With every type of business, from fashion to the healthcare industry, there are seasons that are much busier than others. It can be hard on the existing staff to take on extra hours and more work to compensate for this increase, but it may not be cost-effective to hire more employees to work for the season only. However, there’s enough option when you’re looking for people to help with increased seasonal work: outsourcing.
Seasonal Employees vs. Seasonal Outsourcing
There are two different methods that you can choose from when it comes to seasonal employees. You can choose to hire part-time workers for the season or hire an outsourcing company. An outsourcing company will benefit you all year round, but you’ll be able to scale up your use of them during the busiest times of the year.
With seasonal employees, you’ll still have to train and pay them like a regular employee. While they may not receive benefits, you’ll still have to spend time hiring and training, and you’ll have to pay taxes on each employee.
Seasonal part-time jobs aren’t appealing to many people, so the hiring pool will be very small, meaning you may not get many applicants. If you don’t have as many people to choose from, you may have to settle for someone who isn’t as experienced as you’d like.
How to Outsource Seasonal Work for Optimum Benefits
On the flip side, outsourcing is a great way to get help during the busy seasonal time without having to worry about ending a contract or firing anyone who doesn’t fit the role. You’ll also spend less time hiring and less time training, meaning these employees can get to work right away.
An outsourcing company can help you with customer service, back-office support, and so much more throughout the year. When you’re in your busy season you can scale up the amount of support that you need from the outsourcing company. There are also way more options when it comes to outsourcing companies, so you’ll never have to settle for a less-than-fantastic worker or company.
You’ll also be able to spend more time working on the things that really matter to you, as a lot of stress will be taken off your plate. You’ll finish projects faster and overall productivity will increase throughout the office, as your staff won’t be juggling as many projects anymore.
Tips for Hiring an Outsourcing Company or a Freelance Worker
Before you hire an outsourcing company or an individual freelancer, you should make sure that you know exactly what you’re looking for. Outline the terms of the projects you need help on, noting how many people you need and what exactly they would be doing around the office. This way, you’ll get the help that is personalized to your needs.
If you’re looking to hire a freelance employee and not an entire outsourcing company to help you out, you should still have the same information set aside. How can they help you and what exactly will they be working on? When choosing freelance workers, set up a payment schedule based on project milestones. The best thing about freelance workers is that if they’re great you can keep them in your back pocket for future needs. If they aren’t great, you don’t have to worry about using them ever again.
When the Season Ends
When the season ends, you can easily scale back down the work that you need. You may either stop using the services altogether or scale them down so they’re not being used as much throughout the rest of the year. The great thing is, if your company grows, outsourcing can grow with you, giving you more support as you need it.
