Why mid-sized companies are moving towards associating with consultants

There were times when companies looked like this- a building filled with employees, sitting in various cabin & cubicles, and divided in different teams. They used to have consolidated parking structures for employees, and a separate cafeteria where all employees gather to have their meals.

Although, there are many advantages to this setup, which was achieved through years of adaptability, the times are now changing.

Employees prefer to have their own space to work, flexible working hours, and focus on self-discipline, rather than having a manager school them for corporate virtues. Change is one thing significant even in evolution, the one who does not evolve, becomes the dinosaur.

With the evolving times, new startups and mid-sized companies are inclining more towards a mixed-model of having employees and consultants, with the ratio of the latter increasing by the day.

Companies stick to having employees for tasks that need physical presence and supervision, while a lot of the jobs do not require constant physical presence and sitting in the office and wondering over the KRS's being fulfilled or not.

Let's look at some of the major reasons of this gradual change:

Scalability

The world is growing fast and the distances are reducing at lighting speeds. With the option of remote working readily available, fresh professionals and startup owners are preferring to have partnerships, rather than working under someone.

This mindset is a major inclination towards professionals wanting to work in consultation mode, as it provides freedom, flexibility, and ignites ownership.

Companies too can't handle staff at remote locations, hence the shift is evident.

Expertise

When it comes to skills and specialisation, choosing consultants with a proven record is a easy pick over hiring employees, and investing time & resources for their orientation and developmental training.

Young blood is eager to show their work and has adapted with the changing market. Finding experts for given job is getting lesser and lesser herculean task by the day.

Leadership

One of the top-most priorities of the companies with their employees is taking ownership of their tasks and exhibiting leadership. When comes to leadership, a self-employed consultant is going to surpass any employee at any given day.

The fact that consultants do not work under a manager and are more similar nature to the owners of a start-up, leadership is sort of a given virtue.

The choice is simple- hire a leader as consultant instead of training your employee to be a leader.

Labour laws and taxation

Companies do not have to invest their time and resources towards managing consultants. Dealing with taxes and pondering over the labour laws is out of the picture, and so is employment benefits . A consultant does not need to be nurtured like an employee.

The relationship of a company with a consultant is much more subtle and professional.

Increased motivation

Consultants have to stay updated as per the market trends. They always have to stay up at their game and punish their skills to stay relevant in the market. Hence, motivation is always in the picture.

Companies don't have to worry over consultant motivation like the struggle with the employees., nor they need to be engaged like the latter.

The migration is evident. And, like the saying goes

Change is the only constant in life

Like a consultant myself, many people have migrated with the changing winds.

It depends on every individual company's needs, but at the end, we all have to decide for ourselves, whether we want to be the evolved one or the dinosaur.