With the growing popularity in the popularity of gig economies increasing numbers of CTOs, CEOs and HR managers are asking what the future of the gig economy will look like. Is it more efficient to replace employees in-house by freelancers? Do you need to supplement your team with outside talent?
One thing is for certain. This gig economy increasing in strength each year. From 1997 to the present it has seen an average of 2.6 percent growth per year. In comparison, the regular payroll was only 0.8 percent annually over the same period.
This is more than three times the rate of growth of regular jobs! Consider that 47 percent of millennials prefer working in a freelance manner. If this trend continues it is expected that freelancers will comprise most of US economy in 2027.
This trend is inexplicably happening. The most effective way to prepare is place your company in a position to benefit from it.
How Does This Affect Engineering Hiring
The main advantage that engineers have over other professionals in freelance work is that programming work is able to be performed via remote access. Additionally, remote supervision of code work is feasible. Thus, hiring engineers is one of in the greatest benefits from this gig economy.
We’ll briefly discuss the advantages of employing freelancers. We’ll also go over the advantages of hiring in-house staff. We’ll then go over a closer analysis of what’s most likely to transpire. We’ll then provide advice on how to position your business to maximize the benefits the potential impact of this change.
Let’s get going!
Benefits of Replacing Employees in-House By Freelancers
In-house workers can be replaced by freelancers. provides the following benefits:
Get access to an international talent pool
More specialization
Faster turnarounds (faster output and recruitment)
Lower costs
One of the major benefits of hiring freelancers is the ability to find talent all over the world. There is no need limit yourself to the geographical region that is closest to you.
Since a lot of freelancers specialize in one particular area it is also possible to look for the exact services you require. For instance, if you’re trying to integrate innovative technology into your stack, like Vue.js You can locate the most skilled expert in this field. Also, a very specific, unique project that requires Alexa expertise and the latest Machine Learning will benefit from freelance experts.
Additionally, freelancers manage their own business. This means that they’ll work more quickly than regular employees who earns the same salary each month. Research has shown that freelancers are generally more focused than regular employees.
If you’re looking for an engineer for a couple of months and you’re looking for an independent programmers, then an independent developer is the most suitable option for hiring. With freelancers, you don’t need to go through the complicated hiring procedure.
You don’t have to be concerned about any other benefits you need to offer to regular employees. The issue of severance pay is not an issue and you’ll likely pay less taxes to pay. So, reducing the administrative burden of hiring will make the process easier and faster.
In the end the freelance engineer tends to be more affordable over the long term. It is possible to save as much as 50% of the cost by using freelance engineers.
Benefits of Employing In-House Employees
The primary benefits are:
Direct supervision
The loyalty of the company
Maintenance work that is ongoing
Employees in-house are easier to manage directly. If your project requires the creation of your own sophisticated software design, then an internal engineer can be a great option. In such instances it is possible to outsource just the non-core elements.
But, you are also able to manage freelancers remotely. There are many sources control options an employer has access to. They include GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket.
Additionally supervision is possible using various project management tools. We’ve already discussed the top tools for managing projects you can use!
Another distinction, as Engineer Thomas Jost shared, is that freelancers perform better, while employees are more concerned about the company’s needs. Because freelancers have their own business the performance of their businesses is crucial to securing work. They’re more inclined to go the extra mile to provide quality work because a guaranteed income will not be waiting for them at time the month is over.
However employees will be more influenced by the direct achievement of your business. This may result in greater loyalty to your company.
In the end, “perpetual” projects that require ongoing work benefit from internal employees. Since they are familiar with the software’s structure and how it has evolved so that it is simpler to manage.
The Middle Way The Middle Way: Benefits of Remote Teams
Instead of the obvious choice of replacing or supplementing existing teams, there’s another option. This is the process of the creation or hiring of remote teams. This allows you to reap many of the advantages of both choices.
In addition you will also enjoy other advantages. These benefits include:
24 Hour work-cycle
Increased productivity
Costs reduced
The most significant benefit is the massive productivity boost you can get when you can work 24 hours a day. With a well-organized remote team spread across various times zones, operating round all hours of the day is feasible.
The research supports the notion the remote worker is more efficient and has less stress. This can help you complete projects more quickly.
Additionally you will also enjoy lower expenses. Therefore, finding great freelancers that can be a part of your team is a great choice in light of current developments.
What’s likely to happen?
One thing is for certain. When the global economy shifts to freelancing and outsourcing, your competitors will be seeking to profit from this. Cost savings as well as other advantages of employing freelancers will be important factors.
We’ll be seeing increasing numbers of employers making adjustments and seeking at ways to enhance their efficiency. For development, this will lead to less in-house engineers and more freelancers as well as remote teams.
Remember this: the gig economy just beginning to take off. Many believe that we’re in the very beginning of what is essentially an entirely modern Industrial Revolution.
Be aware that at every major moment in the history of economics the most successful players on the market are those who accept changes. Therefore, if you wish to be in the top position, you must carefully think about possible options in the coming years.
What should you do to remain competitive?
