mouth from their previous collaborations: ‘People have to know you and when they are satisfied,

they are willing to advertise for you via word of mouth in their own network.’ (ID-7-F). Factors that

appeared to be important for attaining assignments via word of mouth are delivering quality and

‘branding’ yourself. Noticeable is that freelancers also mentioned specializing as acquisition

technique. Seven out of nine freelancers indicated they are attractive on the labour market because of

their work experiences as they have been working as freelancers for a longer period of time: ‘I think I

can say that during my career I witnessed countless experiences, which other HR-managers have not

experienced in their career' (ID-3-F).

4.2 Motives of organizations to collaborate with freelancers

When discussing the motives of organizations to hire freelancers, the most frequently

mentioned reason is the flexibility obtained by hiring freelancers. For example, after a certain project

is finished, the contract between the freelancer and client organization ends, and there are no further

obligations attached to it. This often brings financial benefits compared to employing experts in the

organization: ‘We do have some experts on the payroll, however they are really expensive.’ (ID-3-HR)

Other mentioned motives of organizations to hire freelancers are a lack of expertise among the

employees of the organization, the haste to fill in a certain vacancy or to replace an employee who

suffers of sickness, to enlarge the workforce or to give a certain course to the employees of the

organization. If freelancers are hired due to urgent vacancies in the organization, then there is a haste

in the recruitment of the freelancers.

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Organizations recruit freelancers in several ways. The most frequently mentioned way is via

via. HR-managers clearly describe why they prefer a freelancer out of their network: ‘By using the

network, you are already informed of the experiences of other persons with the freelancer. Which

results in knowing how the freelancer will execute the assignment and how they will deal with several

aspects.’ (ID-5-HR). Additionally, freelancers are recruited by cooperating with an intermediary

agency. Two out of ten HR-managers explicitly mentioned using an intermediary agency as the only

way in which the organization recruited freelancers: ‘Often someone has a suitable freelancer in their

own network, or they have worked with a suitable freelancer in the past. Even then the recruitment is

executed by the intermediary agency, however we then indicate the preference of that certain

freelancer.’ (ID-6-HR). Those organizations specifically make use of the intermediary agencies due to

two coherent reasons. The organization has to deal with certain tender rates, so by collaborating with a

certain agency, the organization does not have to be alert whether they go across the tender rate. In the

same vain, by collaborating with the intermediary agency, the organization does not have to employ an

individual for the specific recruitment of freelancers, since the intermediary agency provides all the

work. Finally, freelancers are in some cases recruited by use of advertising. However, it is mentioned

that advertising is barely used as a way to recruit freelancers since: ‘There is no time to advertise,

freelancers should often start as soon as possible’ (ID-1-HR).

Besides discussing the motives of the organization to collaborate with certain freelancers and

the way of recruiting freelancers, the attractiveness of the organization to freelancers was discussed as

well. The HR-managers pointed out several factors which make the organization attractive for

freelancers, for example: the specialism of the organization, the flexibility they offer freelancers and

the profiles of the assignment. ‘I think the context of the organization does not matter that much, since

the relation is fully businesslike. However, the pleasantness and the content of the assignment are

what matters. Whether they really match the profile of the freelancer.’ (ID-3-HR)

4.3 Client organizations offering HR-practices to freelancers

While being hired by client organizations, freelancers are offered HR-practices by these client

organizations. However, the extent to which freelancers are offered HR-practices differ. According to

both the freelancers and HR-managers the extent to which freelancers are offered HR-practices

depends on the assignment of the freelancer, the context of the client organization and the time period

and function of the assignment. For example, one organization is collaborating with a freelancer which

executes fieldwork for the organization: ‘Since our employees are not executing the same tasks as the

freelancer, we are not offering courses to our employees which could be interesting for this particular

freelancer as well. Which results in the freelancer not being invited to attend the course.’ (ID-2-HR).

In addition, one HR-manager mentioned that it depends on whether the freelancer collaborates with an

intermediary agency as well: ‘For example, we hired some freelancers by collaborating with an

intermediary agency. We would not offer freelancers, which are collaborating with an agency, courses

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or training possibilities. This since, often those agencies offer educational possibilities as well.’ (ID-4-

HR).

With regard to the type of HR-practices that are offered to the freelancers by the client

organizations, both freelancers and HR-managers indicated that the client organization offered

freelancers a workspace in the building: ‘Of course, I mean they would not put me in the hallway. No,

usually I have an office with all available facilities.’ (ID-3-F) and ‘Everyone likes having their own

space. I think having your own workplace, results in commitment with the building and/or the

organization you are collaborating with at that moment.’ (ID-3-HR). Furthermore, both the

freelancers and HR-managers highlighted that freelancers can exchange knowledge with the

employees of the client organization while working in the building of the client organization. This

informal knowledge sharing happened due to the informal contact between the employees and the

freelancers.

In contrast to the informal knowledge sharing with employees, the freelancers mentioned that

client organizations do not offer individual learning opportunities, such as attending a course, training

or congress, to them. In line with this, four out of ten HR-managers explicitly mentioned they would

not invest in the education of freelancers. The common reason was that the freelancers are hired due to

their expertise and experiences. Therefore, the freelancers are seen as experts. If they do not have a

certain expertise, or they are not suitable for the assignment, the organization would not hire them in

the first place.

Nevertheless, both freelancers and HR-managers pointed out that freelancers are offered

courses or training possibilities when they are part of a certain team: ‘Sure, when we offer a course or

training to the whole group, the freelancers can attend as well. We would not offer freelancers

individual training possibilities… However, on the group level, sure.’ (ID-10-HR). However, the

initiative should come from the freelancers themselves: ‘However you, as a freelancer, should show

initiative. For example, if I did not attend a certain course regarding the implementation of a

project… however I was the project manager… sometimes you just need a certain course.’ (ID-3-F).

According to the freelancers, client organizations are usually not actively pointing out to freelancers

that they are free to join the course or workshop.

In general, client organizations are not offering mobile phones, cars or laptops to freelancers.

Two out of ten HR-managers explicitly indicated that the freelancers could use all facilities a

workplace offers, however they would not receive additional facilities as, a mobile phone, a car or a

laptop. Freelancers are expected to possess those facilities themselves. Conversely, one HR-manager

pointed out offering those facilities to two freelancers, with whom they were collaborating for a very

long time. The organization offered those facilities to show their appreciation to the freelancers.

With regard to the more social activities within the client organizations, four out of nine

freelancers indicated that they are, for example, invited for the Christmas activity of the client

organization. Thereby, seven out of nine freelancers mentioned that the client organization does not

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treat freelancers different than employees. Eight out of nine HR-managers indicated that in the basis,

the relationship between the organization and the freelancer is businesslike. However, six out of ten

HR-managers pointed out that in reality, on the work floor, there are no differences in the treatment of

the employees and of the freelancers: ‘There should not be differences concerning the social

intercourse. However, you should keep in mind the business agreement with the freelancer differs

from the employment contract of the employees. Mostly in the juridical way. However, this does not

mean that the freelancer is treated different on the work floor.’ (ID-8-HR). Still, four of these six HR-

managers indicated that the extent to which a freelancer is perceived as an employee, depends on the

time period of the assignment and the profile of the assignment (some freelancers are for example

working in the field instead of in the office).

Noticeable, one freelancer explicitly mentioned the risks of an organizational policy which

might be perceived as too inclusive towards freelancers: ‘I believe there should be a certain distance

as a freelancer.’ (ID-5-F). The freelancer described that if there is a strong personal relationship, there

is a risk of making it to personal, resulting in freelancers not able to execute their work.

In contrast to the above-mentioned HR-practices, no HR-practices aimed at enhancing the

freelancers’ position in the labour market (regarding the future) are offered by the client organizations.

Only one HR-manager mentioned that the organization organizes special ‘comeback’ days for the

freelancers in the field. These particular days the organization makes sure the freelancers are up-to-

date with for example the newest legislations in their expertise. Most HR-managers emphasized the

relationship is businesslike, meaning that the obligations of the HR-managers towards the

employability of freelancers are focused at providing a safe work environment and all facilities needed

to execute the assignment. However, with regard to the sustained employability and the attractiveness

of freelancers on the labour market, the organizations do not feel any responsibility: ‘Organizations

perceive this as something the freelancer should handle themselves.’ (ID-5-HR). In line with this,

freelancers explicitly mentioned they should always show initiative with respect to the extent of which

organizations would involve freelancers in workshops or courses.

4.4 The role of HR-practices in enhancing the human, social and personal capital of freelancers

Freelancers stated, as previously mentioned, that they are attractive on the labour market due

to their work experience and their balance between generalization and specialization. This results in

specifically choosing assignments based on enhancing their employability. One freelancer explicitly

mentioned that the employability is maintained just by doing her work. Due to the continuous change

of assignments, freelancers are facing many different organizations and complex situations. This

particular freelancer collaborated with a large client organization (> 4000 employees) and therefore

there are employees of the client organizations working in the same expertise as the freelancer, which

results in knowledge exchange among the employees and freelancers: ‘Depending on the context of the

client organization, I believe for remaining employable the constant change of assignments as a

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freelancer is for a big part enough.’ (ID-8-F). The particular freelancer believes this is occurring less

in smaller client organizations, since often there are no employees working in the same expertise as

the freelancer: ‘I think the danger is, when you always collaborate with small client organizations, you

have to keep up your knowledge on your own. Now, collaborating with this large client organization

X, I am fed with knowledge. There are so many employees in that client organization which are

experienced in my expertise.’ (ID-9-F).

