Although you may want to be hands-on with running your business, you should consider getting help to keep your team from being overwhelmed. If you need to hire a professional to design your website, write content, or prepare income statements or balance sheets, outsourcing is the way to go. By outsourcing, you can focus on your core functions and on growing your business.
When outsourcing to a third party, you can choose between an agency or a freelancer. Both can offer valuable help in offloading some tasks from your team. Choosing between an agency and a freelancer can be a tough decision. In this article, we shall get to know the pros and cons of each to help you decide which one you should hire.
Why Work With A Freelancer?
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- Affordable Services
- Flexibility
- Skills and Expertise
- Quality Work
Why Choose An Agency?
- Manpower and Resources
- Reliability
- Speed/Urgency
- Industry Knowledge
- Reputation
Which One Should You Choose?
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- When Should You Hire A Freelancer?
- When Should You Hire An Agency?
Choosing Between An Agency and Freelancer
When it comes to finding an outsourcing partner, there are two routes you can take: hire an agency or partner with a freelancer. Both can help you lighten the load on your team but knowing their benefits can help you decide on a suitable choice. Managing a business can become overwhelming when the tasks pile up. When you need to offload some of the tasks, you can delegate work to either a freelancer or an agency.
Why Work With A Freelancer?
Freelancers work independently. When you hire one to do certain tasks, you will work directly with them. Back in the day, freelancers were not that common. In 2014, there were just 4 million people working as full-time freelancers. By 2019, the number had grown to 57 million, comprising 35 percent of the workforce. Today, you can find freelancers on just about any platform such as job sites, forums, and freelance platforms. But why should you opt to work with a freelancer? Here’s why:
1. Affordable Services
Freelancers will only charge an hourly or a per project rate. At the same time, you do not have to worry about overhead expenses. Freelancers work from the comforts of their homes and pay for their internet connection and electricity. It is worth noting that freelancer rates differ depending on the task.
Aside from that, you do not have to provide them with benefits such as health insurance, government-mandated benefits, and other employee benefits. They are free agents and are not connected with your company. You only pay the freelancer for the hours they will render.
2. Flexibility
Whether you need to scale up or downsize, freelancers have the flexibility to meet your company’s demands. A recent survey revealed that 71 percent of companies hire freelancers because they offer flexibility. Freelancers can be hired quickly and are willing to put in extensive hours even work nights and weekends.
Freelancers do not require extensive training or onboarding. Aside from that, they also do not require a severance package when you no longer need them. Be it a short-term or long-term project, freelancers can be counted on to handle those tasks.
3. Skills and Expertise
If you are looking for specialized skills, hiring freelancers is the way to go. They work in various niches and are good at what they do. Freelancers have been in the business for years so you can usually hire them for the exact skills that you need. Examples of fields that employ freelancers are accounting, web design, legal, social media, and search engine optimization to name just a few.
Freelancers focus on one particular field and they become specialists in it. They are the exact fit for the projects that you are hiring for. If you are hiring someone for a certain task only, go for a freelancer. You can easily add a freelancer to a current project and streamline your projects smoothly.
4. Quality Work
You would think that the quality of work of a freelancer may suffer because they have other clients aside from you. However, you can have an assurance that working with multiple clients will not compromise the quality of work they will deliver to you. Freelancers get clients for the type of work they deliver and they want to build their reputation in their chosen field.
Freelancers deliver more than what is expected from them. They are willing to go the extra mile for their clients and exceed their expectations. They will communicate with their clients and aim to foster loyalty and trust.
Why Work With An Agency?
An agency is composed of several professionals who may be delegated to work together on your project. While each agency may function differently, they have a fixed rate for the services they offer. Agencies are great for projects that require multiple functions. For example, if you have an SEO campaign to boost your website, you may need content writers, web designers, digital marketers in the project. It will be more cost-efficient to hire an agency than freelancers with those specializations. Here are more reasons you should be hiring an agency.
