Freelancing, Outsourcing or Salaried? How to choose best for your next digital project?

Save time and resources by tailoring your developer teams and digital workflows according to your project’s specific requirements.

As digital projects vary in size and complexity, and with businesses around the world rushing to the forefront of digital transformation, choosing how to set-up your project teams and particular workflow is a top-priority.

In this article, Bocasay, our offshore IT outsourcing agency, provides an overview of the benefits and challenges of three common employment arrangements found in most digital projects today: Freelancers, staffers, or a dedicated offshore workforce.

Freelancers

+Advantages +

1. Flexibility: Freelancers provide flexibility in terms of project timelines and availability. They can accommodate varying workloads and adapt to changing project requirements more easily than traditional employees. This flexibility is ideal in fast-paced digital projects where priorities and timelines can often shift.
   
   
2. Diverse Skills: Experienced in specific areas, freelancers bring a diverse range of skills to the project table. This allows you to assemble a team of freelancers with complementary skills, tailoring it to your project’s unique needs. Whether you require web design, programming or content creation, you can find freelancers with the precise skills required for your project.
   
   
3. Cost-Efficiency: Hiring freelancers can be more cost-effective than maintaining a full-time in-house team. With freelancers, you can engage them on a project-by-project basis, eliminating the need for long-term employment contracts, benefits and overhead costs. Additionally, freelancers often set their own rates, allowing you to find competitive pricing that suits your budget.
   

﹣Disadvantages ﹣

1. Communication: Since freelancers often work remotely, communication challenges are not uncommon. Misunderstandings may occur due to language barriers, time zone differences, or lack of face-to-face interaction. Clear and consistent communication becomes crucial to ensure that project requirements, feedback and expectations are communicated and understood.
   
   
2. Reliability: Freelancers may have multiple clients or projects at any given time. This can affect their availability and potentially impact your project’s deadlines. Some freelancers may take on more work than they can handle, leading to delays or compromised quality. It’s essential to establish clear project timelines and expectations upfront.
   
   
3. Integration: Typically working independently, freelancers can ultimately have limited integration with your existing team. This may affect collaboration and the ability to work seamlessly with in-house employees or other freelancers involved in the project. It’s important to establish effective channels for communication, collaboration and knowledge-sharing.

Salaried

+Advantages +

1. Cultural Alignment: Salaried employees are more likely to be aligned with your company’s culture, values and core mission. They have a deeper connection to the organization’s vision and are better equipped to represent your brand effectively through the digital project. This alignment contributes to a stronger brand identity, consistent messaging and a better customer experience.
   
   
2. Skill Development: Staffers have the opportunity for ongoing skill development within the organization. Through training programs, workshops and mentorship, employees can continuously enhance their skills and expertise. This long-term investment in their professional growth can lead to higher proficiency, innovation and value creation for your digital initiatives.
   
   
3. Accountability: Full-time employees often have a sense of ownership and accountability for the projects they are involved in. They take pride in their work and are more likely to take responsibility for the project’s success. This ownership mindset can drive proactive problem-solving, attention to detail, and a commitment to delivering high-quality results.

﹣Disadvantages ﹣

1. Limited Scalability: Salaried employees provide a fixed resource pool, which may limit your project’s scalability. If the project requires a sudden surge in resources or specialized skills, scaling up the team may take time and require additional hiring or training.
   
   
2. Turnover Risk: Employee turnover can disrupt digital projects, especially if key employees with critical knowledge and expertise leave the organization. Finding suitable replacements and bringing them up to speed can cause delays and affect project continuity.
   
   
3. External Insight: Staffers may become ineffectively accustomed to the organization’s internal dynamics and ways of doing things. This can result in a limited exposure to external perspectives and innovative ideas. Relying solely on internal employees may restrict the project’s potential for fresh insights, creativity and adopting the best external practices.

Outsourced

+Advantages +

1. Cost Savings: Outsourcing can reduce the overall cost of digital projects. By outsourcing specific tasks or roles to external providers, you can avoid the expenses associated with hiring full-time employees, such as salaries, benefits and overhead costs. Outsourcing allows you to pay for the services you need on a project-by-project or hourly basis, making it a cost-effective option, especially for short-term digital projects.
   
   
2. Global Talent: Providing access to a global talent pool, with outsourcing you can tap into a diverse range of professionals and companies from different regions and cultures. You can expand your options and find the best fit for your digital project needs. This global talent pool can bring fresh perspectives, ideas, approaches, and ultimately enhance the creativity and innovation in your projects.
   
   
3. Low-Risk: Outsourced employees can help mitigate certain risks associated with digital projects. External providers often have established processes, quality assurance measures and contingency plans in place to handle potential risks and challenges. They can reduce the burden on your organization and enhance overall project success.

﹣Disadvantages ﹣

• Direct Control: When outsourcing tasks or project components, you may have less direct control over the day-to-day activities and decision-making processes. Relying on external providers means placing trust in their ability to execute the project according to your vision and requirements. Maintaining open lines of communication and establishing clear project guidelines can help mitigate this disadvantage.

• Data Security: Digital projects often involve sensitive data and intellectual property. Sharing such information with external providers carries inherent risks related to data security and confidentiality. It’s crucial to establish non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), data protection protocols and secure communication channels to safeguard your assets and mitigate potential risks.
  
  
• Dependency: Outsourcing can create a dependency on external providers for ongoing maintenance, support, or updates. This can lead to long-term costs, as you may need to continue engaging the same providers for subsequent phases or iterations of the project. It’s important to assess the long-term implications and potential costs of relying on external providers for ongoing support and maintenance.

Do you need a partner capable of producing high quality IT development for your company? At Bocasay, our dedicated teams of developers provide cutting edge software solutions for companies around the world. Get in touch to find out how we can help with your next project.