With regard to client organizations offering formal learning opportunities (e.g. courses or

training opportunities) to freelancers, freelancers indicated that the extent to which they are offered

HR-practices depend on the content of the assignment. Freelancers are only offered a course if the

course is necessary in order to execute their assignment. Furthermore, HR-managers argued that

legitimately organizations should not invest in freelancers individually (with regard to offering

learning possibilities). ‘For example, if you offer the freelancer all the workshops/courses which are

offered to the employees, and you collaborate for a longer time period with that same freelancer… you

are heading to an employer-employee relationship…’ (ID-2-HR). However, as previously mentioned,

often when organizations offer a workshop or course to a team in the organization, and a freelancer is

part of that team, in that case freelancers can attend the workshop or course as well. By joining a

workshop or course, freelancers gain knowledge and experiences. Which makes them more attractive

on the labour market. However, this contributes to their social capital as well, since they for example

meet new freelancers which are presenting the course to the employees.

Therefore, just by changing assignments every while and working for different client

organizations, freelancers are broadening their social network. The importance of the social network in

acquiring new assignments is widely known among the freelancers. Therefore, most freelancers are

aware of the importance of leaving a good relationship when finishing the assignment: ‘Whether you

will be asked again by a client, is based on the relationship. On how you executed the assignment.

Therefore, the relationship is a leading factor.’ (ID-1-F). Thereby, the offered workspaces within the

building and the possibilities for freelancers to cooperate with the employees of the client

organizations are contributing to the social and human capital of the freelancers as well. However, this

contributes to the human and social capital of the employees as well, which makes the cooperation

between freelancers and employees valuable for the organization as well.

In addition, the freelancers which mentioned they were invited for the Christmas reception and

other activities for the employees of the client organizations (e.g. teambuilding activities), mentioned a

higher perceived rate of inclusiveness as well. This inclusive treatment of the client organization

contributes to the social and human capital of the freelancers since during those activities the

freelancers and employees are bonding.

Client organizations which are prolonging the time period of the assignment or are offering

new assignments after the due date of the first assignment, are increasing the self-efficacy of

freelancers. Two freelancers explicitly mentioned the positive effect on their self-efficacy: ‘it confirms

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people are satisfied’. (ID-4-F). Furthermore, both HR-managers and freelancers indicated the

importance of feedback and proper communication during the time period of the assignment. Treating

the freelancers well involves providing feedback and making sure they are up to date regarding the

newest information: ‘The client organization should make sure you receive all the information needed.

Instead of situations in which you, as a freelancer, should pursue information.’ (ID-1-F). Providing

guidance and feedback to freelancers contributes to their personal, social and human capital, since it

increases the level of self-efficacy and the relationship between the HR-manager and the freelancer.

Thereby freelancers are learning from the guidance and feedback, which increases their personal

capital.

5. Discussion

The aim of this research was to gain more knowledge on the relationship between freelancers

and the client organizations they are collaborating with. By the use of interviews with both freelancers

and HR-managers of client organizations, the motives to collaborate from both perspectives, the

reasoning behind offering HR-practices to freelancers by client organizations, and the role of HR-

practices in enhancing the human, social and personal capital of freelancers were examined in an

explorative way.

Literature states that most important for freelancers is to remain employable and therefore

freelancers should invest in both their professional and their business development (Van den

Groenendaal et al., 2019). As a result, freelancers have specific motives to collaborate with certain

client organizations. The results of this research showed that for freelancers especially the profile of

the assignment and the sector in which the client organization is operating are the most important

motives to collaborate. By specifically accepting assignments of client-organizations working in

specific sectors, freelancers are creating a balance between specializing and generalizing. Which

increases their employability. This is in line with the research of Ebbers and Wijnberg (2009) which

highlights that freelancers are seeking assignments in which the required skills largely overlap with

the ones they have, however the assignment should provide opportunities to develop new skills as

well. In line with this, previous research of Allan and Sienko (1998) and Marler, Woodard Barringer,

and Milkovich (2002) showed that freelancers are seeking for challenges in their job, instead of

employees who are seeking for challenges in the organizations they are working for. The findings of

this study are therefore contributing to this research outcome and point out to organizations that

freelancers are accepting assignments based on the profile of the assignment. HR-managers could

adapt to this by attracting freelancers by actively promoting the profile of the assignments.

However, there are some exceptions. Freelancers who are facing financial uncertainty as a

result of not acquiring new assignments, are more likely to accept any assignment offered to them.

Especially freelancers who were in the transition phase from employee to becoming self-employed.

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This means financial insecurity could be seen as a factor of vulnerability for freelancers, since it could

lead to freelancers not investing in their employability by choosing specific assignments, instead they

are only short-term focused and accepting all assignments offered to them. In the same vain, some

freelancers indicated they are joining an intermediary agency in order to attract new assignments.

Indirectly this could demonstrate a certain extent of vulnerability as well, since the question arises

whether freelancers are able to attract new assignments without the interference of those intermediary

agencies.

Furthermore, in line with previous researches (Boot, 2007; Holland, Hecker, & Steen, 2002)

the results of this research showed that the most important motive for organizations to collaborate with

freelancers is the flexibility obtained by hiring freelancers. In addition, HR-manager respondents

argued, in line with the research of Heyma, Hop and Smid (2010), that collaborating with freelancers

is a way of decreasing costs for the organization as well, since after the assignment ends, both the

organization and the freelancer go their own way. In addition, it is interesting to note that the results of

this study do not show matches between the motives of the freelancers and the HR-managers to

collaborate. Both have their own motives to collaborate and are especially focused on their own profit.

In addition, this research examined which HR-practices offered to freelancers by client

organizations result in mutual benefits. Both freelancers and HR-managers indicated that the extent to

which freelancers are offered HR-practices depend on the content of the assignment, the time period of

the assignment and the context of the organization. It is interesting to note that the content and the

time period of the assignment determine whether freelancers are offered HR-practices, since on

beforehand by the use of the HR-architecture model (Lepak & Snell, 1999), the researcher already

expected differences in HR-practices being offered to freelancers based on their employment mode.

As previously mentioned, the HR-architecture model (Lepak & Snell, 1999) concludes that different

employment modes are managed by different HR-configurations by organizations. The results of this

research show that differences in the assignments of freelancers, result in differences in being offered

HR-practices by the client organizations. However, this research does not explicitly investigate where

organizations place freelancers in the model of Lepak and Snell (1999). In future research it would be

interesting to further investigate where organizations place freelancers and what this means for

organizations offering HR-practices to freelancers.

Furthermore, it is interesting to note that some HR-managers explicitly mentioned they would

not offer HR-practices with respect to individual learning possibilities (e.g. workshops or courses) to

freelancers. The common reason was that freelancers are hired due to their expertise and their

experiences. This is in line with research of Ruiner et al. (2013) which highlights that freelancers are

hired as specialized externals. However, the extent to which freelancers are seen as externals differs.

On the one hand, most freelancers highlighted that the relationship is in the basis businesslike,

however for them it does not feel they are treated different than the employees of the client

organization. HR-managers on the other hand, pointed out that legally there is a difference between

22

freelancers and the employees. Explanation for this different perspective is that the HR-manager

mentioned that on the work floor, there should not be differences in the treatment of employees and

freelancers. Meaning that the differences in the treatment of employees and freelancers mostly happen

regarding contractual obligations.

Moreover, the results showed differences in the extent to which client organizations treat

freelancers the same as employees. There was for example a clear distinction between two

organizations operating in the public sector and one organization operating in the private sector. The

HR-managers of the organizations in the public sector indicated they would offer freelancers

individual learning opportunities. While the HR-manager of the organization in the public sector

explicitly highlighted that the freelancer was seen as specialized external and that the organization

only hired the freelancer due to his/her knowledge or skills. This resulted in the organization not

offering learning opportunities to this freelancer. Which is in line with previous research outcomes of

Ebbers and Wijnberg (2009) which showed that organizations are not willing to invest in freelancers

since they hire freelancers for projects based on the skills they already have. However, it could be

interesting for future research to take into account the differences in the treatment of freelancers and

whether HR-practices are offered by client organizations to freelancers, based on in which sector

(public or private) the client organizations are operating.

As previously mentioned, client organizations are not likely to invest in freelancers

individually, since investing in freelancers’ skills does not result in benefits for the organization.

However, offering other HR-practices to freelancers, like offering a workplace in the building, has

mutual benefits. For example, by offering a workplace to freelancers, employees of the organization

are able to work together and to share knowledge with the freelancers. This results in an increase of

knowledge capital of the organization.

In addition to examining which HR-practices result in mutual benefits for both the

organization and the freelancer, this research examined the role of HR-practices in enhancing the

social, human and personal capital of freelancers as well. Previous research showed different

perspectives on the value of offering HR-practices to freelancers. On the one hand, Boot (2007)

highlighted the importance of client organizations offering HR-practices to freelancers in order to

attract them. While on the other hand, Ruiner et al. (2013) found that the work itself (continuously

changing assignments in different organizations), provides enough opportunities to freelancers in

which they increase their skills and expertise. As Kroon and Freese (2013) argued, the ever-changing

professional environment and the competition among the freelancers, results in freelancers seeking

jobs in which they maintain their employability. Furthermore, this research displayed the importance

for freelancers to become rapidly competent in unknown situations, since they continuously have to

execute new assignments and are involved in unfamiliar company structures. The results of this study

contribute to the research findings of Ruiner et al. (2013), Kroon and Freese (2013) and Süß and

Becker (2013), in the way that one freelancer explicitly mentioned she maintains her employability by

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just executing her current assignment. Continuously changing assignments continuously offers

freelancers different job resources, only the adaptation to the unfamiliar company structures increases

the three forms of capital of the freelancers (e.g. increased social network) and contributes to their

sustained entrepreneurship. Thereby, it is interesting to note that not one freelancer mentioned that the

client organizations are explicitly offering freelancers HR-practices which are aimed at increasing the

position of freelancers in the labour market. Organizations do not feel any responsibility regarding the

employability of the freelancers. Which means that freelancers are responsible for their own

employability and therefore they should continuously be aware of maintaining their employability.