1. Manpower and Resources
With an agency, you get access to professionals who can do multiple tasks for you. Agencies can provide the solutions that you need at any time. Although it can be pricey, you get exactly what you need. You get the skills and expertise that you require for your project. If something goes wrong with the professional you hired, an agency can easily replace that professional.
In addition, agencies have the tools and resources that a freelancer does not have. Most agencies invest in software and hardware that can help their team perform their tasks effectively. Aside from that, you do not have to worry about overseeing the work of your hired team because they have a manager who can do that for you.
2. Reliability
Agencies are paid to deliver reliable service. You can be sure that when your project goes south, the agency will always be on top of the situation. They are bound by laws that call for them to be a legitimate business or face consequences. An agency is reliable because if anything happens, your project will not be affected.
Agencies will show proof that they can deliver quality results. They have a reputation to protect in their industry and will not do anything that could ruin that reputation. As mentioned, they have licenses and permits from regulatory agencies and they are aware of the repercussions if they fail to live up to what is expected of them.
3. Speed/Urgency
Because they have the resources and tools, agencies can finish projects faster than freelancers. They have skilled members who are able to work on complex projects. They have a system in place and work in an organized manner which can help streamline their work. They understand that you have a timeline and schedule to follow and they will see to it that they finish their job within the deadline.
Agencies will work double time or even beyond normal working hours to finish the task you have delegated to them. They may encounter bumps along the way but they have a road map to follow and will do everything to reach the finish line no matter what happens. They have alternative plans of action to speed up work in case something goes wrong.
4. Industry Knowledge
Agencies are knowledgeable about the industry they operate in. They are always updated with what is happening in their field. They utilize the latest tools and technology to become effective in their performance. Agencies keep honing their skills and aim to level up their expertise. They strive to excel in what they do,
Working with an agency assures you of complying with industry standards. This way, you will not get into trouble with the law. In a dynamic sector, it may be challenging for your business to cope with the changes that can impact your business.
5. Reputation
Agencies have a reputation to protect and they will do everything to keep it clean. Reputation plays an important role in growing your customer base and in scalability. Agencies know that they need to maintain a good reputation to attract new clients. According to surveys, it takes customers 5 to 7 impressions to remember a brand. 90% of consumers report not dealing with businesses with a bad reputation.
Agencies put premiums on reputation management. They know a negative reputation could translate to lost business. Managing reputation is essential to the success of their business. They will minimize negative feedback and protect their brand image. A good reputation can boost their credibility as a business.
Agency or Freelancer: Which One Should You Choose?
Now that you have an idea about the benefits of hiring both an agency and a freelancer, which one should you choose? In this article, we will help you make an informed decision.
When Should You Hire A Freelancer?
Here are the best situations for hiring a freelancer:
- The project you are hiring for is relatively small
- You do not have the budget yet to hire an agency
- You want to be hands-on with the project
- It can be easily handled by a remote worker
- You have the time to manage one or more freelancers
When Should You Hire An Agency?
Meanwhile, here are the best times you should consider hiring an agency versus a freelancer:
- Your project is large and complicated
- You need professionals from various areas of expertise
- You are working on a tight deadline
- You do not have time to manage one or more freelancers
- You do not want too much involvement in the project
Hiring a freelancer or agency can be a major decision. It can have a huge impact on business success and growth. It all boils down to your budget and business needs.
Why Outsourcing with airisX Makes Sense?
airisX is your collaborative partner, not just a vendor of services. We offer transformational growth through our highly skilled architects and innovators. Our success is measured by your growth and not our revenue numbers alone. Learn about our proven track record.
By outsourcing to a leader like airisX, you will be able to scale up quickly by getting the right resources, processes and technological infrastructure. No matter what your scaling requirements are, airisX will give you the best optimised solution and you will be able to focus on delighting your customers. Your back office operations will be simplified, giving your users a high-quality experience. Get in touch with us at contact@airisx.com and we will get back to you with a customized solution tailored to your needs.