Should You Hire Freelance or Full-Time Employees?
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Should You Hire Freelance or Full-Time Employees?
- When to Go Freelance
- 2.1 When You Need Them Immediately
- 2.2 When You Need Specialized Skills
- 2.3 When You Want to Save Costs
- When to Hire Full-Time
- 3.1 When You Want to Build Relationships
- 3.2 When You’re Building Institutional Knowledge
- 3.3 When You Need Someone to Care
- So, Full-Time or Freelance?
- Empower Your Team with BrioHR
Your business is only as good as your people. Therefore, it makes sense to consider hiring the best people that are best suited to the task (and your budget).
However, the evolving nature of work means that full-time employment is not the only option available to employers. A growing number of people are freelancing or participating in the gig economy, as their main or supplemental income. In 2020, the Department of Statistics Malaysia reported that almost four million people – more than a quarter of the workforce – engaged with the gig economy in some form.
Businesses love the flexibility of freelancers, yet hiring full-time employees shows commitment and engagement. So, which one is right for your business?
When to Go Freelance
When You Need Them Immediately
If your business needs to do something immediately, it may be better to hire a suitably-qualified freelancer. The process of finding a freelancer and briefing them about the project is much faster than going through the hiring and onboarding process for a full-time employee.
Through freelance job boards like Fiverr and Upwork, you can usually find a freelancer that can start work within the week. If you’re working on a tight deadline, or if you’re trying to get something to market fast, you can minimize downtime by going the freelance route.
When You Need Specialized Skills
Certain jobs like video production, web design, and copywriting requires skills that are hard to find in the workforce. With the growth of the gig economy, more and more skilled freelancers are realizing that they can use their skills to earn more money while staying flexible.
Hence, your business can utilize this vast pool of talent to plug a gap in your employees’ skillsets. What’s more, you don’t have to limit yourself to local talent. With the rise of remote working, you can engage freelancers from all across the globe at competitive rates.
When You Want to Save Costs
Hiring a full-time employee is expensive. Depending on jurisdiction, you can save on benefits like health insurance and statutory deductions. If your business is just starting up, you can also minimize your commitments by engaging freelancers as work starts to trickle in.
Furthermore, if your business is highly seasonal, you can manage costs by hiring freelancers to cover the busy season, while the rest of your team can handle the rest of the year.
When to Hire Full-Time
When You Want to Build Relationships
Developing customer relationships is one of the most important things a business can do to sustain its growth. Compared with freelancers, a full-time employee will more likely be aware of other internal company processes. They can then leverage that knowledge to help build the best customer experience.
Plus, customers like seeing a familiar face when dealing with your business. Hiring someone full-time guarantees that they can develop that relationship over a long term, contributing to the business’ success.
When You’re Building Institutional Knowledge
Knowledge and knowhow are the cornerstones of a successful business. Maintaining this institutional knowledge and translating it into action is critical. Full-time employees are the custodian of this knowledge. They are the ones who will apply it in day-to-day business, as well as during unusual scenarios. Freelancers are not privy to this knowledge, and thus are unable to build on it.
When You Need Someone to Care
Of course, freelancers are motivated to do good work, as they want repeat business. But ultimately, that’s what it is – just business.
With full-time employees, you can get them to be motivated by the company’s mission and vision – to give more than just their time and skills to the cause. The development and reinforcement of a cohesive culture based on shared narratives, guiding principles, and deeper ties between people is a vital resource that can only be built among full-time employees.
In short, full-time employees that are engaged and motivated will be the ones that care about your business.
So, Full-Time or Freelance?
Whichever route you choose, both offer pros and cons. It really depends on which sector your business operates in, which stage of growth it is in, seasonal personnel needs, and a whole host of other factors.
Nevertheless, according to BrioHR’s 2022 SME Employer Sentiment Survey, over 50 percent of survey respondents would still opt for hiring full-time employees. This may be due to company confidentiality, as freelancers frequently work for multiple companies at the same time, often in the same industry.
The survey, which polled over a thousand SME industry leaders, captured employer sentiment during the first half of 2022. Thus, despite it being the norm in other economies, Malaysian businesses still prefer the steady growth and cultural engagement built around a full-time team.
Empower Your Team with BrioHR
Whatever your team’s composition, you need an all-in-one HR solution to automate routine processes and make things go smoother. This way, your HR team can focus on strategic tasks like increasing engagement or focusing on better recruitment.