5.1 Limitations and future research

Despite the strengths of this study, there are some limitations. Firstly, respondents were found

by using convenience sampling and after that snowball sampling. This means, in all cases either the

freelancer or the HR-manager was contacted by using convenience sample. Afterwards, the contacted

freelancer or HR-manager reached out for either a freelancer or a HR-manager with whom they were

collaborating at that moment. This resulted in all respondents forming a ‘couple’. This means, that for

example the HR-manager introduced a specific freelancer as respondent. Collecting respondents in

this specific way could lead to an inaccurate sample, due to HR-managers only recommending

freelancers which they have a good relationship with. Therefore, to prevent this, in future research

contacting respondents in a different way would be beneficial. Researchers could do this by selecting

and contacting both respondents of the couple themselves.

Secondly, the use of convenience sampling as sampling method and the cross-sectional design

of the research have a disadvantage as well. The cross-sectional design (meaning that the data was

only collected at one point in time) could influence the story the respondents tell. For example, the

extent to which a freelancer perceived the organization as inclusive could differ depending on the time

the interview was held. Therefore, in future research using a longitudinal design (which involves

repeated measures) would be beneficial, since it prevents e.g. the mood of the respondent in

influencing the story told. This to prevent missing out on data and to have a better insight in the

relationship between freelancers and organizations. Thereby, convenience sampling means that the

sample is chosen based on the extent to which respondents are easily accessible. In this study this

resulted in including or excluding respondents based upon a short-term availability. This way of

sampling could result in a bias, since some freelancers or HR-managers were not able to participate in

the given time frame. This possibly led to the exclusion of some views on the relationship between

organizations and freelancers.

Thirdly, this research tried to differentiate in organizations and types of freelancers. However

due to time constraints and difficulties in finding respondents willing to cooperate in some

organizations. Mostly theoretically educated freelancers are interviewed instead of 50% theoretically

educated freelancers and 50% vocationally educated freelancers. On beforehand, based on the HR-

24

architecture model (Lepak & Snell, 1999), which is formed based upon the recognition that not all

employees are of equal importance for organizations (Lepak & Snell, 1999), the researcher expected

differences in client organizations offering HR-practices to freelancers. Thereby the model assumes

that differences in employment, result in differences of HR-configurations used to manage individuals.

Therefore, for example, vocationally educated freelancers could be considered less unique by the

client organizations, which could result in not offering them HR-practices. In future research it would

be interesting to specifically focus on the differences of vocational or theoretical educated freelancers

and the extent to which they are offered HR-practices by client organizations. In addition, this research

does not investigate whether the size and the vision of the organization determines to what extent the

collaborations are increasing the sustainable employability of the freelancer. However, one respondent

explicitly mentioned that due to her assignment in a large organization (>4500 employees) her

sustainable employability is increased due to the knowledge exchange with the employees. Therefore,

future research could focus on the impact of the size and vision of the organizations on the extent to

which the assignment increases the sustainable employability of the freelancer.

Fourthly, since previous research highlighted that most important for freelancers is to remain

employable (Short & Opengart, 2000) it could be assumed that freelancers highly appreciate some

formal learning opportunities offered to them by the client organizations. However, interestingly, the

results of this study showed that both freelancers and HR-managers do not expect the client

organizations to offer formal learning opportunities (e.g. workshops or courses) to the freelancers

individually. The HR-managers argued the risks of building an employer-employee relationship, while

the freelancers argued that in general freelancers choose to be entrepreneurs, which means they are

self-responsible for their development and employability. In future research it would be interesting to

further investigate whether there are differences or similarities and the influence of those different

views in the actual offering of HR-practices to freelancers.

Lastly, this study has an interesting data set of ‘couples’ of HR-managers of the client

organization and freelancers collaborating with the client organization. However, both are interviewed

as two separated groups instead of exploring the ‘couples’ in a specific client organization. In future

research it would be interesting to focus on the ‘couples’ of HR-managers and freelancers in the same

client organization, instead of focusing on the group freelancers versus the group HR-managers.

5.2 Practical and theoretical implications

The practical contribution of this research is threefold. First, the results of this research

provide freelancers with knowledge regarding the role of HR-practices offered by client organizations

in enhancing their social, human and personal capital. The results of this research show the positive

influence of HR-practices on the three forms of capital, however more important, the results show that

freelancers already maintain their employability just by continuously changing assignments.

Furthermore, the results show that freelancers are responsible for their own employability and that

25

they should not expect HR-practices offered by the client organizations which are aimed at increasing

their employability.

Second, the results of this study show that freelancers mostly search or take on assignments in

specific sectors. The context of the organization does not matter that much. This implies that even

though an organization offers HR-practices (i.e. inviting freelancers to the Christmas reception,

offering courses etc.), if the sector in which the organization is operating is not interesting for the

freelancer, the freelancer would not accept that assignment. This means organizations should be aware

of the type of assignments they are offering and in line with this, which type of freelancers they can

attract with the type of assignments they offer. The ideal assignment would for example mean that the

profile of the assignment (extent to which it is challenging and complex) matches the profile of the

freelancer. This would liberalize the hiring process of freelancers for the organization.

Third, the results of this research provide policy makers with insights regarding the

relationship between client organizations and freelancers. Especially whether the client organizations

are offering HR-practices to the freelancers and to what extent client organizations treat freelancers the

same as their employees. By having insights in this relationship, policy makers are enabled to

effectively respond to client organizations which are treating freelancers in an inferior way. For

example, feint entrepreneurship. In this way, freelancers, which could be seen as a vulnerable group

on the labor market, are more protected.

With regard to the theoretical contributions of this research, this present research elaborated on

previous literature containing the relationship between client organizations and freelancers by firstly,

investigating which motives both freelancers and client organizations have to collaborate.

Furthermore, this present research investigated whether client organizations are offering HR-practices

to freelancers and which role offering HR-practices to freelancers has in the enhancement of the

employability of freelancers. This research found that both freelancers and organizations emphasized

freelancers should show initiative themselves. Client organizations are often not actively pointing out

to freelancers they are free to attend some courses or workshops which they are offering to their

employees. Therefore, this research contributes to literature containing the relationship between client

organizations and freelancers.

The results of this study show, for example, that the context in which an organization operates

influences the extent to which freelancers are offered HR-practices. This could be linked to the HR-

architecture model (Lepak & Snell, 1999). This model shows that differences in employment show

differences in HR-practices offered to them. The results of this research are in line with the model,

since it showed that employees are offered different HR-practices than freelancers. However, this

research adds something to the model as well. Not only differences in employment determine the

extent to which freelancers are offered HR-practices, the context of the organization plays an

important role as well.

26

6. Conclusion

In order to survive in this rapidly changing world there is an organizational need for temporary

or project-based expertise (freelance markt index 2019). To achieve this, organizations work with

flexible knowledge workers, resulting in industries being characterized by a high proportion of

freelancers nowadays (Henninger & Gottschall, 2007). Literature (Kazi et al., 2014; Ruiner et al.,

2013) shows that organizations and freelancers have different interests in order to survive in this

rapidly changing world. Thereby, previous research (Ruiner et al., 2013; Short & Opengart, 2000)

showed conflicting views on the responsibility of organizations in enhancing freelancers to remain

employable. Therefore, this exploratory research examined the motives of both freelancers and client

organizations to collaborate and whether there was a match in those motives. Thereby this research

examined whether offering HR-practices to freelancers resulted in a mutual benefit and the role of the

offered HR-practices in enhancing the employability of freelancers.

In order to examine the three research questions and to include both perspectives on the

relationship, both freelancers and HR-managers were interviewed. Results showed that since most

important for freelancers is to remain employable, the most important motive of freelancers to

collaborate is the profile of the assignment. While the most important motive for client organizations

to collaborate is the flexibility obtained by hiring freelancers. Which reflects the different motives of

freelancers and client organizations to collaborate. Furthermore, the results showed that whether

freelancers are offered HR-practices depends on the content and the time period of the assignment.

Thereby, mutual benefits as a result of offering HR-practices to freelancers were found, e.g. offering

freelancers a workplace in the building. Moreover, results showed that the content of freelance work,

continuously changing assignments and organizations, is the biggest part of how freelancers maintain

their employability. Resulting in, this research providing insights in the relationship between

freelancers and the client organizations they are collaborating with and the extent to which offered

HR-practices enhance the employability of freelancers. Future research could investigate whether the

size and vision of a client organization determine to what extent freelancers are offered HR-practices

and whether there are differences in perspectives of freelancers and HR-managers of client

organizations in the same organization.

27

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32

Appendices Appendix A – Cover letter respondents (in Dutch)

Onderwerp: onderzoek wederzijdse verwachtingen freelancer en opdrachtgever

Beste,

Aanleiding voor dit onderzoek

In het kader van de master Human Resource Studies aan de Universiteit van Tilburg onderzoek ik de

samenwerking tussen een freelancer en de opdrachtgever. Indien u bereid bent deel te nemen aan dit

onderzoek, vraag ik u om de bijgevoegde korte vragenlijst in te vullen. Hierna zal u uitgenodigd

worden voor een verdiepend interview.

Informatie over de vragenlijst en het interview

De vragenlijst bestaat uit demografische gegevens, het invullen hiervan zal maximaal 10 minuten

duren. De antwoordmogelijkheden verschillen per vraag. Afname van de vragenlijst zal gebeuren via

Qualtrics (een online applicatie). U krijgt toegang tot de vragenlijst door op de link onderaan de

pagina te klikken.

