As a business owner or leader, it can be difficult to determine the right time to hire new employees.  Although new employees help to expand the organization's capacity and capabilities, each new employee also brings with them a series of investments in time and money and a long-term commitment of development and support.  It's no wonder, therefore, that more organizations are considering the use of outside resources "as-needed" to assist in project work and periodic tasks.  The purpose of this article is to outline some considerations for determining when it is better to hire a new employee versus seeking outside resources.

The diagram below summarizes some of the factors that can affect the potential benefits of outsourcing:

Factors:

Workload Consistency - Today's work environment can be very dynamic.  If your organization's workload is seasonal or can vary from week to week, it can be of benefit to hire a core group of people to handle the base/routine workload and then use outside resources to help out during peak periods.  

Special Skills/Tools Required - It can expensive to hire "specialists" that are only needed occasionally or to purchase special equipment or software that is rarely used.  In these cases, it can be a good strategy to identify resources that can be brought in only when required.

Quick Project Turn-Around Required - Sometimes it is difficult for internal resources to "switch gears" and manage a critical project with tight deadlines as they maintain their other commitments and responsibilities.  In addition, the "juggling" of multiple projects can lead to poorly managed projects, less-than-ideal task outcomes, and lower overall productivity (and higher stress).

Cost to Hire/Train/Support - The costs and economic risks associated with hiring, training and supporting full-time employees have continued to rise in this economy.  Our internal estimates show that an organization can save between 5% to 38% in their costs by outsourcing depending upon the level of employee, company benefits and other factors such as employee turnover.  Please talk with us if you would like to investigate the potential savings for your situation.

Benefit of an "Outside" Objective View - Sometimes it takes someone from the "outside" to get a fresh viewpoint to a stubborn, unresolved issue.  In addition, organizational politics can make it beneficial to have a thirty-party facilitate a critical discussion or bring about agreement to a common problem.

Considerations:

• Options are great to have. Consider building a base of outside resources to handle peak periods or upcoming special needs BEFORE you require them.
•  As with anything, the effective use of outside resources requires good planning and strong management. For this reason, it is important to develop and communicate a specific plan for the supplier's roles, responsibilities, scope of work, and milestone dates.
• Consider regular, planned review meetings to discuss progress and give feedback on performance.
• If you would like more information on the benefits of outsourcing (including our calculations for potential savings), please contact us at 216-548-7136 or cscott@epicentergroup.com

Next Steps:

If you are interested in learning more about how Epicenter can help your organization to become more effective, please do not hesitate to e-mail us at cscott@epicentergroup.com or call Cindy Scott at 216.548.7136.