Hiring in 2021 has been bizarre. While there are plenty of unemployed people, employers have been having a hard time filling open spots. There are several reasons behind this labour shortage. Much of it can be attributed to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused a major distribution in everyday life.
While there’s been a gradual return to life pre-pandemic, things still feel weird. It’s still tough to hire new no of employees, retain older ones, and build a whole team.
You can operate a business with no employees, though. It won’t necessarily work for all industries, but for several companies, it’s possible.
Hire Freelancers And Contractors
An easy way to operate a business with no employees is to hire freelancers and contractors.
Freelancers and contractors overlap a bit in terms of role, but there are some differences. A freelancer you can regularly hire to complete numerous jobs without necessarily having an end date for service. Contractors work similarly, but they tend to work on a specific job for a set amount of time.
There also tends to be more paperwork involved in hiring a contractor. You’ll have to fill out more business contracts with a contractor, as the name implies. However, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have freelancers sign contracts—quite the opposite. You want your freelancers to sign employment contracts too.
Freelancers and contractors aren’t necessarily your employees, So they don’t require the benefits like regular employees need, which helps save costs.
You’re not limited in how many freelancers or contractors you may need to hire. You can hire as many as you need to complete a specific set of jobs.
You also have the freedom to hire from wherever you want, and you can hire a freelancer or contractor in another state or country.
Some drawbacks to hiring freelancers and contractors are they aren’t too loyal to you. Once a gig is up, or there isn’t much work coming their way, there’s a high chance they will leave for other opportunities.
They also aren’t entirely under your control. While there are contracts and agreements in place, that still doesn’t guarantee you’ll get the results you’re after. You have less oversight than you think when it comes to working with freelancers and contractors.
Despite the drawbacks, hiring freelancers or contractors is a reliable way to operate your business with no employees.
Outsource Work To Another Company
Outsourcing work to another company is pretty common nowadays. Essentially, it involves hiring a third party to complete a task or job. It’s similar to working with freelancers or contractors, but in this case, you’re working with another entire company versus specific individuals.
Businesses outsource plenty of tasks and jobs to other enterprises on a regional, national, and global basis. Some common things you’ll see outsourced are manufacturing, informational technology services, technical support, financial functions, and general customer service. It’s not too surprising if you see entire teams outsourcing.
When you outsource a job, you can generally save quite a bit of money, which is even more evident if you outsource a job overseas.
You should be careful what type of work you outsource and to who you outsource it. If you outsource vital elements of your overall business, you risk dragging your entire business down in production and reputation.
It can happen in any business with no employees, but in the case of outsourcing, you don’t have as much control over these results. You can complain, criticize, and provide feedback, but you don’t have as much control over the team as you would if they were your own.
If you are cheap and pay for cheap labour hours, you risk getting poor results. As the saying goes, “You get what you paid for.”
When you outsource work internationally, it can be challenging to navigate the time differences. You’re going to struggle to complete tasks that require immediate attention.
Outsourcing work has its pros and cons, but it’s a decent solution when you’re trying to save costs and business with no employees.
Hire Part-Time Staff
If you didn’t hire a full-time staff, your next best option would be to hire part-timers.
Hiring part-time employees have several advantages. When you hire part-timers, you generally don’t have to provide them with the benefits of a full-time staffer, which can include a retirement plan, health benefits, and vacation days. Not having to pay these can save employers quite a bit of money.
Part-time workers are a lot easier to replace than full time regular workers. It’s easier to lay off part-timers if the business is slow or the worker is not a good fit.
There’s also the benefit of flexibility of a part-timer’s schedule. Since part-timers aren’t necessarily glueing to one plan, you can have them work during your peak hours. For example, your peak work hours might not exist within the standard Monday to Friday nine-to-five work schedule and requires more workers to work in the evening or on weekends.
When you rely on part-timers, you will spend more time in the hiring process, which can be exhausting. Part-timers tend to leave jobs more often than full-timers, and you’ll have to bring on new employees continually.
Another drawback of relying on part-timers is that you have a more challenging time developing an experienced team, which can slow things. Your team will have to continually adjust to new status quos, which means you’ll constantly have to train new people, and that takes time. An inexperienced team that constantly needs to train new employees will have face difficulty completing more challenging tasks.
Part-timers can be a cost-effective way to build a team, but you might struggle to complete harder tasks.
Final Thoughts
You have options when you’re considering running your business with no employees. However, you must carefully consider the advantages and disadvantages.
Yes, you can do it, but it does carry risks. Your business might struggle to complete more complicated tasks, and you’ll often have to deal with a constantly changing staff.
Feature Image: Pixabay