Het interview heeft als doel om dieper in te gaan op de relatie tussen freelancers en opdrachtgevers.

Na overleg zal dit interview 45-60 minuten duren.

Vertrouwelijkheid

De door u verstrekte gegevens (zowel in de vragenlijst als gedurende het interview) zullen uitsluitend

voor dit onderzoek gebruikt worden. Indien u ermee akkoord gaat, zal het interview worden

opgenomen. Dit is om de kwaliteit van het interview te waarborgen. Uw deelname aan het onderzoek

is vrijwillig. Zonder negatieve gevolgen heeft u het recht om deelname aan dit onderzoek te weigeren

en om u gedurende het onderzoek terug te trekken.

Vragen/opmerkingen

Indien u vragen heeft over het onderzoek of interesse heeft in de bevindingen van het onderzoek, kunt

33

u contact opnemen met Maartje Jansen of Sjanne Marie van den Groenendaal.

Alvast hartelijk bedankt voor uw deelname aan het onderzoek!

Link naar de vragenlijst à

Met vriendelijke groet,

Maartje Jansen

Sjanne Marie van den Groenendaal (PhD onderzoeker en docent aan de universiteit van Tilburg)

34

Appendix B – Questionnaire demographic information freelancer (in Dutch)

Onderzoek wederzijdse verwachtingen freelancer en opdrachtgever

Beste,

Hierbij nodig ik u uit om deel te nemen aan mijn onderzoek gericht op de wederzijdse verwachtingen

van zowel freelancers als opdrachtgevers. Dit afstudeeronderzoek is onderdeel van de masteropleiding

Human Resource Studies aan de Universiteit van Tilburg. Het doel van deze korte vragenlijst is het

verzamelen van persoonlijke demografische gegevens. Het invullen van de vragenlijst zal maximaal

10 minuten in beslag nemen. Er zal vertrouwelijk met de verstrekte gegevens worden omgegaan.

Door in het onderstaande ‘ja’ aan te vinken geeft u aan dat u deel wilt nemen aan dit onderzoek. Ook

betekent dit dat u de bijgevoegde informatie zorgvuldig heeft gelezen, voldoende informatie van ons

gekregen hebt en dat u ermee instemt dat deze gegevens, de vragenlijst en het audiomateriaal van het

interview, voor een periode van minimaal 10 jaar na uw deelname aan het onderzoek bewaard zullen

worden. Tevens begrijpt u dat u op elk moment kunt stoppen met uw deelname aan het onderzoek

zonder dat dit negatieve consequenties zal hebben.

Ja, ik wil deelnemen aan dit onderzoek

Nee, ik wil niet deelnemen aan dit onderzoek

Hartelijk bedankt voor uw deelname aan dit onderzoek!

35

1. Wat is uw naam? ………

2. Wat is uw leeftijd? ……….

3. Wat is uw geslacht? man/vrouw/anders

4. Wat is uw hoogst afgeronde opleiding?

Middelbare school

MBO

HBO

Universitair

Anders

5. Heeft u kinderen? Ja/nee

6. Heeft u een partner met een vast inkomen? Ja/ nee

7. Hoeveel jaar heeft u werkervaring sinds u bent afgestudeerd (bijbanen hierbij niet meegeteld)?

……… jaren ……. maanden

8. Hoe lang bent u nu werkzaam als freelancer?

…… jaren …… maanden

9. Bent u naast freelancer ook werkzaam als werknemer? Ja/ Nee

Zo ja, zou u kort kunnen omschrijven wat voor werkzaamheden u uitvoert als werknemer? …….

………………..

10. Hoeveel opdrachtgevers heeft u gemiddeld per jaar? …..

11. In welke sector bent u werkzaam/ voert u vooral opdrachten uit?

12. Bent u bereid om eenmalig deel te nemen aan een interview over de samenwerking tussen u en uw

opdrachtgevers?

36

Appendix C – Questionnaire demographic information HR-manager (in Dutch)

Onderzoek wederzijdse verwachtingen freelancer en opdrachtgever

Beste,

Hierbij nodig ik u uit om deel te nemen aan mijn onderzoek gericht op de wederzijdse verwachtingen

van zowel freelancers als opdrachtgevers. Dit afstudeeronderzoek is onderdeel van de masteropleiding

Human Resource Studies aan de Universiteit van Tilburg. Het doel van deze korte vragenlijst is het

verzamelen van persoonlijke demografische gegevens. Het invullen van de vragenlijst zal maximaal

10 minuten in beslag nemen. Er zal vertrouwelijk met de verstrekte gegevens worden omgegaan.

Door in het onderstaande ‘ja’ aan te vinken geeft u aan dat u deel wilt nemen aan dit onderzoek. Ook

betekent dit dat u de bijgevoegde informatie zorgvuldig heeft gelezen, voldoende informatie van ons

gekregen hebt en dat u ermee instemt dat deze gegevens, de vragenlijst en het audiomateriaal van het

interview, voor een periode van minimaal 10 jaar na uw deelname aan het onderzoek bewaard zullen

worden. Tevens begrijpt u dat u op elk moment kunt stoppen met uw deelname aan het onderzoek

zonder dat dit negatieve consequenties zal hebben.

Ja, ik wil deelnemen aan dit onderzoek

Nee, ik wil niet deelnemen aan dit onderzoek

Hartelijk bedankt voor uw deelname aan dit onderzoek!

37

1. Wat is uw naam? ………

2. Wat is uw leeftijd? ……….

3. Wat is uw geslacht man/vrouw/anders

4. Bij welke organisatie bent u momenteel werkzaam? ……….

5. Wat is de specialisatie van deze organisatie? ………

6. Hoeveel werknemers zijn er werkzaam bij deze organisatie? ………

7. Hoeveel jaar bent u werkzaam bij uw huidige werkgever? ………

8. Wat is uw functie bij uw huidige werkgever? ……….

9. Werkt uw organisatie samen met freelancers? Ja/Nee

10. Hoe lang werkt uw organisatie al samen met freelancers? ………

11. Met hoeveel freelancers werkt uw organisatie op dit moment samen? ……

12. Werkt uw organisatie regelmatig samen met dezelfde freelancers? Ja/Nee

13. Worden er faciliteiten aangeboden aan freelancers?

Zo ja, kunt u een voorbeeld geven? ….......

14. Bent u bereid om eenmalig deel te nemen aan een interview over de samenwerking tussen uw

organisatie en freelancers? Ja/Nee

38

Appendix D – Interview Guide freelancer

Beste,

Hierbij nodig ik u uit om deel te nemen aan mijn onderzoek gericht op de wederzijdse verwachtingen

van zowel freelancers als opdrachtgevers. Dit afstudeeronderzoek is onderdeel van de masteropleiding

Human Resource Studies aan de Universiteit van Tilburg. Het doel van dit interview is meer inzicht te

verkrijgen in de samenwerking tussen u en uw opdrachtgever. Het interview zal 45 a 60 minuten

duren, rekening houdend met uw beschikbaarheid. Er zal vertrouwelijk met de verstrekte gegevens

worden omgegaan en de verzamelde informatie zal volledig anoniem worden behandeld en

geanalyseerd.

Door in het onderstaande ‘ja’ aan te vinken geeft u aan dat u deel wilt nemen aan dit onderzoek. Ook

betekent dit dat u de bijgevoegde informatie zorgvuldig heeft gelezen, voldoende informatie van ons

gekregen hebt en dat u ermee instemt dat deze gegevens en het audiomateriaal van het interview, voor

een periode van minimaal 10 jaar na uw deelname aan het onderzoek bewaard zullen worden.

Tevens begrijpt u dat er geen consequenties zijn voor deelname aan dit onderzoek en dat u daarnaast

op elk moment kunt stoppen met uw deelname aan het onderzoek zonder dat dit negatieve

consequenties zal hebben.

Ja, ik wil deelnemen aan dit onderzoek (interview)

Nee, ik wil niet deelnemen aan dit onderzoek (interview)

Naam respondent: ……………………………………………………………………………………

Datum: ………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Handtekening: ……………………………………………………………………………..………….

Hartelijk bedankt voor uw deelname aan dit onderzoek!

39

Aandachtspunten:

- Focus bij de freelancer alleen op de opdracht/ opdrachtgever waarvan de (HR) manager

wordt geïnterviewd. Soms kun je wel een vergelijking maken met andere opdrachtgevers om

voorbeelden duidelijker te krijgen.

- Goed doorvragen over verwachtingen, faciliteiten etc. Vaak zijn het zaken waar ze niet bewust

mee bezig zijn, omdat het vaak ongeschreven aspecten van de opdracht zijn.

Voorafgaand aan het interview

a. Belangrijk is dat voor aanvang van het interview de vragenlijst ingevuld is ontvangen en bestudeerd,

zodat er tijdens het interview op terug gekomen kan worden

b. Respondent bedanken voor het invullen van de vragenlijst en de deelname aan het interview.

c. Vraag de respondent of het interview opgenomen mag worden, als de recorder wordt aangezet

voordat je de vraag stelt, staat het antwoord gelijk op tape. Als de respondent echter aangeeft bezwaar

te hebben tegen een opname, dan moet de opname meteen gestopt worden.

d. Begin met kort iets te vertellen over jezelf en geef daarna een korte introductie over de inhoud van

het interview (bijvoorbeeld: waar gaat het over, hoe er met de data wordt omgegaan en hoe lang het

interview zal duren, 45-60 minuten).

e. Garandeer de respondent dat de gegevens vertrouwelijk behandeld zullen worden.

f. Mocht een respondent een vraag liever niet willen beantwoorden, geef dan aan dat hij of zij dit ten

alle tijde mag aangeven zonder dat dit negatieve gevolgen zal hebben.

g. Geef aan dat het gebruikelijk is om bij kwalitatieve onderzoeken de respondent enkele dagen na het

interview een samenvatting op te sturen, die dan doorgelezen wordt zodat de respondent kan aangeven

of hij/zij ermee akkoord gaat en of er nog eventuele op- of aanmerkingen zijn.

h. Vraag of de respondent bereid is om een aantal extra vragen (telefonisch) te beantwoorden als je

merkt dat je achteraf iets vergeten bent te vragen of al je graag meer verduidelijking wil.

i. Vraag hoe lang de respondent beschikbaar is voor het interview en of er eventuele uitloop mogelijk

is.