To increase your team’s efficiency, consider adding more freelancers to your team, or setting up an online team. Freelance engineers can be great for developing specialized tasks as well as general maintenance tasks.
Furthermore should you be a startup trying to put an MVP to market and you’re looking for a freelancer, they’re a good option. There’s no need to spend venture capital to employ internal programmers if you do not require these people.
If you’re a bigger company by collaborating with remote teams and freelancers will drastically cut down the cost of your operations. In other words, you’ll decrease overhead, the time you spend interviewingand avoiding lengthy payroll costs.
If you’re interested in getting going, make sure you learn about the process of building and managing teams across the world. Additionally, it’s helpful to understand how to collaborate with remote engineers from companies that have done it before. In addition, knowing the biggest misconceptions surrounding hiring remote engineers can save you lots of time and cash.
Another aspect. The search for a reliable freelancer is vital. If you select the wrong engineer for your project there could be issues during your work. The person you hire might not be able to communicate effectively and they could be difficult to manage or even have issues with the language. If this happens the freelancer could disappear in between the work!
Working with reputable freelancers will assist you in minimizing or avoiding these risks, regardless of whether you are using a referrer or you utilize platforms for freelance engineers.
If you’re looking for the latter you will have access to a range of talents and abilities as well as the capacity to suggest a range of prices that’s suitable for your needs depending upon the service you choose to work with. Additionally, certain platforms make sure the freelancers they employ are experts in their area and will never disappoint you.
Four Considerations to Make When Making a Choice Freelance and In-House Engineers
Let’s consider a hypothetical scenario to determine the differences whether freelance engineers are in-house or freelance:
You’re a CEO at an established business and benefitting from the fruits of your work. Your team is currently working on a brand new feature that can increase the growth of your business.
You’ve got a great second idea for a feature However, you’re not certain whether your engineering department in-house has the resources to develop it. If you put off for too long, the opportunity cost could be too expensive when you’re not able to keep pace with the rapid pace of business.
Click here to hire freelance software engineers.
What do you do?
We’re here to help you understand the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing your next project. From quality to expertise and time to cash Here are the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing over in-house engineers.
1. Expertise
The first thing to consider is do you are able to develop the new feature? You’re thinking you’ve already created the first feature and, of course they’ll be able to create the second one.
We’re here to help you.
Imagine you’re an email outreach software SaaS that’s now expanding your product to include the capability of lead generation. In order to do that, you’ll require an engineer who is proficient in databases or Python who you might not have on your staff.
If the abilities needed to create the flagship product aren’t transferrable through to the next aspect, i.e., the languages you employed will increase technical debt, or aren’t as efficient as well as the engineer(s) who contributed to the development of the first feature has long since gone Should you continue to push your team in-house to develop the second feature?
In-House Engineers
In the event that you’re in any hurry to get your second feature developed, it might be wise to look into doing it internally. But, take into consideration the area of expertise your team is specialized in and the importance you place on your team’s resource and time.
If the project’s core technology is an extreme difference from the existing team’s expertise, it might require team members to take a while to be up to speed with the new materials.
Learning the latest technology could cause time loss for your team of developers. Additionally the time they’re investing in learning about the latest technology results in less time spent on maintaining or adding new features to your product.
Although it’s definitely possible to hire an in-house team develop features #2 The question is whether it’s worthwhile with regard to time or money when they don’t already have the necessary knowledge.
Outsourced Engineers
In the case of Feature #2, outsourcing could be the best option in the event that you have access experts in engineering. If you are able to hire team members that are already familiar with the necessary technologies needed to make Feature #2 happen, that will not only cut the development time and resources, but it also comes with additional advantages.
For instance, if you employ an engineer from an online platform for freelance work in the language you require the engineer doesn’t require additional time to master it since they already have the skills.
Because the engineer is proficient in the language you require, after you have provided them with the wireframe or the specifications they will be able to start working, with your development team to develop your product.
Furthermore, a skilled freelance engineer who has successfully passed an extensive vetting process usually also has additional expertise which will be beneficial to you.
Your engineer freelance can design using scalability in mind, which will help to avoid debt from technical sources, and will be able to advise you on the potential risks based on their knowledge and experience. If you’re not a technical director or your CTO is working for a short period of time the engineer will also be able to advise you on the technical aspects of feature #2.
Although this might not be a huge difference at the moment however, should Feature #2 is as successful as your primary products, you’ll thankful you hired a seasoned engineer to assist you in avoiding any potential issues that could hinder your path to growing.
2. Quality
It is obvious that you’d like Feature #2 to be a quality product that offers customers the best experience, is simple to manage, and very adaptable. But, how do you control the quality in both internal as well as outsourcing development? Which choice offers you an simpler way to make sure that your business’s greatest long-term as well as short-term needs are being addressed?
In-House Software Engineers
Most of the time Coding standards can be more effectively managed by working in conjunction with an internal team. If you have your own team, you’ll be able to set the standards and make sure that they’re followed by contacting your CTO, your engineering manager, or team directly.
