When To Hire And When To Outsource

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Running a business solo isn’t recommended. There will be times when you need a helping hand. But should hire an in-house employee or outsource a freelancer/company to do it for you?

Both options have their advantages and disadvantages. This guide offers some advice on when to hire and when to outsource.

What role are you looking for?

When it comes to full-time permanent on-site roles, hiring is almost always the best option. A restaurant could technically outsource a freelance chef to work in its kitchen, but given the amount of training needed and team involvement, you may as well hire an employee. 

Hiring in-house allows you to more easily customize a role to your needs. For instance, if need someone to handle your marketing while also doing a few admin jobs like handling phone calls and emails, you can more flexibly advertise such a role.

Outsourcing is a better option with more specific roles. Most freelancers and company services are likely to specialize in a certain niche and won’t be willing to do other odd jobs for you. You don’t have to train them as they are already experts in their field.

Outsourcing can also be a better way of delegating temporary tasks or tasks that may only need to be carried out infrequently but over a 24/7 period. For instance, if you want to carry out a marketing campaign for 3 months, it might be easier to outsource a company than train up a temporary in-house marketer. Similarly, if the phone is unlikely to be constantly buzzing, but you still need someone to be there to answer the phone 24/7, it may make sense to outsource a phone answering company rather than a team of in-house receptionists to work around the clock.  

What’s your budget?

Your budget is very important to consider. In most cases, hiring in-house employees costs a lot more money than outsourcing. This is because on top of their wage you may be expected to provide employee benefits. You’ll also have to pay for employee tools and equipment. Many people find that it’s much more affordable to outsource an IT company or a marketing firm for this reason - an outsourced freelancer or company is much more likely to have all the right tools at their disposal.

Of course, you should be careful of outsourcing too many different roles as the costs could add up. It may be cheaper to hire an assistant that can juggle multiple tasks rather than outsourcing separate companies to handle marketing, accounting, and answering phone calls. 

What level of communication is necessary?

When you hire an in-house employee, it’s much easier to maintain fast communication. You can also ensure that there is more privacy in place - you don’t have to worry about sensitive information leaving the office.

When outsourcing, you need to have more trust and you can’t expect the same level of communication. If you want someone to handle tasks for you in the background without having to constantly communicate with them, outsourcing may be more suitable. There are some companies that you’re able to communicate with more frequently, but you should be realistic about how much of their attention you can demand as they are likely to have other clients too.