Algemene en achtergrondinformatie (max. 10 minuten aan besteden)

1. Kunt u kort iets vertellen over uw loopbaan?

2. Hoe bent u tot dit beroep gekomen, wat heeft u gestudeerd?

3. Kunt u me iets vertellen over uw werkervaring tot nu toe. Heeft u hiervoor in loondienst gewerkt?

Zo ja, wat voor werkzaamheden heeft u uitgevoerd?

4. Kunt u een voorbeeld geven van de freelance opdrachten/projecten die u zoal uitvoert?

5. Van welke opdrachten krijgt u energie en waarom?

6. Met welke opdracht bent u nu bezig? Hoe bent u tot deze klus gekomen?

40

Duurzame inzetbaarheid (employability; 15 minuten)

7. Bent u soms onzeker over het vinden van opvolg klussen op het juiste niveau?

8. In hoeverre ervaart u concurrentie op de arbeidsmarkt?

9. Hoe onderscheidt u zich van uw concurrenten?

10. Hoe zorgt u ervoor dat u een sterke positie hebt op de arbeidsmarkt en deze sterke positie ook

kunt behouden?

11. Waarom zou een organisatie juist u moeten kiezen voor een bepaalde opdracht?

12. Hoe hebben de laatste 3 opdrachten u geholpen om uw positie op de arbeidsmarkt te versterken?

(als de freelancer niet veel opdrachten heeft bij verschillende organisaties, maar steeds voor langere

tijd bij een klein aantal adressen wordt ingehuurd, kun je ook vragen hoe de freelancer de positie

binnen deze opdrachtgevers probeert te versterken).

13. Wat zou de volgende klus moeten bevatten om uw positie op de arbeidsmarkt nog beter te maken?

Met andere woorden: wat is de ideale opvolg-klus?

14. Waarop baseert u de keuze of u wel of niet een bepaalde opdracht/project aanneemt? Wat zijn de

redenen voor het aannemen van een klus bij een bepaalde opdrachtgevers? (Behouden niveau kennis

en vaardigheden, ontwikkelen nieuwe kennis en vaardigheden?)

Motieven / redenen om samen te werken (Motives to collaborate; 15 minuten)

15. Wat zijn volgens u de redenen dat een opdrachtgever u als freelancer wil inhuren?

16. Hoe zou u de relatie met uw opdrachtgevers/ huidige opdrachtgevers omschrijven? Ziet u uw

relatie met uw opdrachtgever puur als een zakelijke verbintenis (transactioneel) of is er ook een

persoonlijke relatie (relationeel)? Denk hierbij aan goed contact, voldoen aan verwachtingen etc.

17. Wat is volgens u goed freelancer-schap? (Uitleggen dat hiermee het gedrag van de freelancers

bedoeld wordt; je krijgt hier wellicht hetzelfde antwoord als bij vraag 12)

18. Wat is volgens u goed opdrachtgeverschap? Wat maakt dat u iemand een goede opdrachtgever

versus een minder goede opdrachtgever vindt? (je krijgt hier wellicht hetzelfde antwoord als bij vraag

11)

19. In hoeverre vindt u uw huidige opdrachtgever(s) een voorbeeld van ‘goed opdrachtgeverschap’? In

hoeverre heeft ‘goed opdrachtgeverschap’ invloed op uw relatie met de opdrachtgever en uw inzet

tijdens het uitvoeren van de opdracht?

20. Wat is uw bijdrage aan het behoud van een goede relatie met de opdrachtgevers(s)?

21. In hoeverre heeft u ervaring met ‘minder goed opdrachtgeverschap’? In hoeverre heeft ‘minder

goed opdrachtgeverschap’ invloed op uw relatie met de opdrachtgever en uw inzet tijdens het

uitvoeren van de opdracht?

HR-praktijken (15 minuten)

22. Wat verwacht u, naast praktische zaken met betrekking tot op tijd betalen, van uw opdrachtgever?

41

(Denk hierbij aan: heeft u ooit een training ontvangen? Wordt u uitgenodigd op de kerstborrel etc.)

23. Heeft er ooit een opdrachtgever in u geïnvesteerd? (Denk hierbij bijvoorbeeld aan trainingen,

cursussen, feedback, netwerken, mag je met collega’s samenwerken!? Zo ja, kunt u een voorbeeld

geven? Zo nee, heeft u hier behoefte aan? (geef een voorbeeld).

24. Zijn er andere faciliteiten die u krijgt aangeboden door de opdrachtgever (denk bijvoorbeeld aan

een vaste werkplek en mogelijkheden om samen te werken met vaste werknemers)? Wat staat hier

vervolgens tegenover? Moet u hier iets extra’s voor terug doen?

25. Stel u voert een opdracht uit voor een organisatie waarbij er ook samengewerkt wordt met vaste

werknemers, tijdens zulke opdrachten/ projecten wisselt u dan veel kennis uit met vaste werknemers

van een organisatie? Zo ja, leert u hier veel van?

26. In hoeverre wordt u door de opdrachtgever op dezelfde manier behandeld als (vaste) werknemers?

Kunt u een voorbeeld geven?

27. In hoeverre dragen de investeringen van de opdrachtgever (ontwikkelmogelijkheden,

samenwerken, netwerken, etc.) bij aan het verbeteren van uw inzetbaarheid en positie op de

arbeidsmarkt?

28. Heeft u verschillen ervaren in het aangeboden krijgen van HR-praktijken door uw verschillende

opdrachtgevers? Kunt u hier een voorbeeld van geven? Kunt u ook aangeven waarom er, volgens u,

verschillen waren?

29. In welke mate heeft u het gevoel dat u betrokken wordt bij de organisatie op een schaal van 1 – 10

(1=heel laag, 10=heel hoog)? Kunt u uw score toelichten?

Afronden

a. Bedanken respondent en vragen of hij/zij nog ergens op terug wil komen of iets wil aanvullen.

b. Spreek met de respondent een datum af wanneer hij/zij de samenvatting (in Word document)

van het transcript zal ontvangen en spreek af wanneer je zijn/haar akkoord of

aanvullingen/opmerkingen weer terug mag verwachten (indien nodig tussentijds een reminder

sturen). Bespreek met de respondent of hij/zij met track changes zal werken in het Word

document of dat hij/zij de aanvullingen/opmerkingen in een apart document/e-mail beschrijft.

c. Vraag of de respondent bereid is om een aantal extra vragen (telefonisch) te beantwoorden als je

merkt dat je iets vergeten bent te vragen of als je graag iets meer verduidelijking op een

antwoord wil hebben.

42

Appendix E – Interview Guide HR-manager Beste,

Hierbij nodig ik u uit om deel te nemen aan mijn onderzoek gericht op de wederzijdse verwachtingen

van zowel freelancers als opdrachtgevers. Dit afstudeeronderzoek is onderdeel van de masteropleiding

Human Resource Studies aan de Universiteit van Tilburg. Het doel van dit interview is meer inzicht te

verkrijgen in de samenwerking tussen u en uw opdrachtgever. Het interview zal 45 a 60 minuten

duren, rekening houdend met uw beschikbaarheid. Er zal vertrouwelijk met de verstrekte gegevens

worden omgegaan en de verzamelde informatie zal volledig anoniem worden behandeld en

geanalyseerd.

Door in het onderstaande ‘ja’ aan te vinken geeft u aan dat u deel wilt nemen aan dit onderzoek. Ook

betekent dit dat u de bijgevoegde informatie zorgvuldig heeft gelezen, voldoende informatie van ons

gekregen hebt en dat u ermee instemt dat deze gegevens en het audiomateriaal van het interview, voor

een periode van minimaal 10 jaar na uw deelname aan het onderzoek bewaard zullen worden.

Tevens begrijpt u dat er geen consequenties zijn voor deelname aan dit onderzoek en dat u daarnaast

op elk moment kunt stoppen met uw deelname aan het onderzoek zonder dat dit negatieve

consequenties zal hebben.

Ja, ik wil deelnemen aan dit onderzoek (interview)

Nee, ik wil niet deelnemen aan dit onderzoek (interview)

Naam respondent: ……………………………………………………………………………………

Datum: ………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Handtekening: ……………………………………………………………………………..………….

Hartelijk bedankt voor uw deelname aan dit onderzoek!

