In 2020, as the pandemic grew and the unemployment rate continued to rise, millions of professionals set out on their own as freelancers. Today, firms looking to supplement their workforces with contracted talent have many choices.
Some benefits of using freelance workers include gaining access to unique, hard-to-find skills and expertise, shorter onboarding times and lower expenses. However, given the potential risks of relying on independent contractors, hiring a full-time employee may be a better option for some companies.
Here, eight experts from Forbes Human Resources Council delve into some of the key reasons why a company may prefer to hire a full-time employee over a freelancer.
Forbes Human Resources Council members discuss reasons to hire a full-time employee over a freelancer.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.1. Retaining Critical Knowledge
Think globally, act locally when workforce planning. Standardization lays a strong foundation, while respecting regional legal nuances and customs ensures good decisions. Build your organization to retain critical knowledge by adding employees for key roles. For finite endings, covering absences, skill shortages or seasonal projects, add contingent workers or contractors for future flexibility. - MJ Vigil, PEMCO Insurance
2. Bringing Greater ROI
Freelancers aren’t loyal to your company. Though cheaper, they aren’t immersed in your company culture or invested in your ongoing success. Full-time employees have a greater sense of engagement and connection to what you do and the way you do it, meaning they bring a greater ROI to your brand and its quality. - Courtney Pace, FedEx Employees Credit Assoc.
3. Ensuring Continuity In Key Business Activities
The legal framework in most countries mandates hiring full-time employees based on the nature and duration of the work. If the nature of the work is key to your business and the market you want to control, and if the duration is perennial, then you can hire full-time employees only. This is a great guide in choosing your options. Go for full-time employees if you want quality, engagement, commitment and continuity in your key business activities. - Kumar Abhishek, S&P Global
4. Creating Strong Client Relationships
If you’re trying to build strong relationships with your clients, freelancers may not be the best choice. Remember, they are building their own business, and that is their priority. Full-time employees are better connected to your organization, its culture and solutions. Their priority is to leverage that knowledge to develop strong client relationships to contribute to company success. - Sarika Lamont, Avantus Federal
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5. Building A Solid Knowledge Base
For a company that is rapidly scaling, the ability to build a knowledge base and translate the knowledge acquired into the transformational journey is critical. A full-time employee is the architect of that knowledge. Conceptualize it as a water pipe: If you had a leak to plug, a freelancer could help; but if the pipe needs to be built and grown for the future, a full-time employee is the answer. - Vineet Gambhir, Contemporary Leadership Advisors
6. Fostering Community Leads To Consistency
Hiring full-time talent helps you build community in the organization. Transience is inherent in the freelance relationship. Full-time employees are invested in your long-term success, creating consistency in relationships with clients as well as team members. Freelance talent should be reserved for discrete projects and assignments that you know will be temporary. - Jennifer Marszalek, Home Chef
7. Strengthening A Unified Culture
The creation and strengthening of a unified culture founded on common stories, core values and deeper connections between individuals is an invaluable asset that needs to be systematically built up. This is usually much better achieved with full-time employees who will go the extra mile in times of crisis while also being able to respond to external changes in a more cohesive manner. - Pravir Malik, Deep Order Technologies
8. Leveraging Confidential Proprietary Information
When making the decision whether to hire a full-time or short-term employee, consider the duration of the need. Is it a longer project or a short-term one? For a long-term need, you should hire a full-time employee. Otherwise, you will run into co-employment issues. It’s advisable to hire a full-time employee when you need to leverage a lot of confidential proprietary information. - Rohini Shankar, CIOX Health
