Hiring a Freelancer vs. a Full-Time Employee

Are you considering hiring to offload some work? I’m an advocate for outsourcing and delegating work. Business owners are busy enough, and no one can do everything. Hiring help may be the best thing for your business. Now you have to decide if it’s better hiring a freelancer or a full-time employee, and this blog will help you.

Freelancer vs. Full-Time Employee

A freelancer is self-employed and offers specific services, such as marketing strategy, social media management, copywriting, website design, graphic design, and much more. A full-time employee is hired by the company to perform several tasks, typically within a certain department. They work 40 hours a week. Let’s go over a few differences between freelancers and full-time employees.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Full-time employees are included in company benefits such as 401k matching, vacation time, and various insurances. Benefits alone can rack up thousands of dollars for a company. Freelancers don’t receive benefits from the company. They are responsible for their own insurances, accept that their vacation time is unpaid, and manage their own 401k. 

COSTS

In terms of cost, it’s much cheaper to hire a freelancer than an employee. We already went over benefits, but companies also need to provide employees with the equipment they need to do their jobs. A computer or online programs such as Zoom or Microsoft Office applications need to be purchased by the company. Additionally, there are costs associated with training new employees to effectively perform job tasks. In some cases, office space may need to be rented by the company for employees. Then that comes with purchasing office supplies. Of course, their salary and any bonuses are paid for by the company. A full-time employee can easily cost a company tens of thousands of dollars.

Freelancers, on the other hand, only charge the company for the work they perform. Freelancers don’t get health insurance, paid vacation time, technical equipment, office space or supplies, or bonuses unless otherwise noted in the contract between the two parties. Freelancers purchase everything they need to do their job themselves. The only exception is if the freelancer is required to use a specific platform that the company uses, the company should pay for their membership. 

WORK HABITS

A full-time employee is required to be online for 40 hours a week. Let’s admit it. We’ve all been in full-time positions where we slacked off and didn’t work the full 40 hours a week. Either way, the company is still paying for your time. 

However, a freelancer works based on deadlines. A company will provide them with a project, and the freelancer works on their own time to complete it. Typically, freelancers work during normal business hours to align with their clients, but they have the freedom to work whenever and wherever they want. 

A contract is put into place between the freelancer and the company to solidify the agreement. Contracts include expectations about projects, communication, and pay. The specifics vary, but contracts are legally binding and ensure a professional relationship between both parties. 

Quality of Work

I’ve already talked about the cost-savings and flexibility of hiring a freelancer. Now I want to talk about the quality of work between a freelancer and an employee. Don’t be mistaken. I’m not taking anything away from full-time employees. Employees do great work and can help companies work toward their goals. However, freelancers specialize in certain tasks, so they have a higher quality of work. Full-time employees typically generalize their work because that’s what is required of the job description. Job descriptions list 10-20 things an employee should have experience in, and there’s no way they’re an expert in all of them. Freelancers choose the work they want to do, so they specialize in their chose area of work. Some of those areas could be blogging, SEO, social media, website design, or graphic design, for example. 

Specialization is a huge benefit because the freelancer knows the ins and outs of those tasks. They can offer expert advice and bring new ideas to the table since they are immersed in the world of their specialty 24/7. That’s what they do every single day, so they have more expertise than an employee who dabbles in that task. Would you rather hire someone who kind of knows what they’re doing or someone who is an expert and has proven results? I know which one I would pick!

Length of Relationship

You get to decide how long you want to have a freelancer on your team. Unlike traditional employees, freelancers can be hired for specific projects. If you’re launching a new product or campaign, you can hire a freelancer to support you during the launch. An employee is hired with the intention of being long-term employment. They have daily job duties that a launch may take away from. In that case, it would make sense to hire a freelancer to support you in specific tasks during the launch.

The next time you’re thinking about hiring help for your business, consider hiring a freelancer. When you hire a freelancer, you’ll save on costs such as technical equipment, office space, and supplies, or employee benefits. Freelancers will also bring a higher quality of work to the table, and you get to decide how long you want to work with a freelancer. There are several benefits to hiring a freelancer. 

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