As business booms and you begin to require more resources, a common question is asked: how do I know when to hire an independent contractor? The decision between hiring an additional employee or utilizing an independent contractor can be a challenging one, laden with lots of logistical questions. It is important to weigh your options as you move forward, and to classify your workers correctly.
Here are three reasons to consider hiring an independent contractor over an employee.
1. You Are Hiring an Expert
Independent contractors generally have years of experience, and a very specialized skill set. Here is what that means for you: you do not have to spend time and resources training. Instead, you can rely on the fact that you are getting the best person for the task needed. There is a strong advantage in having someone on your team that has a concentrated focus in one particular skill or trade! It is always important to use the right tool for the right task. An independent contractor can be utilized in that way. Independent contractors are a valuable resource for exactly the moment you need them. In addition, that contractor is responsible for their own permits and professional licenses.
2. Avoid HR Headaches
You have quite a bit more flexibility when it comes to using an independent contractor compared to a traditional employee! With the absence of overhead costs such as benefits, computer and a workspace, you are freed to pay only when you need to use the consultant.
Also, on the flip side, you can terminate an independent contractor easier than terminating employees. When you work with an independent contractor and it isn’t a good match, you simply don’t hire them again. This relieves you of the HR headaches that come with trying to navigate the tricky fine lines of letting an employee go.
Looking to the logistics, employees have a wide array of rights under state and federal laws. Therefore, this opens a variety of legal claims they can potentially be brought against the employers for violating those rights. Because independent contractors are independent businesspeople, they are not protected by many of these laws. This alleviates much of the liability on the part of your company!
3. Objective Perspective
When you work with the same product, service or brand day in and day out, sometimes your vision can be blurred to the small details. When bringing in a consultant, their lack of original relationship with the brand allows them to provide a more objective perspective to your situation. Their expertise can be applied in a manner that is backed by trial and error with other companies, only giving yours the harvest of the results. It is important to stay sharp and innovative in heavily saturated markets, so an outsider’s perspective is a must. This is just one of the many benefits that accompanies utilizing an independent contractor compared with an employee.
