Is It Better to Handle Tasks In-House or Hire an Outside Contractor?

If you own or manage a business or residential facility, you know that routine maintenance and cleaning of facilities is vital. These tasks can be handled by in-house employees, but some of them may be best left to a professional contractor. In this blog, we’re going to discuss the advantages of both options.

In-House Benefits

It might seem obvious why you would want to have an in-house employee handle all tasks concerning the business, and of course, they have a vested interest in the building. This means they likely have a sense of ownership when it comes to the business. But there are additional benefits to having an in-house employee handle disinfection and cleaning.

  1. Security – The security of a building is of utmost importance and being familiar with the facility can help with that. In-house staff are most likely to recognize when certain people and things are out of place so they can tell when security needs to be notified.
  2. Consistency – Having the same person doing the same duties at the same time and in the same way often gives the owner or manager of a property a sense of order and continuity. Changes in cleaning times, procedures, and staff may result in concern and confusion for owners, managers, and building occupants.
  3. Benefits and Pay – When jobs are outsourced away from in-house employees, employees may become concerned about their jobs and pay. They may want to know whether the outsourced help has better benefits or pay, or how their job is likely to be impacted by the outside help.
  4. Value Added Service – An in-house employee who knows the facility and how it operates are more likely to meet the expectations that an owner or manager might expect. This can be an incentive to use an in-house employee for jobs that can outsourced.

Benefits of Outside Contractors

Although it’s obvious that there are advantages to having an in-house employee handle disinfecting, cleaning, and other routine maintenance tasks, having an outside contractor often has many more advantages. A contractor often has expertise in the task being handled and can therefore do it cheaper and with less manpower, and handle the tasks professionally while eliminating the liabilities and headaches of having in-house staff. Here are a few more benefits to hiring an outside contractor:

  1. Specialization and Motivation – Since a contractor is focused exclusively on the services they provide; they perform the job better and cheaper than an in-house employee without experience can.
  2. Back-Up Support – Since a contractor is operating their own business, they are subject to safety audits, training of staff, and other duties that ensure their business is operating smoothly and effectively to be able to take care of the tasks you need them to handle. They will also have back up support so that if a staff member is sick or goes on vacation, another person can step in. That option is not always available if you have an in-house employee that is handling tasks.
  3. Reduced Use of In-House Resources – By outsourcing tasks to a contractor, you are free to have your in-house employees handle more tasks that they are better equipped to handle.
  4. Less Administrative Headaches – Because you are working with an outside contractor you no longer have to worry about workers’ compensation, equal opportunity claims, sexual harassment or wrongful termination claims, staff turnover, and the many other human resource hassles that come with in-house employees.

Contact Fresh Focus Today

At Fresh Focus, we have products that allow your in-house staff to handle some tasks on their own, but if you don’t have the manpower or time to handle those tasks, we’d love to handle them for you. We offer disinfecting treatments and foam cleaning for trash chutes, compactors, dumpsters, and more. Ask us how we can help take some tasks off your to-do list today.