As a leader, should you be outsourcing your efforts or building in-house teams? The answer comes down to what you want and what you’re looking to accomplish.

Before I go over the pros and cons of outsourcing vs in-house teams, let’s first understand the difference between the two.

Outsourcing = Hiring outside of your organization — whether it’s a freelancer, advisor, or an agency.

In-house = Hiring internal employees for your company. 

Outsourcing: Pros and Cons

I know several business owners that outsource their needs. From social media to single campaigns, or even bookkeeping, there’s a long list of companies and freelancers that offer exactly what you’re looking for. 

Outsourcing is pretty cost-effective, and it can often be less expensive than handling something in-house. 

Sometimes, you have more flexibility with outsourced vendors and agencies, and you also have more access to some of the best talent there is.

Usually, you will find that some of the bigger players — the more seasoned copywriters, web designers, and marketers — are often freelancers. They’ve been doing it for so long, they can afford to work for themselves. 

Hiring outside of your company can also help alleviate some of your in-house team’s workload.

However, you’re often left with less control over the project. And if there’s a disruption in communication (or a lack of), it can severely hinder and impact a project. 

If you’re someone who, like me, enjoys having complete oversight of a project, then maybe outsourcing isn’t for you. 

In-House: Pros and Cons

When you have your own team working on a campaign, project, or task, you have all of the control. You set the schedule, you delegate the tasks, and you are in prime communication with everyone. 

In addition, because you have an in-house team, you have more time to form connections and professional relationships with them, making the process that much easier. 

Having an in-house team means you can actually invest in their growth and continued education.

In turn, it’s a win/win for both parties. Your team members are learning new, valuable skills, and you’re actively investing in your people while being able to see them apply what they’ve learned to your business.

But maintaining an in-house team can be costly. You have to think about each person’s salary, benefits, and more.

Conclusion

In my opinion (and my experience), having an in-house team works best for me. 

Though I do outsource when necessary, I prefer having more control over the projects that are happening within my organization. Also, it’s much easier to get a hold of someone that’s under my leadership than it is to get in contact with an employee at an agency I just hired. 

In-house workers are part of your team while outsourced vendors are not. You are actually their client, so it’s a little different. 

In the end, it all comes down to what you want and need.

If you’re looking for long-term support, an in-house team would be more beneficial for you. But if you want to cut costs and get a one-off project completed, then outsourcing would be ideal.

Want to build a powerful, high-performance in-house team? We can teach you how! Join us for our upcoming People Essentials Workshop and learn exactly what you need to do in order to be a remarkable leader that effectively builds, aligns, and develops 10X teams. 

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