Beware The False Economy Of Hiring Cheap Staff
By Anna Johnson on June 4th, 2009At one time or another, most businesses get seduced into the idea that you can hire great people for very little cost. We certainly have… and we’ve usually ended up paying more in terms of the overall cost when we’ve opted for cheaper service providers!
Having experienced the heartbreak and frustration of seeing projects mishandled, delayed and even abandoned, I’m fairly confident that our days of hiring on the cheap are over. That’s not to say we won’t give aspiring programmers, designers, writers, etc a chance to prove themselves or that what is cheap to us (here in Australia) is necessarily cheap in other places.
When it comes to mission critical tasks, however, we’ll be hiring the best in the business. And that’s because hiring the best typically ends up saving and making us much, much more money than what it costs.
Meanwhile, hiring people because they’re cheap has usually resulted in us losing invaluable time (from delays in the project to dealing with problems associated with the person supposedly doing the work), paying more overall (a person may have a lower hourly rate… but may spend days doing something a pro can do in a few hours) and, as a consequence, money.
Now, don’t get me wrong. It’s not that we used to specifically hire the lowest cost provider. Rather we deceived ourselves into believing that someone who promised the world for much less than the other guy or gal could deliver.
Sad to say, that’s usually not the case. There’s a reason why some people charge more than others. It’s usually because their customers are willing to pay top dollar for the speed and value of their services. In general – and yes, there are always exceptions to the rule – you’ll find the best service providers among those who charge the most.
But, once again, you’ll typically find that paying a higher price for a top performer actually saves – and makes – you money in the long run. Top performers generally work faster, think of things you don’t think of, add value, and allow you to deliver a better product faster, which in turn leads to higher sales and profits for you.
