When to Contract Freelance Work and When to Hire Direct

freelancing

Businesses everywhere are increasingly considering global talent as an addition to the workforce. When local talent is scarce or simply lacks the skill set necessary for a specialized position, hiring managers can tap into a huge pool of qualified applicants via the Internet. Working remotely with freelance talent gives you the opportunity to gain a global perspective on your market while adding talent to your team. Of course, there’s always a situation where hiring in person is the best solution, but consider carefully and don’t discount independent contractors just because you haven’t dealt with freelancers in the past.

Consider Positions Amenable to Freelancers

Some positions are particularly suitable to remote work, including any tasks that are considerably time-consuming or require skills that are difficult to get from in-house staff. Positions that deal with time-consuming tasks include researchers and content writers, who often charge flat fees rather than hourly when working remotely. This frees up personnel in your office to do other assignments, and cuts down billing hours on your payroll. Positions that require specialized skill sets include copywriting and programming. In many cases, you can find contractors online who have more field experience and better communication skills than local applicants.

Some Positions Better Hired Direct

Other positions are less suitable to remote work, and you may be more satisfied by personnel that work directly in your office. These positions include secretarial personnel, who often need to be on hand to clarify details or pick up additional information in the middle of the task. Additionally, workers who deal directly with customers and clients might be best to have in the office for training and quality control purposes. Of course, you can hire for these positions remotely and, much of the time, the professionals you find online will do a stellar job. It all depends on how connected you need to be to your workers and whether a freelancer will be the right fit.

Source: NYTimes

 

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