Why Should Businesses Not Hire Full-Time Freelancer Staff Directly?

You’re an experienced business leader. You’ve recruited plenty of people in your time, so you know all about the process. Perhaps most importantly, you know more about your business than any insider possibly could, so why would you want to use an external freelance consulting business?

We’ll take a more detailed look at the advantages and disadvantages of hiring freelancers later in this article, but we’re going to begin with the premise that while you’re a seasoned professional who knows your business inside out, you also didn’t get where you are today without listening to good advice from other quarters.

First, let’s take a look at the difference between offshoring and choosing to hire freelance staff directly:

• With outsourcing or offshoring, your staff are exclusively your employees — all day, every day. You recruit the best people for the job and they work to your timetable and your instructions, and you maintain a grip on performance through such methods as key performance and behaviour indicators.
• Your policies and procedures​ stay king with freelance consulting.
• With safety and security in mind, you choose your favoured IT assets and tools and the outsourcing staff log in to your secure systems.
• Staff must pass aptitude tests, are subject to stringent background checks about past employment and criminal records, and undergo a medical examination.

Some of the benefits of outsourcing or offshoring through a professional freelance consulting business include:

• Reduced costs and new opportunities for business growth.​
• The retention of control.
• The ability to scale up personnel resources at peak times or when engaged in special projects, product launches, major company initiatives, etc.
• Increased operational capability​ and flexibility.
• Protection from compliance, liability or legal risks as they are part of the remit of your offshore partner.
• Relief from capital expenditure.
• Highly secure IT environment.

Now, we’ll compare the above to what might be the result of hiring direct freelancers yourself:

• You recruit and pay contractors directly, who are typically on a contract agreement ​without strong legal bonds. You also have no idea whether they’re working on your tasks or farming them out.
• Your work is done in their own time and, while you set and monitor goals, the time spent on training and development has an impact on your bottom line.
• No robust background, criminal or medical checks​ mean uncertainty about who you are employing and what their motives are.
• You are responsible for managing employment law, HR, leave, and all the costs that entails.
• Freelance staff usually provide their own IT hardware and security​. Your data can be stored on their local drives which puts it at risk.
• You are responsible for arranging and paying for professional indemnity and insurance​.
• The responsibility of ensuring that working conditions are safe and secure is yours — so is the cost.

There are, however, benefits to hiring full-time freelancer staff directly, which chime in with some of those which you can enjoy by using a freelance consulting company:

• Reduced costs and growth opportunities.
• Scale on-demand resources when required.
• Increased capability​ and flexibility.
• No capital expenditure.



Having reviewed the pros and cons of freelance recruitment, are you prepared to cede control of your operations and take on the financial, legal and cyber risk involved in doing it yourself? In essence, what this boils down to is whether you want to remain in control or can live with the uncertainty. 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Why partner with an offshore and outsource provider instead of hiring direct?

Some of the disadvantages of hiring freelance staff direct might include financial loss, poor-quality work, and damage to your company’s hard-won reputation. Because recruiting the wrong person can be risky, an increasing number of companies are opting for outsourcing and offshoring with Intogreat Solutions. There are pitfalls all around for businesses that take the direct route and end up with freelancers of whom they know next to nothing. Smart companies can avoid falling into some common traps and exposing themselves to unnecessary risks by calling on Intogreat Solutions Philippines. 

What are the disadvantages of hiring freelancers?

IT and data security must be given high priority by companies seeking to employ freelance staff.

What you should consider:

• The software on the staff PCs might contain malware, phishing devices, viruses, etc.
• Any saving of client data must be barred.
• Devices which are not provided by a professional offshoring company are not secure and can be used to steal client information.

Companies can mitigate cyber risk with Intogreat Solutions because we operate strict data security policies: We ensure that everyone follows our standard IT safety protocols regardless of whether they are working onsite or from home. All computers have up-to-date EDR solutions, mobile device management to track asset location, web filtering based on the client’s permitted websites, auto-wiping of downloaded files, blocked USB, and no saving of files into local drives.

When you choose to skip freelance consulting, your business is exposed to myriad risks and liabilities. Your insurance might not cover things like staff errors and damage to your business and reputation; claims filed against your company; or data security breaches.



Your insurance may not be valid because the culprits are not your employees and the correct protocols are not in place. Intogreat’s PI,PL, cyber and worker compensation insurance protects your company from exposure to such risks and liabilities as the staff are contracted to us.

Intogreat establishes strong connections between people, processes, administration, communications and the client. This approach ensures an easy, rewarding and seamless journey. Offshoring requires more than simply recruiting people and setting up a team overseas: Our service provides end-to-end project management to seamlessly migrate your processes offshore, and dedicated leaders who are experts in their fields to oversee your offshore operations — ensuring that your offshore team hits or even beats your expectations. Successful offshoring is about creating strong and collaborative connections between your onshore and offshore teams.

As a leading Australian freelance consulting company, we are committed to making your offshoring journey a stress-free success.

KEEN TO PREPARE FOR GROWTH, SAVE MONEY, AND PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS?

WANT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT BUSINESS OUTSOURCING IN THE PHILIPPINES?



Our freelance consulting experts are ready and waiting, so schedule your consultation now.