43

Voorafgaand aan het interview

a. Belangrijk is dat voor aanvang van het interview de vragenlijst ingevuld is ontvangen en bestudeerd,

zodat er tijdens het interview op terug gekomen kan worden

b. Respondent bedanken voor het invullen van de vragenlijst en de deelname aan het interview.

c. Vraag de respondent of het interview opgenomen mag worden, als de recorder wordt aangezet

voordat je de vraag stelt, staat het antwoord gelijk op tape. Als de respondent echter aangeeft bezwaar

te hebben tegen een opname, dan moet de opname meteen gestopt worden.

d. Begin met kort iets te vertellen over jezelf en geef daarna een korte introductie over de inhoud van

het interview (bijvoorbeeld: waar gaat het over, hoe er met de data wordt omgegaan en hoe lang het

interview zal duren, 45-60 minuten).

e. Garandeer de respondent dat de gegevens vertrouwelijk behandeld zullen worden.

f. Mocht een respondent een vraag liever niet willen beantwoorden, geef dan aan dat hij of zij dit ten

alle tijde mag aangeven zonder dat dit negatieve gevolgen zal hebben.

g. Geef aan dat het gebruikelijk is om bij kwalitatieve onderzoeken de respondent enkele dagen na het

interview een samenvatting op te sturen, die dan doorgelezen wordt zodat de respondent kan aangeven

of hij/zij ermee akkoord gaat en of er nog eventuele op- of aanmerkingen zijn.

h. Vraag of de respondent bereid is om een aantal extra vragen (telefonisch) te beantwoorden als je

merkt dat je achteraf iets vergeten bent te vragen of al je graag meer verduidelijking wil.

i. Vraag hoe lang de respondent beschikbaar is voor het interview en of er eventuele uitloop mogelijk

is.

Algemene en achtergrondinformatie vragen

1. Kunt u kort iets vertellen over de organisatie waar u werkzaam bent? (reflecteer op de antwoorden

van de vragenlijst)

2. Wat voor organisatie is het? (aantal werknemers, internationaal/nationaal etc.)

3. Wat is uw rol in de organisatie?

4. Op basis van de vragenlijst heb ik begrepen dat uw organisatie freelancers inhuurt, hoeveel zijn het

er en waarvoor worden ze ingehuurd?

5. Hoe rekruteren jullie freelancers? (via advertentie, via via etc.)

Motieven/ redenen om samen te werken (Motives to collaborate with freelancers; 15 min).

6. Waarom werkt uw organisatie samen met freelancers?

7. In hoeverre zijn de redenen voor het inhuren van freelancers en de werkzaamheden die de

freelancers uitvoeren, veranderd t.o.v. het verleden?

8. In hoeverre helpt het inhuren van freelancers om de organisatiedoelen te behalen?

9. In hoeverre wordt er regelmatig met dezelfde freelancer(s) samengewerkt? Wat is de reden

hiervoor?

44

10. Waarop wordt de keuze voor een bepaalde freelancer gebaseerd? Aan welke vereisten moeten ze

voldoen?

11. In hoeverre ziet u de relatie met de freelancer puur als een zakelijke verbintenis (transactioneel) of

is er ook een persoonlijke relatie (relationeel)? (denk hierbij aan goed contact, voldoen aan

verwachtingen etc.)

12. Wat zijn volgens u de redenen dat een freelancer bij uw organisatie een opdracht wil uitvoeren?

13. Wat is volgens u goed freelancer-schap? (Uitleggen dat hiermee het gedrag van de freelancers

bedoeld wordt). Wat maakt dat u iemand een goede freelancer versus een minder goede freelancer

vindt?

14. Wat is volgens u goed opdrachtgeverschap? Wat maakt dat u iemand een goede opdrachtgever

versus een minder goede opdrachtgever vindt?

15. Denkt u dat de mate van goed versus slecht opdrachtgeverschap van invloed is op het gedrag en de

bijdrage van de freelancer tijdens het uitvoeren van de opdracht?

HR-praktijken

16. In hoeverre investeert u in freelancers? (door middel van HR-praktijken)

Vraag 17 tot 21 kunnen als voorbeeld gegeven worden na het stellen van vraag 16.

17. Heeft u ooit een training of cursus aangeboden aan een freelancer? Zo ja, kunt u een voorbeeld

geven? Zo nee, waarom niet? (onderscheid maken tussen generieke en specifieke

ontwikkelmogelijkheden)

18. Biedt u freelancers een vaste werkplek aan in de organisatie? (Denk hierbij aan een kantoor,

gedeeld met werknemers bijvoorbeeld). Als dat het geval is, waarom biedt u freelancers een vaste plek

aan? Als het niet het geval is, waarom niet?

19. Krijgen freelancers de mogelijkheid om samen te werken met uw (vaste) werknemers? Zo ja, kunt

u een voorbeeld geven? Zo nee, is dit een bewuste keuze van de organisatie?

20. Worden freelancers betrokken bij activiteiten die niet met hun functie te maken hebben,

bijvoorbeeld team-buildingactiviteiten, kerstborrel etc. Waarom wel of waarom niet?

21. Kunt u nog meer voorbeelden geven van investeringen/ HR-praktijken?

22. Bent u van mening dat het investeren in freelancers bijdraagt aan het behalen van uw

organisatiedoelen? Waarop baseert u uw antwoord?

23. In hoeverre worden freelancers op dezelfde manier behandeld als werknemers? Kunt u hier een

voorbeeld van geven?

24. Bent u van mening dat freelancers behoefte hebben aan deze HR-praktijken? Wat is volgens u

belangrijk voor een freelancer? Waarop baseert u uw antwoord?

25. Wordt er, gebaseerd op de werkzaamheden van de freelancers, anders met hen omgegaan?

(Bijvoorbeeld het aanbieden van een werkplek aan de ene, en de andere niet?) Zo ja, kunt u uitleggen

waarom?

45

26. In hoeverre denkt u dat de organisatie zich verantwoordelijk voelt voor de duurzame inzetbaarheid

van freelancers?

27. In hoeverre voelt de opdrachtgever zich verantwoordelijk voor het bieden van toekomstperspectief

binnen de organisatie?

28. In hoeverre voelt de opdrachtgever zich verantwoordelijk voor het bieden van toekomstperspectief

buiten de organisatie?

29. Kunt u aangeven op een schaal van 1-10 (1=heel laag, 10=heel hoog) in welke mate u het gevoel

heeft dat de freelancer zich betrokken voelt bij de organisatie? Kunt u uw score toelichten?

Afronden

a. Bedanken respondent en vragen of hij/zij nog ergens op terug wil komen of iets wil aanvullen.

b. Spreek met de respondent een datum af wanneer hij/zij de samenvatting (in Word document)

van het transcript zal ontvangen en spreek af wanneer je zijn/haar akkoord of

aanvullingen/opmerkingen weer terug mag verwachten (indien nodig tussentijds een reminder

sturen). Bespreek met de respondent of hij/zij met track changes zal werken in het Word

document of dat hij/zij de aanvullingen/opmerkingen in een apart document/e-mail beschrijft.

c. Vraag of de respondent bereid is om een aantal extra vragen (telefonisch) te beantwoorden als je

merkt dat je iets vergeten bent te vragen of als je graag iets meer verduidelijking op een antwoord wil

hebben.

46

Appendix F – Code Table freelancers Motieven voor de

samenwerking

Achtergrondinformatie Aantal dagen per week

werkzaam voor 1 opdracht

Actief netwerken

Werkervaring Beleggingsspecialist

Werkervaring Hoofd facilitair bedrijf

Werkervaring Interim werk

Werkervaring Leidinggevende in de

zorg

Werkervaring Servicemonteur

Werkervaring HR-functies

Bewustwording van

zelfstandigheid

Bijdrage freelancer aan

behalen organisatiedoelen

Loondienst met daarnaast

een eigen bedrijf

Opleiding Arbeid en

organisatiepsychologie

Transitie periode

Overweging terug naar

loondienst

Overstap naar zelfstandige Achterliggende reden

Al bekend in het

wereldje

Balans onzekerheid en

motieven om voor

jezelf te beginnen

Hiervoor al werkzaam

bij de organisatie

Nu de draai gevonden

Overtuiging dat het bij

de persoon past

Uit noodzaak

Onzekerheid tijdens

overstap door het zijn

van hoofd kostwinnaar

Mindere onzekerheid

door partner met vast

inkomen

Huidige opdracht Keukenzetter

Overstap gemaakt van

zzp’er naar in dienst

Uitvoering Levende voorbeeld

zijn

47

Op een andere manier

naar dingen kijken

Taken

Toegevoegde waarde

creëren

Vertrouwensband

opbouwen met de

opdrachtgever en de

werknemers om het

werk goed te doen

Aantrekkelijkheid

freelancer op

arbeidsmarkt/

employability

Aantrekkelijkheid freelancer

op de arbeidsmarkt

Ervaring

Expertise

Organisatie committed

Balans generalisatie en

specialisatie

Opbouwen netwerk

Aantrekkelijkheid freelancer

t.o.v. organisaties

Karaktereigenschappen

Weten waar hij het

over heeft

Kwaliteit leveren

Concurrentie op de

arbeidsmarkt

Externe factoren Vraag naar meest

aansluitende ervaring

Werken met degene

die beschikbaar zijn

Interne factoren Persoonlijk netwerk

opbouwen

Onderscheiden van

concurrentie

Cursussen/ opleidingen

volgen

Door middel van

klanten

Door ervaring en

kwaliteit mee te

brengen

Expertise

Hetzelfde niveau

vasthouden

Jezelf ‘branden’

