Planning to build a website? Who would you look for? A team of experts, eh? A small army of professionals each with their own specialty or would you trust a freelancer with all the vital functions of your business? The truth is that workspace, these days, is no longer confined within the four walls of an office anymore.
Businesses are running with people working from all around the world towards a certain project. Outsourcing business is becoming popular these days because many business owners are realizing how great of an impact outsourcing can have on their organizations. The only concern before turning to outsourcing is who to hire?
A Freelancer or a Professional Agency
It’s not an easy question and I don’t think there is any perfect answer. Most of the companies believe that hiring an agency will result in unnecessary expenses, since agencies charge much more than freelancers do, as they need to cover their overhead costs. Some believe that freelancers cannot provide them with the same level of quality that agencies can as they have professional experts.
The bottom line is that each of them has its advantages and disadvantages. Who can do it better depends upon who among the two would be more suitable for a certain project. Before making a decision though you need to frame the objectives, expectations and budget for the project. Let me list down 7 factors for you that would make your life easier when choosing between a freelancer and an agency. And hopefully lead us to a conclusion as to who is better between the two.
1. Quality Of Service
It is believed that a professional agency provides you with better quality of service as they have a team of experts who specialize in their respective areas of work and have a vast experience of working on projects over the years. They promise to deliver excellent service as their in-house experts are thorough professionals and outsourcing your work to them is a safe choice, on the contrary, you can not expect an individual freelancer to be an “all-rounder”.
There are freelancers who claim they can handle multiple projects that are totally opposite to each other but they specialize in one specific area only. A web designer can provide you with one amazing design for a website or a content writer can provide you with some good quality content. This is the greatest benefit of hiring a freelancer. You will find a freelancer with a specific skill set more easily than you can find an agency that has a team member who can meet your project-specific requirements.
2. Efficiency
Professional agencies are believed to be more efficient in comparison to freelancers. They have a team of specialists in different fields so it is easier for them to quickly find the right person for the job. They have an established workflow and can dedicate the right team for a certain work and meet deadlines. This doesn’t obviously imply that freelancers can’t achieve all that. They work round the clock to complete your work with utmost accuracy and dedication.
It totally depends upon you to find the perfect person for the job you desire to get done. A well grounded freelancer will always provide you with an effective and efficient result. However, some freelancers are known to take up a lot of projects some time in order to earn quick cash. This can hamper their accuracy and reflect in their work.
3. Consistency
Consistency is one of the major factors you look at when outsourcing your work. And professional agencies fit in this bracket as they will provide you with consistent final products because their entire team will be working together to reach the desired results. This is not true for freelancers as they will not be working together under one roof and will be taking care of their individual endeavours. If you hire freelancers separately for each and every domain of work then you can still dream of maintaining consistency here.
4. Pricing
There is no denying the fact that freelancers fit the budget option. Professional agencies charge quite high for their services. They are expensive than freelancers because they simply need to take care of a lot of overhead costs. But with agencies you’re getting good value for money. The quality to price ratio is truly invaluable. On the contrary, you are paying freelancers only for the work they put in, measured by hours. This greatly reduces the cost. Freelancers charge fewer overheads compared to a creative agency.
Hence when it comes to smaller projects a freelancer is a good choice as he can deliver quickly, and at a much lower price. However, agencies also charge more because they bring a lot more to the table. So if you have the budget, use it and don’t let the price determine whether or not you will outsource to a particular agency.
5. Flexibility
Freelancer rules the world when it comes to flexibility in work because with them you don’t have to worry about logistics. They are willing to work long hours and adjust their work timings according to your schedule. Their priority always remains to deliver your work effectively.
Unfortunately, this is not the case when it comes to professional agencies. They run on official work hours. Their goal is also to provide you with efficient and effective work but within a certain time frame, that may or may not be suitable to you. So they lack flexibility to a certain extent.
6. Availability
It is not uncommon for freelancers to be juggling a lot of projects at the same time. There are freelancers who are deluged with work. As a result of this they, sometimes, have to turn down a lot of work because they simply do not have the time to do it. Therefore, chances of you finding a perfect freelancer for a particular job and him having the time to do it are pretty bleak.
Professional agencies, on the other hand, are always ready to work and handle whatever comes their way. They have a team of experts and can easily manage all the tasks effectively because of the constant workflow that exists in a professional environment.
7. Reliability
No matter how professional your freelancer is but this is still one area where freelancers tend to lack. When working with freelancers, you may face unforeseen disruptions like an illness, lack of punctuality etc. This is where hiring a professional agency is a better option. They seamlessly continue working on your project even if one of the members calls in sick or simply takes a day off. They work to meet deadlines. Hence with an agency your daily operations will hardly be disrupted ever.
Like the team at Orange County Web design works alongside you with patience, professionalism and integrity. They make sure all lines of communication are open, timely, and met with ease. They partner with you each step of the way.
The Verdict Is Out
Whether you are hiring a freelancer or a professional agency, in both the scenarios, it is a leap of faith because you are trusting people you have little to no knowledge about in handling your project.
Your choices are limited
Either you can hire an in-house expert or you could just hire a freelancer when and whatever work is required to be done. You can also go to an agency and leave it to them to take care of the work or the last option is to do it yourself!
Your choice should depend upon the project requirements. If your work includes small and simple tasks that demand individual expertise then hiring a specialized freelancer is the way to go. It would be both cost-efficient and the freelancer, being an expert in his job, will not leave you disappointed.
However, if your project is a bit complicated and complex and would require a team of collaborators to work on it together to deliver the required results then outsourcing an agency would definitely be a wiser decision. Just remember that no matter who you choose between the two, make sure that you know WHO you’re hiring! Good luck! Make a smart choice.
