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In this fast paced ICT driven business world, the above question seems rhetorical. There is virtually no business that aims for real success in the world today – whether in Shanghai or Rio or New York that does not rely on information technology in one form or the other. Whether to back up data or to sell their wares electronically, companies great and small continue to use these smart tools to make work easier and more productive. Since that is the case presently (and with hindsight, predictably into the future), in comes the IT people – men and women of great skills in handling computer related matters effectively. The question however is not whether you need them at all – that is settled and is a resounding yes; the dilemma is whether you need them on a permanent staff basis. Once again, we rely on hindsight, and the answer is an emphatic No! Little wonder the geeks, techies, and nerds themselves are becoming more independent by the day, setting up IT consultancy firms. The following three points buttresses the fact that it is better to hire an IT consultant on a contractual basis than as a full time staff. 1. You save money. Having an IT engineer on a permanent employment is not a very wise business strategy. For one, it is not every day that you set up servers, experience hard disk crashes, or need to repair networking modems; these are the jobs that are better handled by a good IT consultant who gets paid for the work he does and that deal ends there. You should look to pay on hourly or contractual basis thereby saving money on idle hours or taxes and other such fees connected to full time staffing. You win all the way; the problem has been fixed by an expert, and you have saved money tremendously. 2. You increase employee productivity. What business does a Human Resources officer have with trying to fix a server when other jobs are beckoning; or what concern does an accountant have in trying to recover lost data when she should be balancing accounts? Lost man-hours in companies where non-IT people are saddled with the responsibility of trying to fix IT related problems can be better managed and geared towards better and more productive things. Specialization and professionalism is what makes a business grow and develop to achieve its objectives. People without IT skills should be allowed to do their own jobs while an IT consultant is called in to fix the problem. Employees seem to be more productive when their work is streamlined and well defined; that’s a fact. 3. Save time. Time wasted on guessing what the problem might be or reading up on how-to articles kill company productivity a lot. Just call in an IT consultant and get it done efficiently and on time. Whether your server is hanging or data is lost due to viruses, a good IT consultant would spend lesser time in diagnosing the problem and proffering a lasting solution. By this, you would have saved time spending just a little fraction of what your full time IT employee would have earned for that day. There are more reasons why IT support from professional consultants are far better than full time IT staff; but with these three above, it is clear where the pendulum should swing. Don’t spend so much hiring full time IT staff who eventually would have little or no work to do most of the day; rely instead on tech consultants who would get the job done and at a very competitive rate. Article Summary: The article gives credence to the fact that there would be need for IT support but that this is better handled by tech consultants who work on a consulting basis instead of as full time staff.
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