Employee or Freelancer: Which Does Your Business Need?

 

How do you know which is right for your business?

 

With over a third of the United States workforce freelancing, there is a large pool of highly qualified people to choose from. Still, there are distinct benefits to employing a person within your company, such as greater perceived loyalty. Finding what your business needs is not always easy.

 

 

Forget the notions that you might have had about freelancers before. There are a variety of types of freelancers you can hire for your business. Knowing the differences between these types will help you find the right solution for your business.

 

• Independent contractors. These people work on specific jobs. The work can be ongoing, short-term, or long-term. They are independently employed, which means you do not typically offer benefits or pay an annual salary.
• On-Call contractors. With on-call freelancers, you only pay when you need specific help on a project. The workload can vary from month to month.
• Temporary workers. Have a short-term project you need a little extra help with? A temporary worker might be your best option.

 

These types of freelancers can overlap. For example, an independent contractor might work on-call for your company, scaling production as needed.

 

 

One reason why there are more people working as freelancers than employees is because of the benefit to both parties.

 

As a business, you save money by only paying for what you need. Freelancers can set their own rates, making it a fair exchange all around.

 

Another perk is that you can cut overhead costs. In most cases, you don’t need a designated office space for a freelancer, which will save on your monthly expenses.

 

 

Productivity increases too. Because freelancers are usually paid by the project, they are more inclined to finish faster than employees who know their paycheck will arrive on schedule regardless of the work completed.

 

 

With so many perks, why hire an employee to come on board? Turns out, there are still a few times when it makes more sense to hire full-time work instead of a contractor.

 

For any job that requires full-time work on a specific task, hiring an employee is ideal. Although freelancers put their heart and soul into their work, it’s harder to be completely loyal and focused on a specific project while juggling a handful of jobs from various clients. With an employee on your team, you can avoid that distraction and hire someone to focus exclusively on the work that you need to have finished on an ongoing basis.

 

 

To help make the decision of whether to hire a freelancer or an employee, there are a few questions to ask.

 

1. How often will you need this work completed?
2. How much training will be needed to get the person fully engaged and understanding of the project?
3. How much time will the person need to spend with your project on an ongoing basis? Will the person need to be on site or immersed in your company culture?

 

The answers to these questions will help you sort out whether it makes more sense to bring someone new to your team full-time or work with a freelancer to get the job done.

 

Still unclear on what’s right for you? Let us know a little more about your situation and we’ll help steer you on the right path.