A perfect time to outsource content creation is when you are faced with creating more content than you have the ability to deal with. As tempting as it is to engage an individual contractor when you have a need, there are many benefits from working through an agency instead. The benefits of working with a content development agency include:
- Speed and ease of sourcing the right resource
- Mitigating risks
- Scalability
- Meeting all of your needs over time
Speed and Ease of Sourcing
If you have ever posted a job opening on a job board such as Indeed, you’ve probably been inundated with résumés from people who were not qualified to do the work.
Sorting through those résumés is a time-consuming task. There’s even a risk that you completely overlook the golden needle in the haystack. Sourcing an individual contractor directly is a time-consuming and often frustrating task. Not to mention, you still have a full-time job that you need to do.
A contracting agency pre-screens contractors
One of the main tasks of a quality agency is to prescreen all candidates before a résumé ever crosses your desk. A contracting agency should do the following before they send you a candidate:
- Interview the contractor
- Check contractor samples
- Check contractor references
- Do a background check
All of this background work on the part of the agency ensures that you are screen candidates who can produce high quality content from a history of stellar work.
A contracting agency might have an “A” List
If you work with an agency who has been in business for many years, it is likely that they have a pool of resources they have worked repeatedly. Perhaps they have an “A” list – a group of people who they know will do an excellent job for you because they have done so for other customers year after year. If you have found an agency with this type of resource pool, you’ve hit the jackpot.
You should expect an awesome resource who has completed many projects for the agency over time. Imagine the time and money you save going through a well-established agency and working with one of the contractors on their A list of resources.
A contracting agency assists if you need to replace a contractor
If you engage a contractor directly, and they do not meet your expectations, you must start the entire process over to find a replacement. This can be a tremendous waste of time, energy, money, and emotion. If you are unhappy with someone you have engaged through a contracting agency, it is the agency’s responsibility to find a suitable replacement very quickly. It’s also the agency’s responsibility to release the contractor from the project, thus letting you avoid an often-difficult conversation.
Even the best contractors need to leave a project from time to time. Family emergencies happen. Illnesses happen. In this case, it is the agency’s responsibility to give you as much notice as possible and find a replacement before the contractor leaves your project.
Mitigating Risks
You assume a number of legal risks when you work directly with a contractor, rather than engaging them through an agency. Depending on where your company is headquartered, these risks may include:
- Insurance
- Level of separation
- Common law rules
For more information on mitigating risks, speak with your corporate counsel. We provide more details in our eBook, A Guide to Successful Content Outsourcing.
Scalability
When you work with an individual contractor, that person can perform the services they do best. For example, a senior technical writer can write great technical documentation. Sometimes, you have needs that are not in the core skillset of the individual you have engaged.
When you work with a qualified content development agency, you can get the best resource for any given task. Rather than asking a senior technical writer to draw illustrations, your agency can find you a top-notch technical illustrator. Rather than asking your top-notch illustrator to do editing, your agency can source a professional editor for you.
As your needs change, an agency can supply you with the best resource, at the right price point, for whatever task is on your priority list.
Meeting all of your needs overtime
The job of an agency is to find the perfect match for your project. By “perfect match,” I mean someone who has the background, experience, and temperament to work in your environment.
A good agency strives to cultivate a long-term relationship with you. The agency wants to be your “go-to” place for all of your needs, all of the time. Your relationship with an agency should go beyond a single resource or a single project. In this way, your agency becomes an extension of your department and is able to provide the best professionals at the best price point, each and every time.
If you want to learn more about how to leverage a contractor to create quality content for your next project, download A Guide to Successful Content Outsourcing eBook.
Val is on the Advisory Board for the Technical Communications Program at the University of North Texas. When not working with customers or students, Val can be found sitting behind her sewing machine working on her latest quilt. She also makes a mean hummus.
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