With 9 powerful modules, BrioHR’s software covers the entire employee journey from recruitment to onboarding, payroll and claims, to performance and analytics, and more.
This enables business owners and HR teams to truly focus on what matters most – people.
Visit briohr.com and get a free demo now.
Your business is only as good as your people. Therefore, it makes sense to consider hiring the best people that are best suited to the task (and your budget).
However, the evolving nature of work means that full-time employment is not the only option available to employers. A growing number of people are freelancing or participating in the gig economy, as their main or supplemental income. In 2020, the Department of Statistics Malaysia reported that almost four million people – more than a quarter of the workforce – engaged with the gig economy in some form.
Businesses love the flexibility of freelancers, yet hiring full-time employees shows commitment and engagement. So, which one is right for your business?
When to Go Freelance
When You Need Them Immediately
If your business needs to do something immediately, it may be better to hire a suitably-qualified freelancer. The process of finding a freelancer and briefing them about the project is much faster than going through the hiring and onboarding process for a full-time employee.
Through freelance job boards like Fiverr and Upwork, you can usually find a freelancer that can start work within the week. If you’re working on a tight deadline, or if you’re trying to get something to market fast, you can minimize downtime by going the freelance route.
When You Need Specialized Skills
Certain jobs like video production, web design, and copywriting requires skills that are hard to find in the workforce. With the growth of the gig economy, more and more skilled freelancers are realizing that they can use their skills to earn more money while staying flexible.
Hence, your business can utilize this vast pool of talent to plug a gap in your employees’ skillsets. What’s more, you don’t have to limit yourself to local talent. With the rise of remote working, you can engage freelancers from all across the globe at competitive rates.
When You Want to Save Costs
Hiring a full-time employee is expensive. Depending on jurisdiction, you can save on benefits like health insurance and statutory deductions. If your business is just starting up, you can also minimize your commitments by engaging freelancers as work starts to trickle in.
Furthermore, if your business is highly seasonal, you can manage costs by hiring freelancers to cover the busy season, while the rest of your team can handle the rest of the year.
When to Hire Full-Time
When You Want to Build Relationships
Developing customer relationships is one of the most important things a business can do to sustain its growth. Compared with freelancers, a full-time employee will more likely be aware of other internal company processes. They can then leverage that knowledge to help build the best customer experience.
Plus, customers like seeing a familiar face when dealing with your business. Hiring someone full-time guarantees that they can develop that relationship over a long term, contributing to the business’ success.
When You’re Building Institutional Knowledge
Knowledge and knowhow are the cornerstones of a successful business. Maintaining this institutional knowledge and translating it into action is critical. Full-time employees are the custodian of this knowledge. They are the ones who will apply it in day-to-day business, as well as during unusual scenarios. Freelancers are not privy to this knowledge, and thus are unable to build on it.
When You Need Someone to Care
Of course, freelancers are motivated to do good work, as they want repeat business. But ultimately, that’s what it is – just business.
With full-time employees, you can get them to be motivated by the company’s mission and vision – to give more than just their time and skills to the cause. The development and reinforcement of a cohesive culture based on shared narratives, guiding principles, and deeper ties between people is a vital resource that can only be built among full-time employees.
So, Full-Time or Freelance?
Whichever route you choose, both offer pros and cons. It really depends on which sector your business operates in, which stage of growth it is in, seasonal personnel needs, and a whole host of other factors.
Nevertheless, according to BrioHR’s 2022 SME Employer Sentiment Survey, over 50 percent of survey respondents would still opt for hiring full-time employees. This may be due to company confidentiality, as freelancers frequently work for multiple companies at the same time, often in the same industry.
The survey, which polled over a thousand SME industry leaders, captured employer sentiment during the first half of 2022. Thus, despite it being the norm in other economies, Malaysian businesses still prefer the steady growth and cultural engagement built around a full-time team.
Empower Your Team with BrioHR
Whatever your team’s composition, you need an all-in-one HR solution to automate routine processes and make things go smoother. This way, your HR team can focus on strategic tasks like increasing engagement or focusing on better recruitment.
With 9 powerful modules, BrioHR’s software covers the entire employee journey from recruitment to onboarding, payroll and claims, to performance and analytics, and more.
This enables business owners and HR teams to truly focus on what matters most – people.
Visit briohr.com and get a free demo now.