This way, you’ll be able to ensure that the standards are followed during the process of development and you won’t be faced with technical debt or a larger issue later in the future.
For founders that are not technical and prefer not being involved having a CTO as well as an internal team can help you. feature #2 will allow you to give the task to someone else and enjoy the peace of mind to concentrate in other areas within your company.
Freelance Software Engineers
Quality code comes from skilled engineers. To gain access to both outsourcing to a platform for freelancers could be the best option.
Outsourcing lets you tap into a wider selection of people beyond the local market You can also include a freelance engineer on your existing team to accelerate the building process but still maintain high-quality and coding standards.
While there’s always disagreement on outsourcing versus in-house development There’s no reason to think that you shouldn’t be able to have your cake and enjoy it too. It’s possible to have your current team design the components they’re familiar with, and augment their efforts by hiring experienced freelance engineers to guarantee quality.
Although adding a freelance engineer to your team could to save time and money without losing quality, it will require that someone from your team is able to help onboarding an engineer who is new to the team.
While your engineer on the freelance is an expert, they might not be fully acquainted with the specific SOPs you have. Therefore, until you can verify that the changes have been made it’s possible to take a little longer ensuring all is working and up.
3. Time
It’s all about time, particularly in the technology world. The faster Feature #2 launches, the quicker you will earn money from it. Furthermore, the sooner you’ll be able to launch your product, the chance of someone else monopolizing the market with the same product or feature decreases. Therefore, it’s the best option to put your product to the market.
But your launch will depend on how quickly your team is able to construct it. It doesn’t matter if it’s your own in-house team or an external team it’s time to start working for your concept. Which team is able to bring the product to market quicker and put it to the test in the marketplace?
Our In-House Team of Engineers
One reason is that communication is more efficient with an in-house staff because it’s easier to find people when they’re within the same building with you.
This can cut down time spent on communication. Many times, projects are delayed because people leave AWOL or fail to respond. When you work together, this will be less likely.
There’s also less communication delays when you’re all in the same room If you’re busy with your primary product and opt to have an internal team for Feature #2, your dev team must still split their time between different projects.
Your in-house team might not be as excited about the feature #2 like they’re about the primary product and this could lead to delays and feet being dragged.
These variables could prolong the time required to deliverables due to a the lack of interest or because your engineers must prioritize and can’t commit their time exclusively to feature #2.
While it’s more convenient for you to press for improvements and updates on the spot, it’s a bit more difficult to do so in person. You need to wait for your team of developers to be able to come up with a innovative idea.
Freelance Software Engineers
If you employ an engineer who is freelance, particularly when you pay them on retainer, you will have someone who commits their time solely to your project for X number of hours.
Being aware that a specialist is solely engaged in Feature #2 can allow you to allocate your existing resources more closely with your development team.
This setup will mean that you do not have to depend on your team in-house to finish X amount of work completed on a separate project which could lower the priority of their current projects due to the fact that you have a dedicated individual or team that will work on this task in the background.
Remember that delays could occur in the form of communication especially in the case of freelance engineers who are far away. But delay can be reduced by setting specific expectations, guidelines, and deadlines for delivery. Although it’s not enjoyable waiting for someone else to return your call but the hassle can be minimized.
Although you might not be able contact your engineer freelance immediately in the event of to communicate synchronously it is possible to prepare with scrums. You can do this by delivering specific instructions, or creating an elaborate shared backlog.
In fact, one benefit of working synchronously is that, by the time you arrive at work, the core element may already been completed when you were asleep.
4. Money
Money is of course an important thing to be aware of and we have saved the top for the last. If you’re on a tight runway, are in a bootstrap or simply have a limited budget, the choice between outsourcing development in-house or outsourced is more difficult.
You’d like the finest work done within a brief amount of time and for a price that is affordable. Does your team offer this, since you already pay them, or do you have to go deeper into your pocket?
In-House Software Engineer
One reason for having your own team develop Features #2 is the fact that you already pay your team of developers to do tasks for you, so in principle, having them develop your second project won’t “cost” additional money because their work is already included by your financial plan.
If the team you have is small, you might need to bring on more employees to assist with Feature #2. The team working on development could be short of people to assist in maintaining and building your product and could require reinforcements, which cost the company money.
Based on the concept you’ve come up with for your next product you may require designers as well as product managers and other workers in order to help bring Feature #2 to life, that can also cost money. Furthermore, it would not be economically feasible to develop an entirely new role for a feature that could or might not be successful.
So, even though on the surface it appears as if having your team create projects is no cost however, this is only true when you have a large enough team. In other words, the additional work could be more costly than outsourcing , especially if you have to cover benefits for new employees.
Engineer in Freelancing Software
If you decide to outsource Feature #2, however, you will be able to get a seasoned engineer for a lower price, based on the location you procure your talent. Based on where the engineer of preference is located you could get a excellent value for your money.
In fact, when you hire a freelance engineer, you are able to hire anyone for the duration you require but only when you require additional assistance. When you hire a freelance engineer, you won’t have to pay for the typical benefits that are needed for long-term employees who may be unemployed when the project is finished.