Top Ten Reasons to Hire an Independent Consultant
By all means hire! But if you don't want or can't afford more employees? Consider hiring an expert as an independent contractor.
(PRWEB) October 26, 2004
You are not alone in considering outside talent. Professionally promoting your firm, your services, and your people could well mean the difference between a high ranking promotion with an equity-based retirement, or a sharp decline and future downturn for you and the company you own or are with.
Yet, the busier we are with clients, staff concerns and current commitments, the less time we have to manage strategic planning for the future.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics at least 60% of all businesses use independent contractors. Want to know why so many businesses are actively putting independent professionals to work?
The Top Ten Reasons to Hire a Consultant
1. The Bottom Line
Employee expenses add at least 20% to 33% -- often more -- to total payroll costs. In addition to employee salary and other compensation, there are significant “hidden costs”-- payroll taxes, unemployment, and workers compensation insurance and employee benefits such as health and dental insurance, paid vacations, sick leave, retirement benefits, and life or disability insurance.
2. Hourly Rate is More Economical
An employer can actually save money by hiring consultants. Even if they are often paid more per hour than an employee. How?
-Up to 33% of those hidden costs on top of employee salaries are avoided.
-Further, consultants are specialists with specific technical expertise, allowing them to have the right connections and do the job faster and more effectively than an employee without such training and connections. Speed, accuracy and effectiveness will require less of your hourly cost in supervision, correction and loss of productivity.
3. Avoid Headaches and Potential Lawsuits.
Hiring Independents instead of employees reduces exposure to potential lawsuits, such as those alleging job, age discrimination or wrongful termination.
-Further, a wrong hire can lead to lengthy and costly HR requirements and law compliance, and can actually prevent you from undoing a ‘bad hire’.
4. Maintain Flexibility Without Long Term Exposure.
You can hire a consultant to handle a specific project, gaining dynamic and specialized expertise for a short time period. When the job is done, the consultant goes away---and you are not going through the trauma, potential severance costs, and lawsuits that can stem from laying off or firing an employee.
5. Save Time and Expense Involved in Training Employees.
Further, you wonÂ’t encounter resistance and sabotage such as you get when expecting employees to operate out of their comfort zone or level of expertise.
6. Expand and Contract Your Workforce as needed, Rapidly and Inexpensively.
7. Access the Latest in Resources and Equipment Without Paying for it.
-Consultants have their own resources, including transportation, computers, laptops, software and mobile phones. You will avoid costly expenditures, leasing and long term contracts. Or even worse--having an employee trying to perform a critical strategic marketing function without proper training, communications and other equipment.
8. Maximize Efficiency.
Your consultant is producing product--not interacting in lengthy staff meetings, or other internal affairs such producing status reports or other documentation.
9. Stabilize Insurance Costs.
You will not have to be paying for health or other employee and dependent insurance, nor will you have to be paying for unemployment or tying up administrative and accounting personnel tracking potential COBRA benefits for 18 months (for employees that are no longer a part of your organization).
10. Retain and Attract Employees.
You will have greater retention and attraction of top talent if you are a company that is known for hiring resources as needed, rather than overburdening already potentially stressed staff.
Do you think theyÂ’ll go gunning for your job? No, statistics show otherwise. Consultants donÂ’t want to work in a firm. They did that, and now they have their own. They go away then the job is done, making you look great in the process.
McKerns Development is a specialist in strategic marketing, communications, press and media relations.
For promoting your firm and products, visit www. freewebs. com/mckernsdevelopment/ (http://www. freewebs. com/mckernsdevelopment/ )
Or contact:
Mckerns@bellsouth. net
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