DEAR READERS,

Although there are many sufferings that the Corona pandemic has brought us, the crisis also brings opportunities. As an example, we report on how telework is now becoming increasingly acceptable. Our next article is about the ´Socially Committed´ award freelancer.international group recently received.

We also have an interesting fact for those of you wondering where the word “freelancer” came from, and our freelancer article will be about a freelance search engine optimiser who will explain how you can test your website to be found well on Google. At the end, we have our freelancer joke of the month which is about a team member who has his own idea of working from home.

Despite the Corona crisis, I wish you a lot of fun reading and of course, as always, success in business!

Rainer Kurz

Teleworking has become inevitable as a result of the corona pandemic. The current Gartner study showed that three-quarters of all CFOs expect that at least 5 percent of previously on-site employees will continue to telework permanently after COVID-19.

After initial doubts about teleworking, companies noticed that this new form of work will continue to remain in the long term. McKinsey mentions the example of a pharmaceutical company with more than 10,000 sales representatives: In February, it switched from on-site work to practically 100 percent remote working. Since some of the corona restrictions started easing up in some countries, one might expect remote working to disappear again. However, the company is planning to introduce new models in order to take advantage of the newly developed online capabilities of its field staff. These models include a 30 percent online work model with only 70 percent on-site work on a permanent basis.

Many employees learned to telework in the first phase of the crisis either by trial and error or by resorting to spontaneous training methods. On the other hand, for those who have completed their advanced training, teleworking can become a permanent task. For example, sales teams can use video conferencing to effectively manage customer relationships in remote locations.

Organizations are now increasingly developing their employee´s online skills as executives now systematically search for the best ways to digitally manage teams. This transition is often smoother and easier for long-standing employees who have built relationships and understood their role than for new employees who have yet to get to know the company without informal office interactions.

Additional collaboration tools and new work culture will be available when companies return to 'normal working practices'. Individual companies are already creating new collaboration locations in suburban centres and downsizing their central offices to reduce commuting times for employees. As entrepreneurs seek remote working skills such as the ability to self-motivate and strong time management, recruitment processes are also being affected at the same time.

The current challenges will make employees think about whether they want to work from home in the future. According to Gartner´s research, up to 80 percent of the employees also want to work from home.

Last month the freelancer.international group received numerous congratulations for the award of the 'SOCIALLY ENGAGED 2020' prize.

The award, which was presented by the Minister of Economic Affairs, Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, was jointly awarded by the Ministry of Economics of Baden-Wurttemberg/Germany.

Our company is involved in various social projects in a variety of ways, in particular in the Jobs-for-Refugees and Corona-Job-Fairy initiatives. Managing Director Dr. Rainer Kurz of freelancer.international group: 'A special thanks and great appreciation goes to our employees and volunteers who support our initiatives. For us the placement of freelancers is not only an economic activity but also a social good'.

The 'SOCIALLY ENGAGED 2020' prize for social responsibility honours small and medium-sized companies for their voluntary social commitment.

In medieval times, some mercenary warriors in Europe were not sworn-in to any lord or king. Warfaring lords could hire these medieval mercenary warriors for their services.

As they freely owned their own weapons (like lances), the term “free-lance” was used for them. Early mentions were in Sir Walter Scott’s novel Ivanhoe, published in 1820: “I offered Richard the service of my Free Lances, and he refused them...”.

With the development of trade and technology, the term freelancer nowadays is used for self-employed “business warriors”. The weapon arsenals of freelancers nowadays consist of computers, tablets, and smartphones.

Registered service providers can present themselves with a short article in the freelancer.international news. In this issue, we present to you our Freelancer 19040 from Stuttgart, Germany. A copywriter who is specialised in online marketing, content marketing and SEO.
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People spend more time online than ever before. According to a survey by the National Statistics Office, they are mostly looking for products and services. For you, this means that your prospects are looking for you online. But do they find you?

The entries are mostly done via search engines, like Google in online searches. If you are not found there, you leave the business to your competitors. Therefore: Become visible online with search engine optimisation!

As a copywriter specialised in SEO:
1) I can analyse your website and define technical and content-related measures to improve your search engine ranking.
2) I can create texts for you that will inspire your readers and search engines alike.

I would be happy to carry out an initial SEO analysis of your website for you - without obligation and free of charge. Talk to me!
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The project manager asked the team member: 'Why did you come to work that late?'

Team member answers 'Yesterday, you told me that I should read the newspaper at home'.