Kwaliteit leveren

Website op orde

48

Onzekerheid m.b.t. vinden nieuwe

opdrachten

Redenen aannemen

opdracht

Afhankelijk van de

vraagstelling op de

achtergrond

Financiële overweging

Luxepositie

Geen interesse in

opdrachten die tijdelijk

iemand vervangen

Niet integer behandeld

worden

Overtuiging dat je van

waarde kan zijn

Tarief

Uitdaging

Waardering de je ervoor

terugkrijgt

Wanneer er aan bepaalde

vereisten voldaan is

Complexiteit

Inhoud Of het leuk is

Financieel

Partner met vast inkomen

Onbekende branche

Aantrekkelijkheid

organisatie t.o.v. freelancer

Hoge bedragen

Waarde kunnen

creëren

Zaken goed op orde

Uniek concept

Duur van de opdracht

Redenen organisatie

inhuren freelancers

Kwaliteit freelancers Hoog werktempo

Flexibiliteit

Gaten vallen

Mensen te kort

Niet voldoende werk om er

een vaste medewerker voor

aan te nemen

Opzetten bepaalde

trainingen/ plannen

Van chaos structuur maken

Vervanging ziekte

49

Zelf niet de juiste expertise

in huis

Voordelen organisatie

inhuren freelancers

Ervaring

Expertise

Flexibiliteit

Vereisten Freelancers Ervaring

Opleiding

Passen bij de opdracht

Persoonlijkheid

SKJ-registratie

Verwerven nieuwe

opdrachten

Extern Intermediair/

gespecialiseerd bureau

Mond tot mondreclame

Netwerk

Vaste samenwerking

met 3 organisaties

Kwaliteit opdrachten

interim-bureaus vs.

eigen netwerk

Gemakzucht

organisatie verwerven

freelancers –

intermediair

Context organisatie

Dominante

marktpositie

intermediairs

Intern Eerste klus bij oude

werkgever

Oriënteren op de

volgende opdracht

Adverteren werkt niet

Aansluiten bij bureaus

Actief netwerken

Artikeltjes schrijven

voor de krant

Bewust niet te koop

lopen met ervaringen

Je werk goed doen

Kwaliteit leveren

Presentaties geven

Specialiseren

50

Vertrouwen bij de

klant uitstralen

Websites in de gaten

houden

Rekruteren freelancers Via een speciaal bureau

Verwachtingen t.o.v. de

organisatie

Aanbieden van faciliteiten

Flexibel erin gaan

Investeringen Afhankelijk van duur

opdracht

Afhankelijk van het

type opdracht

Inwerkprogramma Freelancer vind zijn

eigen weg wel

Kerstborrel

Ligt aan type opdracht

Ontboarding

Trainingen

Wanneer er een opleiding is

waar de freelancer mee te

maken heeft

Zaken op orde

Vroegtijdig beëindigen

opdracht

Uitblijven betaling

Aanbieden van HR-

praktijken aan

freelancers

Relatie freelancer en

organisatie

Persoonlijk Afhankelijk van het

type/ de functie v/d

freelancer

Je veilig weten

Zakelijk

Zakelijk begin en wordt

daarna persoonlijk

Relatie freelancer en

werknemers

Afwachtend

Freelancer actief

kennismaken

Freelancer als gevaar gezien

voor de werknemers

Goed opdrachtgeverschap Afspraken nakomen

Bewegingsruimte voor de

freelancer

Duidelijke opdracht

Eerlijk zijn

Freelancer erbij betrekken

Goed managen

51

Goede afspraken maken

Goede communicatie

Helder zijn in de

verwachtingen

Meewerkend opstellen

Omgang met de freelancer

Ontboarding

Probleemstelling centraal

stellen i.p.v. de uitkomst

Zaken goed op orde

Goede afspraken maken

Goed freelancerschap Afspraken nakomen

Betrouwbaarheid

Dingen losmaken die een

werknemer niet los kan

maken

Doorverwijzen als de

opdracht beter bij iemand

anders past

Goed aan

verwachtingsmanagement

doen

Goede communicatie

Hart voor de zaak hebben

Iets extra’s doen

Iets extra’s doen/ stapje

verder gaan

Initiatief tonen

Integriteit

Je werk goed doen

Lef hebben

Meer uren werken dan

waarvoor betaald

Opgaan in de organisatie

Positief gevoel achterlaten

Service verlenen

Snappen wat de organisatie

nodig heeft

Vanuit je eigen kracht en

normen en waarden

redeneren

Weten wat je kan

Zuiver zijn

Transparant zijn

52

Minder goed

opdrachtgeverschap

Afspraken niet nakomen

De freelancer gebruiken

De werkelijke opdracht

verbloemen

Freelancer niet met juiste

respect behandelen

Niet uitbetalen

Onduidelijke opdracht

Puinhoop

Slechte communicatie

Zaken niet geregeld

Zonder argumenten opdracht

afblazen

Barrières Bij kennisuitwisseling Vaste kern hardnekkig

Bij vinden opvolgklus Niet de juiste scholing

Te kostbaar voor de

organisatie

Aanbieden faciliteiten Opleidingsmogelijkheden Actieve houding

organisatie

Kunnen organisaties

gebruiken om ze betrokken

te houden

Verschillend per

opdrachtgever

Financiële middelen

Grootte van de

organisatie

Aangeboden krijgen van

faciliteiten

Afhankelijk van de functie/

opdracht

Afhankelijk van de context

Opdrachten MKB Aangeboden krijgen

ontwikkelingsmogelijkheden

Betrokkenheid bij de

organisatie

Afhankelijk per freelancer

Afhankelijk van aanbieden

HR-praktijken

Afhankelijk van de houding/

inzet freelancer

Afhankelijk v/d

persoonlijkheid freelancer

Bepaald a.d.h.v. het soort

klussen

Freelancer zelf ook actief

kennismaken

53

Verschil in betrokkenheid

medewerkers en freelancers

Aangeboden krijgen HR-

praktijken

Aanbieden laptop/ telefoon

Aanbieden ontmoetingsplek

Aanbieden van een vaste

werkplek

Aanschuiven bij praatjes die

gegeven worden

Clubje waar ze bij mogen

aansluiten

Collectieve verzekering

Cursus aanbieden aan

freelancer

Evaluatie dag

Kennisuitwisseling tussen

freelancer en vaste

werknemers

Partnerdagen

Samenwerking met vaste

werknemers

Afhankelijk v/d

opdracht

Toegang tot de systemen/

thuiswerk mogelijkheden

Investeringen in freelancer Aanbieden

opleidingsmogelijkheden

Afhankelijk of de

organisatie er ook wat

aan heeft

Afhankelijk van type

opdracht/ functie

Per team

Ze mogen aansluiten

bij

personeelsactiviteiten

Inclusieve organisatie Betrokkenheid bij de

organisatie

Bijna een werknemer

Freelancer wordt gezien als

werknemer

Houding werknemers t.o.v.

freelancer

Een van ons

HR-praktijken Alle freelancers

hetzelfde behandelen

Freelancers mogen

later aansluiten bij de

kerstborrel

Geen kerstpakket

54

Kerstborrel

Kerstpakket voor

freelancers

Manier van behandelen

freelancers vs.

werknemers

Sommige organisaties

brede feesten alleen

voor personeel

Huidige opdracht Inclusiviteit

Verwachtingen m.b.t.

inclusief behandeld

worden

Investeringen in

freelancer

Voordeel voor organisatie Waarde creëren

Inclusiviteit Aanwezig bij de

bedrijfsborrel

Aanwezig bij

personeelsactiviteiten

Freelancer opgaan in

de organisatie

Vrijdagmiddagborrel

Mate van inclusiviteit Aansluitende visie

organisatie en

freelancer

Afhankelijk van de

duur van de opdracht

Afhankelijk van de

grootte

Verschillend per

organisatie

Voordelen extreme

inclusiviteit organisatie

Geen inclusieve

organisatie

Betrokkenheid bij de

organisatie

Als externe gezien

Houding werknemers t.o.v.

freelancer

Als expert gezien

Nadelen extreme

inclusiviteit organisatie

Afstand nodig voor

freelancer

Behoefte freelancers aan

inclusiviteit

Afhankelijk per persoon

Verschillend per functie

55

Rol aangeboden HR-

praktijken in het

vergroten van de

employabiliteit van

freelancers

Duurzame inzetbaarheid Aangeboden krijgen van

opleidingsmogelijkheden

Afweging of het nu

iets toevoegt

Bijdrage huidige opdracht Leren kennen van een

nieuwe branche

Binding creëren

Breder inzetbaar door kennis

in verschillende branches

Voordelig voor

organisatie

Breder inzetbaar door

verschillende functies/ taken

uit te voeren

Breder inzetbaar door

verschillende klussen uit te

voeren

Durven ergens aan te

beginnen

Gestimuleerd vanuit de

opdrachtgever

Gezondheidsrisico’s

Goede relatie achterlaten Zodat je wordt

teruggevraagd

Jezelf heel veel aanleren

Kennisuitwisseling

freelancer en vaste

werknemers

Afhankelijk van

functie

Ook voordelig voor de

organisatie

Op initiatief freelancer

Kwaliteit leveren

Opleiding

Opvolgklus Complexiteit

Iets heel anders

Uitdaging

Vakinhoudelijke

verdieping

Trainingen volgen

Vitaliteit

Weten waar je goed in bent

Afronden opdracht Impact achterlaten

Positief beeld achterlaten

om terug gevragen te

worden

56

Waarde creëren

Bieden

toekomstperspectief

Afhankelijk van de relatie

die je achterlaat

Opdracht verlengen Geeft tevredenheid

organisatie aan

Wanhoop organisatie

(vb. vacature)

