10 Benefits of Hiring a Software Development Agency During an Economic Downturn
When the economy slumps, businesses often find themselves quickly switching from standard operation to survival mode. Business stagnation during an economic downturn can last from a few days to a few years. However, while it may seem prudent to batten down the hatches and try to weather the storm, too much hesitancy can lead to a decreased return on investment (ROI) and diminished market competitiveness.
So, what do you do when you need to cut costs without sacrificing your efficiency, quality, or long-term business goals? You outsource.
Outsourcing is the act of delegating specific tasks to third-party contractors. Outsourcing tech needs to a software development company is an ideal way for financially constrained companies to maximize their ROI and grow their business, placing them at the front of the market when the inevitable economic upturn begins.
Learn everything you need to know about hiring a software development company below.
10 Benefits of Outsourcing to a Software Development Agency
Whether you’re a new startup or a Fortune 500 company, your company is dependent on technology. From interacting with your clients to managing your employees and finances, you need innovative software solutions to stay competitive. Here are the ten main benefits of hiring a software development firm to help you with these technological processes:
1. Save Your Bottom Line
When you have a new tech project, the first solution most companies consider is hiring a new employee. However, new employees are expensive. In addition to a salary, you’re responsible for benefits, paid time off, office space and supplies, onboarding, and more.
However, by hiring a software development agency for your project, you will only pay for what you need. While the hourly rate of an agency’s employees is often higher, the long-term costs for your company are much lower. During an economic downturn, these cost savings can have a large impact on your company’s financial health.
2. Gain Greater Flexibility and Scalability
When you outsource to a software development agency, you are only paying for what you need, when you need it. Whether you’re hiring a company on a project-by-project basis or for only a few hours each week, you have far more flexibility than you have with your full-time employees. Additionally, as your project work load fluctuates, your third-party software development firm can add and remove employees to fit your needs, all without the time required for finding, hiring, and onboarding a new employee.
3. Deliver Faster Turnaround Times
During an economic downturn, every project counts. Therefore, being able to deliver fast turnaround times to your clients is paramount. Software development agencies need very little onboarding, they integrate more quickly than full-time employees, and they have a full team that can produce end products far more quickly than a single employee.
4. Ensure Your Market Competitiveness
Though the economy may slow down and business may stall, technology keeps evolving at a breakneck rate. A software development agency can help your company stay up to date on the latest technologies and keep your website, social media, client communications, and internal software aligned with the latest trends. That way, when the market rebounds, you’re already ahead of the curve, not behind.
5. Reduce Your Risk During Economic Uncertainty
When you hire a full-time employee, you are bound to certain financial and legal obligations. If your business suffers, those obligations still remain. This can make hiring a full-time employee during an economic downturn a high-risk business decision.
However, by outsourcing to a software development firm, you minimize your financial and legal risks. You only have to pay subcontractors for the work that they’re hired to do. That means that if business slows, you’re not stuck with an unbillable employee you can’t pay.
6. Acquire a Wider Range of Skillsets
When you hire a software engineer, they will likely bring a few key skills to the table. However, when you outsource to a software development agency, you are acquiring the skillset of every single person on their payroll. This wide scope of expertise can give you the confidence to accept larger and more complex projects, knowing that your agency has your back.
A software development agency also comes with an important person: a project manager. When you complete software projects in-house, someone on your team is responsible for micro-managing the process. However, with a third-party contractor, you can relax knowing that a project manager is on top of the project and keeping you updated every step of the way.
7. Lighten the Workload on Your Current Employees
For many organizations, an economic downturn means, at best, a hiring freeze and, at worst, layoffs. When your team is smaller but your daily operations don’t diminish, the extra work falls on the shoulders of your existing employees. However, by hiring a software development agency, you can transfer some of this work to your outside vendor. This will decrease the amount of work your full-time employees are responsible for, improving their overall happiness and engagement.
8. Automate Your Processes
Though it can seem scary to spend money when business is slow, a lull in your work is a great time to take proactive steps for long-term success. One such step is automation.
Software development agencies can help you automate the menial manual processes that take up large parts of your employees’ days. By automating these tasks, you can free up your employees to focus on more high-priority tasks and decrease your day-to-day costs in both the short- and long-term.
9. Improve Your Customer Service
Your business’s success depends on customer satisfaction. According to McKinsey & Company, “improving the customer experience can increase sales revenue by 2-7% and profitability by 1-2%.” During an economic downturn, when every cent counts, these marginal increases can make a world of difference.
Software development agencies can help you make interactions with customers faster and easier. Whether they’re improving your website, helping you create your own AI chatbot, or automating your scheduled customer interactions, the improved customer experiences that an agency can provide will increase both your customer acquisition and retention rates.
10. Grow Your Business
While most companies are content to just survive an economic downturn, you don’t have to set your sights so low. Meet with a software development agency today to find out how they can work with you to not only maintain, but also grow, your business. From improving your SEO to increasing your web traffic, a software development company can help you generate more clients and more revenue.
Find Your Perfect Software Development Agency Today
Once you decide to outsource your tech needs to a software development company, it’s important that you take the time to find the company that’s right for you. As you search for companies that meet your needs, pay special attention to their:
At Grio, we want to form a collaborative partnership that is beneficial for both of us. Book a free consultation with our incredible team to learn how we can help you find software solutions that inspire and improve your amazing organization.
