The Pros and Cons of Contract vs Permanent IT Jobs

Every week, we’re hit with more and more news about cybersecurity attacks. Business lose thousands — sometimes millions — of dollars, and often times they don’t even know what they’re going up against.

Cybercriminals are only getting smarter. As the 2020s role on, more and more of the best criminals out there are moving into the online sphere.

Cryptocurrency also makes it easier than ever for them to get away with these actions anonymously.

Because of this, you’re probably thinking about IT jobs. You need an IT team to make sure that your business stays safe, as well as to do all of the other IT jobs they can possibly do.

These things go together as well. A great company operating in the IT industry will not only help set you up on the cloud, but work to make sure that cloud stays safe from hackers. After all, every update in technology means a new place criminals can enter through.

But is it better to hire out contacted IT jobs, or permanent jobs? This article will walk you through some of the advantages of each.

Permanent IT Jobs

Permanent IT jobs — also known as an in-house staff — are one of the main options for IT. This means you essentially hire an IT team to work with your business, train them yourself, and keep them on full time.

One of the biggest advantages of a permanent IT job is exactly that — the in-house training. You can save yourself a lot of time and money this way. You’ll let these employees know your policy, company culture, and form of operating once, and won’t need to worry about it again the way you would with contracted employees.

Relationships

The relationships that the IT company can build this way can lead them to responding to emergencies faster. These employees will know your systems intimately, and so will be able to navigate them in times of peril. Every minute counts in these situations, and this could be a crucial difference.

Ransomeware attacks are still some of the most common cybersecurity attacks out there. They prey on the lack-of-experience of certain employees — which makes training from the IT staff one of the most important things in preventing this type of attack. If your other employees trust the IT person, they’re more likely to listen to their advice.

These IT employees will also feel a greater sense of responsibility, and will be more likely to give you and your business suggestions. They can be an important part of your company growing, and will likely be right there with you helping your business grow when you decide to scale up.

Unfortunately, the closeness of an in-house staff is a double edged sword. Your employees getting close to this IT team means that they won’t get to talk to employees from other companies and get to know their perspectives. Meeting new people and learning skills for them are extremely important in the contemporary workplace.

If you’re looking to get to the top you always want the chance to keep growing and keep meeting new people. Don’t get a certain amount of business and then rest on your laurels.

Contract Employees

The contemporary gig economy has helped a lot of enterprising people realize that small relationships and interactions can go along away. If you’ve worried about falling into the above trap — of getting stuck working with one person long after the advantages of working with them have run out for both of you — contract employees for IT can be right for you.

Lack of Overwork

It’s a very common occurrence for people in permanent IT jobs to find themselves stretched too thin. This one team has to worry about emergencies, normal technical support, and installing new technology.

When this happens, there can be serious consequences. Your IT staff might be very confident, but if an emergency happens and all of their energy goes towards fixing it, your regular operations might fall apart.

When you hire out contract jobs, you can get specialists for each specific part of the IT job. This means everyone can do their own jobs extra efficiently, and gain experience on specific skills (while still interacting with other employees).

Outside Perspective

You also won’t have to worry that a contracted employee will get caught up in office politics. Even the most efficient offices can sometimes have messy interpersonal relationships — that’s just the nature of the game. Your permanent IT staff might not be able to help being caught up in them, and when emotions get in the way, business suffers.

They can also bring an outside perspective into situations. Sometimes the answer to a problem is hidden in plain sight, and it takes someone from outside of your circle to see it.

Happier Employees

At the end of the day, the employee who chooses where they want to work is happiest. If you’re hiring a high-level contracted employee and they choose to come to your business, there’s probably a reason why beyond money. There’s a good chance that they like what you’re all about, which will influence their performance.

Check out more information about sourcing in the community for the best contract IT jobs out there.

The Best IT Jobs

As you can see, there are many advantages to both kinds of IT jobs. We recommend going for a permanent job if you want to build a company culture, but a contracting job if you want something to get finished a bit quicker.

To get started with a great IT company, contact us today.

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