Terugvallen op mensen die

ze kennen

Vaste baan aanbieden

Andere rol/ opdracht binnen

de organisatie

57

Appendix G – Code Table HR-managers

Motieven voor de

samenwerking

Achtergrondinformatie Aantal zzp’ers in de

organisatie

Achtergrond organisatie

Risico’s bij inhuren

freelancers

Minder zicht op

werkzaamheden freelancers

Rol financiële capaciteit

organisatie

Rol HR-manager

Type freelancer waarmee

samengewerkt wordt

Werkzaamheden freelancers

binnen de organisatie

Aantrekkelijkheid

organisatie voor freelancer

Contractorspoel

Flexibiliteit

Gewoon de omzet

Het specialisme v/d

organisatie

Het type opdrachten

Soort opvangnet

Vooruitloper in de tak waar

ze opereren

Verandering v/d motieven

voor inhuren freelancers

Beweegt mee met de

arbeidsmarkt

Inhoud v/h vak is verandert

Samenwerking freelancers

en organisatie

Het resultaat is het

belangrijkste

Organisatie Voorkeur voor werken met

vast personeel

Hoge kosten zzp’ers

Inwerktijd

Vanwege de binding met het

bedrijf

Redenen niet inhuren

freelancers

Voor bepaalde functies

Redenen inhuren

freelancers

Bijdragen behalen

organisatie doelen

Afhankelijk van het type

freelancer

Ervaren krachten

Inwerkproces

Ontzorgen

Afhankelijk van de functie

Duur van de opdracht

Efficiëntie

58

Ervaring

Expertise

Flexibiliteit

Frisse energie

Invullen vacatures die

moeilijk vervulbaar zijn

Inzet

Kennis

Klanten van dichtbij

adviseren

Kostenoverweging

Niet voldoende werk om er

iemand voor in dienst te

nemen

Om een training te geven

Problemen uit de wereld te

helpen

Projecten

Projecten opstarten en

begeleiden

Specifieke kennis die ze zelf

niet in huis hebben

Spoed

Vervanging ziekte

Weinig verantwoordelijkheid

Vereisten freelancers Ervaring

Expertise

Opleiding

Persoonlijkheid

Registratie

Representativiteit

Slagingskans in het

ondernemerschap

Verschillend per opdracht

Werken volgens de wet en

regelgeving

Verschillend per vakgebied

Verwachting organisatie

m.b.t. freelancers

Dat ze het echt kunnen

Rekruteren freelancers Actieve werving (LinkedIn)

Afhankelijk van de klus

Eerder een compagnon dan

een uitzendbureau

59

Geen vast netwerk/ poel van

freelancers

Gespecialiseerde bureaus op

een bepaald vakgebied

Nooit via een advertentie

Poel met freelancers uit het

verleden

Recruitment in huis

Samenwerking met een

inhuurdesk

Via een intermediair/

uitzendbureau

Via een werving en

selectiebureau

Via via (netwerk)

Zit noodzaak achter, daarom

geen tijd voor advertenties

Netwerken

Inhuren freelancers Netwerk belangrijke rol

Bewuste via via rekruteren Weet je al veel over diegene

Aanbieden HR-praktijken Relatie organisatie en

freelancer

Binding creëren Persoonlijk contact

Persoonlijk Afhankelijk van duur en

frequentie opdracht

Zakelijk Afhankelijk van het type

freelancer

Zowel zakelijk als

persoonlijk

Afhankelijk van duur

opdracht

Goed freelancerschap Afspraken nakomen

Antennes hebben

Betrokkenheid naar de

organisatie toe

Betrouwbaar zijn

Expertise

Focus op 1 opdracht tegelijk

Integriteit

Opgaan in de organisatie

Professionaliteit

Werk goed uitvoeren

Weten in wat voor bedrijf je

opereert

Zakelijk

Verwachtingen t.o.v.

freelancers

Stapje verder gaan

60

Inzet tonen

Goed opdrachtgeverschap Afspraken nakomen

Bekommeren om welzijn

freelancer

Duidelijk zijn in wat je

verwacht

Duidelijke opdracht

Ervaren personen anders

Facturen op tijd betalen

Freelancers behandelen zoals

je je werknemers zou

behandelen

Freelancers inclusief

benaderen

Goede communicatie

Goede relatie opdrachtgever

en freelancer

Niet alleen de leukste

klussen aan freelancers

geven

Niet te strakke opdrachten/

vrijheid

Onduidelijke opdracht (chaos

oplossen)

Periodiek informeren/

feedback

Verschillend per persoon

Waar mogelijk gaan voor een

duurzame relatie

Werkgeverschap voor

contractors tonen

Zaken op orde

Inclusiviteit 2 soorten freelancers Extern uitgezonden vs.

intern

Achterliggende reden voor

inclusief betrekken

freelancers

Achterliggende reden voor

inclusief betrekken

freelancers

n.v.t.

Achterliggende reden

organisatie aanbieden

opleidingsmogelijkheden

61

Betrokkenheid bij de

organisatie

Geen onderscheid zzp’er en

vaste werknemer

Ervaring freelancers m.b.t.

inclusiviteit

Verschillend per opdracht/

organisatie

Gelijke behandeling

werknemers en freelancers

HR-praktijken – deelname

freelancer aan team-uitjes/

teambuildingsactiviteiten

Afhankelijk van duur van de

opdracht

Betrekken freelancers Afdelingsborrel vs.

kerstborrel gehele

organisatie

Afhankelijk van de rol/

functie

Feedback vragen

Inwerkplan

Uitnodigen voor

afdelingsborrel/

afdelingsuitje

Uitnodigen voor

bijeenkomsten

Uitnodigen voor kerstborrel

Vindt de organisatie dit

belangrijk

Worden niet actief

uitgenodigd, maar mogen

wel overal aan meedoen

Freelancer een van de

organisatie

Afhankelijk van de duur van

de opdracht

Kerstpakket voor freelancers

Verschillend per functie/type

freelancers

Kerstborrel/ verjaardag

voucher

Te inclusieve benadering

organisatie

n.v.t.

Tevredenheid freelancer met

opdracht verhoogt inzet

Verwachtingen organisatie

m.b.t. inclusiviteit

freelancers

Zitten er niet op te wachten

Inclusieve houding

freelancer

Verschilt per type/ functie

Niet inclusief Betrekken freelancers Niet uitgenodigd voor de

kerstborrel

62

Duidelijke grens freelancer

en werknemers

Freelancer een van de

organisatie

n.v.t. als expert gezien

Niet uitgenodigd voor de

kerstborrel

Uiteindelijk ben je niet ‘een

van hun’

Bepaald door het bestuur

Niet leuk voor de freelancer

Organisaties die opereren in

het buitenland

Invloed op contact met

freelancer

Verschillende behandeling

van freelancers

Afhankelijk van de functie/

opdracht

Verschillende behandeling

werknemers vs. freelancers

Aanbieden HR-praktijken Beredenering niet aanbieden

opleidingsmogelijkheden/

cursussen

Aanbieden telefoon/laptop

etc.

Verschillend

Aanbieden vaste werkplek Afhankelijk v/d wensen

freelancer

Abonnementen waar ze

gebruik van mogen maken

Backoffice zaken van de

freelancers regelen

Collectieve reisverzekering

voor freelancers

Deelname freelancer aan

team-uitjes en

teambuildingsactiviteiten

Afhankelijk van de rol van

de freelancer

Excursies organiseren waar

de freelancer ook bij aan

mag sluiten

Kennisuitwisseling vaste

werknemers en freelancers

Afhankelijk van de sfeer/

klimaat van de afdeling

Draagt bij aan kennisniveau

freelancer op peil houden

Gebeurd informeel

Voordelig voor organisatie

Lunch aanbieden

63

Mogelijkheid freelancer om

samen te werken met vaste

werknemer

Terugkom dagen Opdrachtgever

informatiebron

Toegang tot de systemen

Uitnodigen voor de zomer

barbecue

Promoten kennisuitwisseling

freelancer en vaste

werknemers

Samenwerking freelancers en

vaste werknemers

Afhankelijk v/d rol/functie

freelancer

Toegevoegde waarde aan

organisatie en freelancer

door samenwerking

freelancer en vaste

medewerkers

Investeringen in freelancers Aanschuiven bij activiteiten

voor het personeel

Afhankelijk van de duur van

de opdracht

Geen kerstpakket

aangeboden

Geen opleidingen/ cursussen

n.v.t.

Opleidingen/ cursussen Afhankelijk rol/ functie

Wanneer ze bij een team

horen

Organisatie oppassen met

verkapt werkgeverschap

Relatiegeschenk

Volgen opleiding/ cursus

wanneer ze bij een team

horen

Zitten ze erop te wachten

Niet aanbieden HR-

praktijken

Afhankelijk van wensen

freelancer

Overleg en afstemming

Niet aanbieden van

reiskosten

Rol van HR-praktijken in

het verhogen van de

employabiliteit van

freelancers

Bieden toekomstperspectief Achterliggende reden

terugvragen freelancers

Organisatiekennis

64

Aanbieden opvolg klus/

opdracht

Gebeurd alleen als de

freelancer ook echt het beste

bij de klus past

Bekende freelancers

terugvragen voor een andere

rol/ functie

Duurzame relatie opbouwen

(jarenlang met dezelfde

freelancer werken)

In dienst nemen

Intern solliciteren op

vacatures

Organisatie Voorkeur voor werken met

dezelfde freelancers

Bewust binding creëren met

freelancers om ze terug te

vragen

Niet bieden van een

toekomstperspectief

Bieden toekomstperspectief n.v.t. op basis van projecten

Niet vaak samenwerken met

dezelfde

Vroegtijdig beëindigen

samenwerking met freelancer

Employabiliteit freelancer Duurzame inzetbaarheid

freelancer

Afhankelijk van de inzet van

de freelancer

Extra kennis nodig en

scholing

Kennis in meerdere

branches

Verantwoordelijkheid

organisatie

Werkplek freelancer

checken

Verantwoordelijkheid voor

duurzame inzetbaarheid

freelancer

Geen verantwoordelijkheid

Verantwoordelijkheidsgevoel

t.o.v. freelancer buiten de

organisatie

Aanbevelen bij andere

bedrijven

Contact houden

Geen

verantwoordelijkheidsgevoel

Verwachtingen organisatie

m.b.t. freelancers

Dat ze zelf hun duurzame

inzetbaarheid onderhouden