Attract freelancers.
Retain freelancers.
VTRACE advises corporations and mid-sized companies on attracting, deploying and retaining external staff over the long term – so that your best freelancers stay on board beyond the end of the project.
Europe’s Fastest Growing
Companies 2023
Growth Champion
2023
in cooperation with
About VTRACE
Consulting for the workforce beside your workforce
Mid-sized companies and corporations today employ a second workforce: freelancers, interim experts and external specialists. They carry projects – yet, unlike permanent employees, they are not bound by an ongoing contract.
This is precisely the gap VTRACE addresses. Since 2016, we have been helping organisations find the right external staff, integrate them professionally and build their loyalty systematically – from recruitment, workshops and benefits programmes through to positioning you as a preferred client in a fiercely contested market for skilled professionals.
Our services are organised into six practice areas and cover the entire lifecycle of the working relationship: find, deploy, raise visibility, retain – and understand the technologies your projects depend on.
- founded in Dortmund
- 2016
- founded in Dortmund
- practice areas under one roof
- 6
- practice areas under one roof
- industry focus areas in recruitment
- 15
- industry focus areas in recruitment
- recognised as a high-growth company
- 2×
- recognised as a high-growth company
Practice areas
Six practice areas, one goal: loyal external staff
The numbering follows the chapter structure of our consulting materials – each area stands on its own while interlocking with the others.
- 01
Recruitment & Freelancing
HR consulting, headhunting, executive search and freelancer acquisition – support in finding new people, internal and external, across fifteen industries.
Learn more → - 02
Promotion
High-reach channels for manufacturers and employer brands: hackathons, corporate run sponsorship, community channels, newsletters and advertising space in the benefits shop.
Learn more → - 03
Technology Thought Leadership
Through our in-house news portal TechTonic, we report on current technology trends, analyse market potential and place topics where skilled professionals read.
Learn more → - 04
Corporate Loyalty
A closed benefits shop as a retention tool: external staff gain access to exclusive offers – for as long as they work for a partner company.
Learn more → - 05
Technology Research
Research in emerging technologies and solutions for industry – from blockchain and use-case monitoring to robotics and artificial intelligence.
Learn more → - 06
Coaching
Individual, business and project coaching: structured support for specialists and managers, teams and project organisations – staffed internally or externally.
Learn more →
Why freelancer retention
The contract ends. The collaboration doesn’t have to.
Permanent employees are bound by their employment contract. Freelancers are bound only by the quality of the collaboration – and that is something you can shape.
The skills shortage and the war for talent are turning experienced external specialists into a scarce resource. Starting every engagement from scratch means paying twice: in the time it takes to become productive, and in the risk that the best candidate is already working for a competitor.
We help you position your organisation as a preferred client – with professional processes, genuine integration and benefits tied to the ongoing collaboration.
Knowledge stays in-house
Onboarded external staff know your systems, processes and contacts – and that knowledge is lost with every change of personnel.
Faster staffing
A well-maintained network of loyal freelancers fills bottlenecks in days rather than months.
An employer brand for external staff
Freelancers talk about who is good to work for – your reputation as a client becomes a competitive advantage.
Insights
Analysis and perspectives
Articles on freelancer management, the labour market and technology.
Freelancer management
Freelancer retention: why loyalty need not end when the project does
Permanent employees are bound by an employment contract – freelancers only by the relationship. The instruments organisations can use to keep good external staff beyond a single project.
· 6 min read
Labour market
The war for talent: the forgotten workforce beside the workforce
Employer branding is almost always aimed at permanent employees. Yet in many corporations it has long been the external workforce that determines whether projects succeed – and the competition for it is just as fierce.
· 5 min read
Technology
Artificial intelligence in mid-sized companies: from pilot to productivity
Between AI euphoria and a wait-and-see stance lies a pragmatic middle path: clearly defined use cases, a sound data foundation and expertise you do not need to hire permanently.
· 6 min read
Let’s talk about your external workforce.
In a no-obligation initial consultation, we establish where your organisation stands today in attracting and retaining freelancers – and which measures offer the greatest leverage.