Why use consultants versus full-time employees (FTE)
Why use consultants versus full-time employees (FTE)
In close communication with clients, Green Shift Group has learned why both medium-sized- and larger companies engage external consultants, ie for specialized tasks as well as projects. Some of our findings are below. What are your reasons for hiring consultants in your company?
Why use consultants versus full-time employees (FTE)
Specialized expertise: Consultants often bring specialized knowledge and expertise that is not available within a company's existing workforce. They may have deep expertise in a specific area or industry, which can be valuable for solving complex problems or addressing specific challenges.
Flexibility: Hiring consultants can provide greater flexibility in terms of the scope and duration of work. Companies can bring in consultants for short-term projects or specific tasks, without committing to the cost and obligations of a full-time employee.
Cost-effectiveness: In some cases, hiring a consultant can be more cost-effective than hiring a full-time employee. Companies do not have to pay for benefits, taxes, and other costs associated with employment, which can save money in the long run.
Objective perspective: Consultants can provide an objective perspective on a company's operations or challenges. They are not tied to the company's culture or internal politics and can provide unbiased recommendations and solutions.
Speed and efficiency: Consultants can often work more quickly and efficiently than full-time employees since they are focused solely on the task at hand and do not have the distractions of other responsibilities within the company.
High values and small margins of error: When budgets are substantial and sub-optimal decisions are costly, then the immediate savings of applying in-house employees that are partially skilled will be outweighed by a highly skilled consultant as the total economic output will be in favor of the external consultant.
Risk sharing: Where errors can be costly in terms of damages or losses, it can make sense to engage consultants with core competences within particular areas of expertise, and with insurance coverage for damages of losses in relation to tasks at hand.
Infrequent use of competencies: If certain competencies are not required in the everyday operations of the company, hiring consultants makes most sense.
Frequent upgrades of knowledge and competences required: Some fields of competence are continuously under development and hard for internal employees to keep up with the updated information while being responsible for various other tasks in-house.
Difficult/not possible to hire the right competencies: To attract and retain employees is increasingly difficult in the current job market, even though the decision has been made to recruit. This situation is more well known when hiring specialists, as they can be more selective in the choice of future employer – hence increasing churn and driving up employee demands for higher salaries etc
Expected downsizing and Hiring Freezes: When the company is in uncertain markets that may even be in a recession it makes good sense to cut salary costs and to be conservative with new hires to ensure the profitability of the company for the future. Hiring consultants for some of the tasks and assignments can keep the company staffed and specialized and working on opportunities in the market while reducing costs and retaining key competencies and experiences in-house.
At Green Shift Group we experience an upturn in demand for our consultants within technical surveys, marine engineers, and superintendents as well as our strategy consultants to help with specific projects or business units that need outside viewpoints and experiences. What is your current “appetite” for consultants?