Every business decision you make is going to have pros and cons. It’s important to look for a trade-off that maximizes the positive outcomes of each path that you choose. We are going to talk about hiring an in-house designer Vs. a freelancer.
As a business owner, you face difficulties and contradicting decisions every day. For example, you need to decide whether to invest money into a process improvement that promises high revenue. Or, maybe you decide to hire a person in-house instead of outsourcing. Before making any business decision, you’ll want to analyze the pros and cons of each option. This will help you see the bigger picture and make a decision based on good judgment.
Now more specifically, let’s imagine that you are thinking of hiring a designer, but are wondering whether he or she should be employed in-house or not. We’ve put together an analysis of this exact situation to further help you in your decision process.
Some Common Website Design Mistakes
The Pros Of Hiring An In-House Designer For A Small Business
Consistent Workload
In the world of digital nomads, the perceptions and attitudes around work have shifted.
Today, many writers, designers, and other creatives admit that the best thing about their job is its consistency. This is also true for business owners. Outsourcing different designers may be easier than going through a lengthy hiring process, although the work you receive may be inconsistent since design can be highly subjective.
Today, even freelance writers working for EssayPro admit that the best thing about their job is its consistency. For people working on projects on a freelance basis, a constant and sufficient flow of orders is a must.
Now let’s say you find an outsourced designer who creates the exact type of work you’re looking for. That’s great and all, although you’ll still experience inconsistency due to the fact that they’re not only creating work for your company and your company only. You may find that they can’t take on any more work in the moments where you need them most. This is where having an in-house designer comes in handy. They can devote a proper amount of time to the projects you give them without feeling like their attention is constantly divided.
So overall, hiring an in-house designer benefits both you and the designer due to the consistency of work.
Communication And Exchange Of Ideas
In-house designers usually have a huge advantage compared to freelancers. This advantage is that they have the privilege of face-to-face interactions and team building. Such close ties with the team can lead to deeper engagement in the projects and overall workflow. Also, team discussions will have new energy and you’ll have an extra brain devoted to finding creative solutions.
Greater Reliability And Trust
In-house designers usually develop a better understanding of the company’s mission and vision. When you know that a specialist works for your business only, you develop greater trust in one’s vision and ideas.
In contrast, hiring someone from agencies or freelancer platforms is always quite unpredictable. You may never know who exactly works on the project and how diligent they are.
Also, a fast-paced and dynamic environment, a huge workload, and multiple overlapping orders can put your design project completion at risk.
Intellectual Property Rights
If you hire someone with design skills in-house, it is likely that intellectual property created by this specialist will remain protected by law. Every such designer usually signs an NDA that prevents them from using the same ideas for other brands.
You can also force freelancers or agencies to sign such an agreement. However, it will be much more difficult to trace its infringement and take respective action.
Professional Growth
You can motivate your in-house designer with salary rises and growth opportunities. Thus, they will be interested in doing their job better, reaching greater flexibility, and striving for creativity.
In-house employment also promises stability and long-term relationships. Freelancers are usually interested mainly in pricing.
The Cons Of Hiring An In-House Designer For A Small Business
It’s Hard To Find Talents
If you decide to hire an in-house designer, you will definitely want to hire the best.
Note that finding a true talent will require extra time and resources since your HR or recruiters will work hard to select the best candidates.
Salary issues, visa needs, trial periods, and the need to fit a new member into the team usually accompany the hiring process of any specialist.
As costs are high, it is important to understand whether an in-house designer is really needed at this stage of your business development.
Cost Efficiency
Many business owners choose outsourcing because of its financial advantages. It is really cheaper in most cases and also gives an opportunity for a business owner to decide how much the company is willing to pay for the job.
The rest depends on the negotiation process.
A Pool Of Different Talents
When you decide to hire a freelancer or outsource a designer, it usually means short-term cooperation. Thus, every new work will be performed by a new specialist, who will be adding value with their unique creativity and skills.
If your campaign requires a different skillset, outsourcing people with diverse skills is probably a better decision than looking for someone in-house.
Flexibility
None of the in-house designers can give you as much flexibility as you need to balance work volume. If you work with freelancers, you can hire more specialists during the high season.
When the season is low, there will be fewer expenses. Yet again, it all comes down to money that is easier to save when hiring specialists working on a freelance basis.
Fresh Ideas
Writers often experience a phenomenon called writer’s block. It happens when they find it hard to compose engaging content. Such a halt is possible for every profession requiring new ideas and solutions all the time.
When you hire an in-house designer, you should be ready that such a period of ineffectiveness may come. From this point of view, freelancers are more preferred.
If one of them experiences problems, you can find others who would do the job. Such an approach promises no financial or time losses.
source: https://unsplash.com/photos/RYyr-k3Ysqg
Final Words
No matter how big or small your business is, eventually, you will face the need to hire a designer. The decision on where to look for them depends on your financial opportunities, a time factor, and the urge for creativity and unique ideas.
You need to analyze the pros and cons of hiring an in-house designer to understand whether they fit your business at a particular stage.
If you value stability, communication, and trust more than financial benefits and flexibility, opening an in-house designer position makes sense.
If you have a short-term project and a minimal budget to complete it, better use the services of remote specialists.
