As an entrepreneur, you want to find ways to boost profits and maintain low costs. Many companies outsource to fill gaps they lack expertise and experience in. Outsourcing is a proven strategy that many companies, regardless of size, have used throughout their existence. You might still have questions about outsourcing or hiring full-time employees. You might be considering the costs, resources you’ll consume and time it takes to find the right outsourcing partner.

It’s important to know the advantages of outsourcing and hiring in-house employees.

Pros of Hiring In-House Employees

In-house and full-time employees are more invested in the trajectory of your company. If you compensate them adequately and create opportunities for them to succeed, they’re more likely to stay and are more willing to put in extra effort for a campaign to succeed. They want you to see your return on your investment in them and the results of a project you entrusted to them.

When you hire full-time and in-house employees, they learn new things or hone their current skills for the benefit of your business. Their tenure and development in your company can possibly lead to creative strategies that give you an edge over your competitors.

Hiring full-time employees gives you control over their schedule. You manage the deadlines, work hours and stages of a project. You have the authority to distribute work and assign tasks to them. Outsourcing means you have to give up some control over their schedule and workload. Your outsourced employees might be in another time zone or have multiple clients.

Reasons to Avoid Hiring Full-Time and In-House

In-house and full-time staff provide your organization with a mix of advantages and disadvantages such as:

1. An in-house employee costs more because of the benefits you need to give them. Their compensation package covers their salary, paid vacations, performance bonuses, training seminars, certificate programs, and others. These costs may affect your company’s profits. You have to compensate a full-time employee regardless of a project’s outcome.
2. An in-house employee may not have the skills and experience you need. They might be unable to manage the new campaign, product development project, or other tasks you give them. They might need additional training and time to adapt to the processes and policies your company implements. On the other hand, one of the advantages of outsourcing is that you get an employee that’s ready to deliver once you hire them. They already have the skills and are at the experience level you are looking for.
3. Your in-house team may also feel fatigue and burn out. This depends on the schedules and work you give them.
4. Your full-time employees’ motivation and engagement may vary based on their compensation package, stress, and number of tasks you give them among other things. Outsourcing work provides you with contract flexibility wherein you compensate an employee through a negotiated term. You can ask for longer working hours as long as you pay for them.

Disadvantages and Advantages of Outsourcing

One of the advantages of outsourcing is that it enables you to grow of your business effectively. Here are some of its benefits:

1. Outsourcing is a cost-effective strategy because of the negotiable nature of contracts. The employees you get from an outsourced service provider don’t require the usual benefits of their in-house counterparts like time off, health insurance, training programs, and others. Outsourcing also provides you with an opportunity to tap into a global talent pool that may have lower rates. You’ll save more money and resources you could redirect to growing your company.
2. Hiring an outsourced service provider offers flexibility because you can negotiate the contract length and work hours. If you only need 10 hours for a project, you can state that in the terms. If you need employees for a longer period, you can include then length in the contract.
3. Outsourcing is a possible solution for sales cycle upswings and downturns. Outsourced employees can ease the workload of your full-time team. They allow you to evenly distribute tasks when you get an influx of customers during peak seasons.
4. Outsourcing is a strategy that gives you access to first-rate and experienced experts. You can find employees with concentrations in accounting, finance, bookkeeping, IT, marketing, sales, and others. You can hire them for a short or long-term project. An outsourced service provider fits seamlessly with your in-house team. They can begin working immediately as well.
5. Outsourcing eases some of the workload of your full-time employees. You can distribute work to them while your in-house team concentrates on what they do best. You can eliminate redundant tasks that your employees do. They also won’t be put in a situation where they stretch themselves beyond their expertise.

The advantages of outsourcing make it an ideal solution for both big and small companies. However, it also has its own shortcomings.

1. One of the problems you might encounter is poor communication. An outsourced service provider may have multiple clients and can’t update you all the time. You might have to schedule a meeting or send an email to get an update.
2. You’ll have less control over your outsourced team, and you can’t monitor their work all the time. You can provide them with the details of a campaign and the result you want to achieve, but it will be up to them on how they deliver.
3. Outsourcing may disrupt your organization’s culture. Your full-time team may feel that you might look for their replacements or they’re unfit for the job. These thoughts have a negative effect on their productivity. This might also lead to a drop in the quality of their output.

Knowing the advantages of outsourcing as well as its disadvantages can help you decide on whether to invest in a partnership with an outsourced service provider or not. Outsourcing provides you with immediate expert assistance for whatever your business needs. However, an outsourced partner doesn’t have the same drive and commitment as your full-time team.

We at Robookkeeper can assist you whenever you need a trusted outsourcing partner. We can update your accounting books for you through our outsourced bookkeeping services. Our team of experienced accountants get the job done within the deadlines you establish.