Why hire mechanical design contractors?
A frequently asked question is why would a business hire a mechanical design contractor over hiring a full-time employee. There are various advantages to hiring a contractor and the following comparison highlights this.
Cost of Full-Time Employee vs Design Contractor
On a strictly hourly wage basis, a full-time employee would definitely cost less than hiring an external contractor, but have you considered the hidden costs of retaining a full-time designer? Retaining an employee costs more than their hourly wage alone. Hidden costs include the benefits associated with employment such as vacation time and pay, sick time and personal days, RRSP pension plans and employer matching incentives, share purchase plans and matching incentives, health insurance and spending accounts, and employment insurance. These are only some of the expenses associated with a full-time employee not even considering the training services, office space, and equipment required to sustain their work. Beyond hidden expenses, there are also indirect costs that a business incurs such as employee engagement activities, development plans with managers, and placing time and resources to maintain satisfaction and company culture. If you consider all the factors above, the strict dollar comparison of full-time vs contractors might not be as substantial as you thought, and maybe even cheaper.
Reduced Project Delivery Timelines
Besides cost, working with a mechanical design contracting company can be quite useful in supplementing your project needs on demand when tight deadlines are approaching. If you are struggling to complete work or lack resources for a project, instead of going through a full hiring process, a simple email can have an experienced designer, who is already familiar with your process, working on your project as soon as possible without delay at no additional cost to you. This reduces friction and provides you with a safety blanket should you need additional support due to the overloading of projects or lack of resources. The worst thing that can happen is missing customer deadlines and failing to retain them on future projects just because you didn’t have enough resources.
Access to Wider Knowledge & Experience
Hiring a design contracting firm can add fresh perspective, knowledge, and skills to your business. You get access to a whole network of designers with various technical skills that can be applied to your project. You can also gain new continuous improvement ideas due to their vast experience with how different companies improve their efficiency. The main advantage of this can be seen in higher quality design work, reduced execution time and faster project timelines and delivery.
