The latest figures are in. Unemployment is low. Really low. Trading Economics quotes it at being the lowest since May 2001 “US unemployment rate fell to 4.3 percent in May 2017 from 4.4 percent in the previous month and below market expectations of 4.4 percent.” That’s great, right? Not if you are the one that is in need of hiring.

It’s evident that when most people are employed, the talent pool shrinks. This makes for higher expectations from prospective employees looking for work – because obviously, they have more choice. The person or company that does the hiring is faced with meeting those heightened expectations or losing out to the competition.

Often, the employer must lower their standards, alter their criteria, and settle for someone who they would not have awarded that role to – had they had more/better options. And perhaps worst of all, the hiring party adjusts expectations, finds, trains and onboards the employee into the new role, only to have them leave for greener pastures. Back to square one.

Fortunately, there is a much better alternative – going virtual! Even in the best of employer-favored markets, hiring a contractor simply makes sense. Here are just 7 of the many reasons that you should consider making the switch…

Global Talent Pool

“The secret of my success is that we have gone to exceptional lengths to hire the best people in the world.” – Steve Jobs

Suddenly, when you remove geographic constraints, the available expertise is dramatically increased. Plus, most contractors can distribute their talents among several clients; unlike employees that often only share it with one company.

Economic Savings

“As a business owner or manager, you know that hiring the wrong person is the most costly mistake you can make.” – Brian Tracy

You don’t have to pay for office space, equipment or supplies for staff to use. And, trust us, the overhead spending becomes instantly and dramatically minimized.
You don’t need to worry about paying for statutory holidays, health benefits, parking, insurance or retirement plans.
It’s a business expense so bring on the tax deductions!
You only pay for the time spent doing the work you need to be done.

Minimal Red Tape

Paperwork is a cinch. You buy services as if you were purchasing any other product you would need for your business operations. Not to mention not having to pay someone to figure out tax deductions – contractors figure that all out for themselves.

Talent Leveraging

Because you only pay for what you need, you can have a whole team, generally, for the same price one full-time employee would set you back. AND you get the benefit of maximizing each contractor’s specific talents. Instead of having just one who is great with marketing but not so strong in graphics or customer service, you can just hire 3 and each one only does their specialty. Think of it like a baseball team. You wouldn’t ask your pitcher to also be your star slugger? The same concept applies here. You can put people in the position that best compliments their skills and attributes to your needs, and have a customized, powerhouse of a roster.

“Great vision without great people is irrelevant.” – Jim Collins

Real-time Collaboration

Everything is cloud-based these days. You can log in from anywhere, share and partner on work just as if you were mere cubicles away.

With file sharing programs, screen sharing, digital signatures, and a multitude of remote access options, the days of traditional offices and standard business hours are becoming less and less.

Minimal Training

Since each contractor is an expert in their field, they are often Day-1 ready. Hire them today and they can jump right in. This results in a ton of extra time (and money) saved, and what you need done, gets done – faster with little to no onboarding.

“I hire people brighter than me and I get out of their way.” – Lee Iacocca

The benefit here is actually 2-fold, you can now reduce (or eliminate) your training department AND your training time. And for many small businesses, this means the owner no longer has to be the resident expert on EVERYTHING.

Seamless Replacements

Should things not work out, replacing a contractor or consultant is much easier than letting an employee go. And this is a fact that can no longer be ignored.

Turnover is high and it is expected to get higher as millennials are less interested in the old-school mentality of working the same job until retirement. In fact, Statistics Brain says the average job tenure is only 4 years and there are still so many Baby Boomers in the workforce that skew those numbers in favor of longevity’s side.

An article by Greg Harris for Entrepreneur comments on this modern-day trend: “It’s no secret: millennials are job hoppers. A 2016 Jobvite survey of 2,305 Americans found that while only 18 percent of the total workforce changes jobs every one-to three-years, 42 percent of millennials do. That’s made employee retention a nightmare for employers in recent years.”

So, what are you doing to improve your competitive advantage? What steps are you taking to ensure you have the most fluid team?

Your Competitive Marketing Advantage

At Marketecs we offer simple solutions to improve your competitive advantage in marketing and operations. We take all the guess work out and quickly align you with professionals to fulfill your specific business needs. As authorities in their field, our team of specialists can solve any challenge.

Should someone go on vacation, maternity leave, or not be able to do a task, we have backups that will seamlessly step in. We always have you covered. And we only partner with the very best talent so you can keep those expectations as high as you like. We’ll exceed them, every time.