What's the difference between hiring and outsourcing?

Hiring and outsourcing are two different ways to manage your company's tasks.

Hiring implies that the company carries out itself, through its team, the tasks it needs to carry out its business activity. It is the most common way of working.

On the other hand, outsourcing means outsourcing that service to a company or supplier that carries it out. Mostly, it is outsourced when the company does not have the capacity or internal resources to carry out a task that it needs to carry out.

Don't know whether to hire or subcontract services? We give you the keys so that you can assess which is the best option for your company.

Pros of outsourcing

The advantages of outsourcing are multiple, although one of the most notable is having an expert in a specific task who carries out a service in an efficient and satisfactory manner for both you and your clients.

Normally, it is outsourced when specific help is needed for a limited time, and it guarantees quality and saves time trying to do something that you either don't know, or you don't have the necessary tools to be able to do.

For example, if what you want is to create a website for your company, you can do it yourself, but you are probably not an expert, you will invest a lot of time and the results will not be the same as what outsourcing a web designer could provide.

In many cases, it is also cheaper to outsource the service than to create the necessary structure in your company to have a team to carry out that work.

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Cons of outsourcing

Depending on third parties can sometimes harm your company because it generates dependency on suppliers. If the subcontractor stops offering us the service, it could have negative implications on the operation of our company if his work was part of one of our main activities.

If the outsourced service has to do with some key activity such as communication with the client, you may lose control over the relationship with the client, something that can be very harmful. The trust of your clients is essential for the proper functioning of the business and a subcontractor can damage it. Additionally, you may stop receiving the feedback you need to continue growing.

When a service is performed, knowledge (know-how) is generated, such as the resolution of incidents, problems, possible improvements, etc. This becomes very valuable information that the supplier has and may not reach our company.

It is not always advisable to give up a part of our clients and work to another company or professional, it can end up becoming just another competitor who knows the sector perfectly and a task that your company does not have the capacity to carry out on its own.

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Pros of hiring

One of the most complicated aspects when outsourcing is choosing a good company or professional to do the service. Therefore, there are times when hiring ends up winning. You ensure that work is carried out the way it is done in your company, following the deadlines and work techniques that benefit it most.

Furthermore, it is always advisable to assess how much we need the cost reduction that the subcontractor brings us because, in the long term, we will have created a dependency on that professional that could work against us.

Here is an article on the best ways to evaluate a worker.

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Cons of hiring

If you are just starting out or do not have the necessary capital to make this investment in hiring personnel, it can be very detrimental to your company. In these cases, outsourcing is a good option; you can use it as a short or medium-term solution that guarantees you cover a work area with the name of your company.

If the project must be carried out in a short time, hiring may not be a good option, because when someone new enters the company, they need time to adapt and for the company to create the necessary structure to be able to cover this new activity. On the contrary, outsourcing companies have the technical, operational, economic and human capacity to carry it out in less time. Find out more about the 5 keys to better recruitment.

Furthermore, many companies decide not to outsource, but also not to hire. That is, loading more workload on the personnel who are already on staff; This practice would only make sense temporarily, so as not to lose the capacity for innovation (because they do not invest the necessary time for it) and the satisfaction of the team.

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For which service companies is it better to outsource?

The first thing you should ask yourself when deciding whether to hire or outsource someone's services is how many times you are going to need their help. If it is something sporadic, even if it is repeated a few times during the year, it is better to outsource it.

You must assess the importance of the service you want to hire or subcontract; if it will not greatly affect the development of your activity, subcontract it.For example, if what you want is to organize the warehouse, even if it is something that helps the organization of your employees and their well-being in the company, it is not essential for the work to be carried out, therefore, it is better to outsource the service.

If you do not have the financial capacity to maintain that worker over time, although the benefit is greater if you perform the service with a member of your company than if you subcontract the labour, it is probably better that you do not take the risk.

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What service companies is it best to hire for?

You must assess whether the service is essential or not, if it is for your company to function correctly, it is always recommended to hire, this guarantees that the demand is covered in the most efficient way possible, following the standards and production processes of your company and not those of someone external.

If your company has the economic, human and technical resources to cover this demand in a self-sufficient way, outsourcing should only be something temporary, try it for a while to see if it is worth the effort or not, but, in short, it is best not to support your competition, which is why we recommend that you read our article on how to turn your employees into experts.

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Hire the right workers for your service company

If you are considering hiring or subcontracting, you probably already know the area in which you need to invest in your company, therefore, you have one of the most important steps when starting a covered hiring process: identify the need.

As you know, the success of your company depends largely on the quality of the hired personnel, which is why you must define the skills and attitudes that the ideal candidate must have to increase the value of your company, its profitability and production.

However, recruitment processes are complicated and must follow a series of guidelines in order to be successful and not waste time and, therefore, capital. Find out more about the best techniques to find staff for your service company.

You also need to know how to make a job offer, where to post the job offer and how to design it to attract the perfect candidate. Here you can learn more about how to write a job offer step by step.

If you want to digitalise your business with an easy-to-use tool and at the same time have at your fingertips a list with all the information about your employees, find out what taclia is and how it can help you.