Thinking About Hiring an External Consultancy Firm?

The tech industry creates many jobs, but sometimes it can be difficult to be a business owner and bear all the costs that IT incurs (among others, of course): hiring new employees, training, insurance, social security, etc.

For someone who runs a business, there are some aspects to weigh before approaching an external IT consulting company.
In today’s article we will analyze all these issues with you and hope that in the end you will make the best decision for your company.
Before we get to the real issues, we want to tell you that you should take a long-term strategy in every decision you make. Sometimes long-term commitments may seem scary because they feel like a trap, but in reality, it’s short-term thinking that puts many businesses out there at risk.

Let’s see what we have:

Hiring someone is more than just paying them a salary.

Depending on which country you live in, labor laws may vary. Portugal, for example, is (generally) a very safe country for employment. The law protects the employee in most cases. So if you hire someone through a consulting firm, you will not have to bear most of the obligations, such as insurance (if applicable), social security contributions, vacation, and even firing process. None of the above.
So, in the long run, you pay for the convenience of working with highly professional individuals for a much lower risk. You pay for what you need, as long as it is necessary for the growth of your business, without the responsibility of fixed costs.

That’s what we call a smart investment, right?

Training is expensive.

If you hire someone for your internal IT team, part of your job is to make sure they receive adequate training for their duties.
On the other hand, if you are working with a consulting firm, you automatically hire people who have access to the latest trends, tools and technologies. Maintaining and training an internal IT team is more costly in the long run, which brings us to the next topic.

Access to highly trained employees.

Working with an external IT consulting firm means you have access to the latest technologies and a variety of experts with different backgrounds and expertise: Strategies, methods, experience, vision, etc.
It means that you have a specialized team working on solving your technical challenges, as the focus is always on interdisciplinary interaction. Usually, people who have worked in different fields, industries and companies are able to bring real innovation to the way you work and solve problems.

Trust is everything.

Before any partnership (because it is a partnership first and foremost), make sure you only have trusted and proven professionals working with you. Companies come and go, and such an irregularity can be very detrimental to the business. Therefore, make sure that you choose a company that best fits your needs, values and working conditions.

There is a whole company behind the professional you hire.

Integrate the consultant as one of your own.
He or she will feel at home and, as a result, will find a new team in your organization. This kind of engagement is very important for both your team and the hired consultant.

But remember that there is a whole other team behind him/her that controls their motivation, career path, skills and relationship with your company.
The consulting company should help you overcome problems and suggest alternative solutions that can sometimes go beyond those of the hired professional – it should add value.
It is also very important that you manage the partner companies as you grow. After all, you do not want to end up hiring 10 consultants from 10 different consulting firms. Such a scenario would affect the overall health of your professional practice.
Again, trust and reliability should be key differentiators for the companies you choose as growth partners.

I hope you found this helpful.

Feel free to ask us more questions about IT consultancy via info@load.digital or through our social media channels.