Question: When is it better to work with contractors or temporary staff than hire employees, and why?
When the Work Is Transient
"If you need expertise and experience on a project but those skills are only needed for fixed period of time, then consider a contractor or freelancer. You will pay a little more in the short term but you won't have the overhead or liability of a full-time employee. As an added bonus, you can often find a good contractor faster than if you go the employee route."
@arroyolabs
When You Need to Improve Your Weak Areas
"We've built our business (and our success) on our contractor relationships. Knowing what you're great at and excelling in those areas is important. At the same time, knowing where your weaknesses are and when to sub out work allows you to keep your client business under one roof."
@the_franchise
When You're Not Big Enough to Support a Full-Time Employee
"Contractors are great when you're small and can't support a full-time salary. By nature they are more transient and less high-quality, so I recommend transitioning these positions to full-time employees when you can."
@LisaCurtis
When You Need All Hands on Deck
"Things change in startups -- a lot -- including funding, orders, users, where you're located and even what you're building. So whenever it's within legal means, I love implementing contractors, part-timers and people who are working for your startup as a side gig. My team is largely made up of top professionals who are in-demand at their day jobs -- and love working for us on nights and weekends."
@rachelhoffy
When You Need Something Simple and Soon
"Contractors and temps are great for getting stuff up and running. They excel at getting you online, and making sure you start off on the right footing. They're generally not great for highly complex stuff, as you'll want someone who will stick around for that.Full-time staff are a nightmare to find, and can be difficult and/or expensive to get rid of. Contractors work to budgets, and you can guarantee output through milestones."
