Pros and Cons of Hiring in-house vs. Outsourcing

by Nivi Ashri Interloper

Expanding your business? Need more employees to handle all the extra work? If so, should you hire them in-house or find a freelancer? The solution is determined on a case by case basis. A general rule of thumb is to hire in-house for long-term work and outsource the short-term, temporary work. The three biggest factors to consider before making a decision are cost, experience and flexibility. Based on your available budget and the professional you need, you will need to turn to either a freelancing portal or agency or post a job opening and wait for applications to come in.

Pros and cons

On one hand, in-house hiring enables you to actually meet the person you will be working with face to face. The employees will be more invested in their work and feel secure about their job position as these are typically long-term contracts. So, reduced risk of employee turnover is an added bonus. And if any issue arises, their attention will turn to it immediately and the issues will be resolved quickly whereas freelancers may give priority to previously assigned tasks. The situation can be easily controlled.

On the other hand, finding the qualified employee you are looking for may largely depend on your location. The entire process of posting a job opening, going through applications and selecting the right candidate can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks. Then there are the extra benefits employees will want and expect you to provide them with. Do the pros outweigh the cons? It is up to you to decide.

Outsourcing has many pros. From people specializing in your exact area, to a shorter selection process and prompt completion of a single task or project. It is ideal for short-term work. Plus, the freelancer is not necessarily tied to a certain location. They can be anywhere in the world and do the work online. This opens up the opportunity to find an expert from abroad and (possibly) save some money in the process. You can have a firmer control of your budget as freelancers will work a previously fixed rate.

Yes, outsourcing is a great idea. But, you need to also consider the fact that certain countries may have different standards when it comes to your work. The freelancer that seems highly capable and has the set of skills you need may actually have some geographic and cultural limitations on how to do certain things. And the freelancers portals are swarming with fake accounts boasting their skills so be careful whom you choose. Miscommunication may occur, schedules might need to be adjusted to different time zones etc…Plus, freelancers give priority to higher paying jobs so you need to be upfront about what and when you need it done when you assign a task.

One in-between alternative is to sign up with an outsourcing company and let them fulfill your short term needs. Over time they will get to know your company culture and what you expect and will try to assign you resources that are a good match. Also – if one freelancer is sick or on vacation, they can always provide an alternate and you wont be stranded. Yes they will cost a tad more than hiring individual freelancers but the benefits may outweigh the little bit extra cost.

The perfect solution for your company is likely a combination of both in-house hiring and outsourcing. It all comes down to the three above mentioned factors: what, when and whom you need it done from. Ideally, in-house employees will do all long-term work whereas freelancers can cover any short-term work.

We hope this article was helpful. Fore more on this subject, visit us at http://bit.ly/hire-or-outsource1

Good Luck!