More Than 45% of U.S. Businesses Have Increased Their Investments in Freelance Talent Since COVID-19

By: Fiverr International LTD. via Business Wire

June 02, 2021 at 08:00 AM EDT

New research from Fiverr Business shows bigger businesses are more likely to use freelancers, with 64% of larger companies claiming their investments in independent talent have increased

Fiverr International Ltd. (NYSE: FVRR), the company that is changing how the world works together, is releasing new data commissioned by Fiverr Business that shows bigger businesses are relying on freelance talent more now than prior to the pandemic. Overall 45% of businesses surveyed are using more freelancers than pre-Covid. The bigger the businesses, the more likely they are to tap into freelance talent - 10-49 employees (48%); 50-99 employees (62%) & 100 - 249 employees (64%).

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Bigger businesses are investing more money in freelance talent in a post-COVID world. (Graphic: Business Wire)

As a result of COVID-19, businesses everywhere have been forced to adapt and think about ways to augment their teams to be more flexible, agile and productive. Bigger businesses (100 to 249 employees) surveyed are focusing their investments in areas such as digital marketing (47%) and website development (45%), mobile app development (41%) and sales (30%). By tapping into freelancers to help with these areas, they are not only saving time and money, but they are opening themselves up to a global pool of talent who can help them scale.

“The data makes it abundantly clear that larger businesses are increasingly seeing the value in working with freelancers to increase their productivity and agility,” said Shany Malbin, General Manager for Fiverr Business. “We launched Fiverr Business back in September due to the increase in demand we were seeing on our own platform. The new platform specifically built for larger businesses and corporate teams gives them all the tools they need in order to easily tap into and collaborate with this workforce, which is clearly of increased importance to them.”

Key findings from the survey include:

The bigger the business, the more money invested in freelance talent. 65% of businesses surveyed with 100-240 employees are turning to freelancers more now than they were prior to COVID-19.
Businesses with over 100 employees were more likely to have applied and received PPP funding than smaller businesses. 50% of businesses with 100-249 employees say they had received funds from PPP.
Digital marketing and website development were key focus areas for larger businesses during the pandemic. 47% of businesses surveyed with 100-240 employees said they ramped up their digital marketing spend and another 45% said website development was a key priority. Other areas they are investing in include mobile app development (41%) and sales (30%).
Bigger businesses will be looking for more government support during the next crisis. 55% of businesses surveyed with 100-240 employees said they will be looking for more courage from their governments to make bureaucratic changes to help the economy (tax reduction, direct aids, changes in payments, etc.)
Marketplaces were favored over “build your own site” tools. 68% of businesses surveyed with 100-249 employees put money into Amazon to enhance or build their online presence and 45% favored eBay.
The larger the company, the more likely they are to have lasting changes to their team structures and operations because of the pandemic. 53% of companies surveyed with 100-249 employees said that they will have more flexibility and collaboration across disciplines and close to 40% said they will allow more remote work.

Freelancers have proven themselves to be advantageous to small and large businesses all over the world, but their services have also proven themselves to be helpful to large non-profits, who typically run on smaller budgets and tight timelines.

Reiko Enomoto, Senior Manager, Training Curricula at the Rainforest Alliance, an international nonprofit that work with communities, companies, scientists, and governments to develop sustainable economies in and around the world’s vital rainforests, said: “Because we are a global organization with hundreds of employees and chapters all over the world, it's important for us to find the right talent to localize content for all of our stakeholders. By tapping into the freelance talent available on Fiverr Business, I am able to not only complete my projects in a cost effective and timely manner, but I’m able to collaborate seamlessly with people from all over the world who can fulfill needs that are very specific to the organization.”

For information more on Fiverr Business and how to get started, click here.

*The data represented in this release was gathered by Censuswide from March 30, 2021 through April 15, 2021. The survey is representative of responses from over 1,000 U.S. business owners and senior managers.

About Fiverr

Fiverr’s mission is to change how the world works together. For over 10 years, the Fiverr platform has been at the forefront of the future of work connecting businesses of all sizes with skilled freelancers offering digital services in more than 500 categories, across 9 verticals including graphic design, digital marketing, programming, video and animation. In the twelve months ended March 31, 2021, over 3.8 million customers bought a wide range of services from freelancers across more than 160 countries. We invite you to become part of the future of work by visiting us at fiverr.com, read our blog and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.