Why you should outsource for your business
Photo by Sebastian Herrmann on Unsplash
Anyone who has ever run a business understands the importance of proper staffing. Your employees are the backbone of your production line, as well as customer relationships, admin, and anything else that keeps your business running smoothly.
As well as hiring employees, you can also staff your business by taking on freelancers or outsourcing. But why would you outsource or hire a freelancer rather than take on an employee?
The difference between an employee and a freelancer
First, let’s break it down to the differences between an employee and a freelancer.
An employee is someone who works for your company. You have signed a contract with them and both have certain rights and responsibilities. As an employer, you are responsible for their insurance, among other things.
A freelancer can be similar to an employee, but the contract is different. Rather than working for you with an employer-employee relationship, they are a service provider and you are a client. This means that you don’t have the same obligations as you would towards an employee. However, a freelancer also has more freedom.
You can also outsource a task or project to a company, where the contractors act in a similar role as a freelancer.
Why outsource or hire a freelancer
Employees have inherently tighter ties to a company than a freelancer. If you want someone to fulfill a long-term role with a measure of flexibility, you might be better off hiring an employee. Freelancers are also often more expensive, but remember that you don’t have to pay for insurance or taxes.
Freelancers and other companies are therefore ideal for short-term, focused jobs or projects that require specialized skills.
For example, if you need a lawyer, you can either hire a lawyer full-time or outsource your legal needs to a lawyer or law group, such as the Beyond Law Group. Most companies have no need or justification for a full-time lawyer or law team, so paying for this kind of contract would be far too expensive.
However, when you do need a lawyer, you need a professional who can tackle the cases properly. Outsourcing therefore gives you the expertise you need, but only when you need it.
There are other services that benefit from this treatment as well, such as IT support or accounting.
As your company grows
You should constantly reevaluate the needs of your company, as well as how you deal with your employees and contractors alike. Some large corporations do end up branching out and hiring dedicated employees to deal with these things in-house, but it’s often still a better idea to specialize your staff.
Outsourcing to other companies allows your company to grow without becoming overly complicated or bloated. This keeps your costs streamlined, allowing you to better direct your efforts.
Yes, your employees are the backbone of your business and it’s always good to grow your workforce. But outsourcing to freelancers and contractors will have its place in your business, and its up to you to define that place.