The Outsiders
The number of free agents has grown, but is a backlash looming?
Last winter, Tarek Kamil, CEO and founder of Cincinnati tech
company Incigna Inc., had a highly specialized project none of his
10 employees could handle. His solution? Outsource the work to a
free agent. "I use them on client projects where I don't
have enough resources," says 32-year-old Kamil, whose company
brings in about $1 million annually. "They're a piece of
the puzzle. I wouldn't be as successful without them." Maybe so, but is an employer backlash looming against the
"free agent nation"? Workplace consultant John Izzo,
co-author of Values Shift: The New Work Ethic & What It
Means for Business (Fairwinds Press), sees resentment of
freelancers as employers fight to hang on to their full-time
employees in a tight labor market. While many employers realize
they need to outsource certain aspects of their businesses to be
cost-effective, they now want to create loyal stakeholders in their
businesses. "There's an acceptance that free agents are
part of the landscape," says Izzo, "but there's
[also] a trend toward wanting people who have a financial and
personal stake in the company." Certainly, employers see risks in using free agents: high cost,
possibility of culture clash, loss of control over projects and
confidentiality, to name a few. Mike Nikolich, founder of Arlington
Heights, Illinois-based Tech Image Ltd., a 17-employee media
relations firm, used free agents regularly a few years ago but has
since quit because he finds them too fleeting and costly.
"I'm looking for employee commitment, and free agents are
only committed to themselves," says Nikolich, 43. Still, there
are times when outsourcing is the inevitable answer: This winter,
Nikolich paid a free agent $500 to analyze his business plan. Content Continues Below
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