Have an exciting project, but don’t have the right talents to design it? And that too it needs to be completed on time, and budget? Wait, planning to hire a UX designer? Do you want just a designer or a team of experts?
Ugh, these are a few questions that enter your mind while hiring a creative UX designer. That’s why someone wise once said “Hire someone who knows more than you do.”
In this article, I will help you to make a better decision in choosing between hiring a design agency and hiring in-house designers.
Come let’s dive right in.
As we all know, hiring procedures can be quite hectic and confusing sometimes. Hiring the right talent with the right skills and motivation is essential to run your business successfully and to keep innovating which will give you an edge in the market. And that too, for a UX designer, hiring can be so frustrating.
If you are in a situation where you need a UX designer for that huge project of yours, you might probably be in a dilemma. The common question which arises in most minds is whom to hire. Should the project have the typical in-house designers or a vast creative team from an outsourced agency?
Honestly, both have their advantages. But I’m gonna be as rational as possible so that you can pick a better option to ease the confusion.
A 2016 design study of 408 different companies found that the more a company invested in and focused on design, the more sales it saw. This makes the need for designers obvious.
Also, in a recent report, 56% of the senior decision-makers believe that the biggest barrier to hiring in-house is building a team with the necessary talent and skills. Companies, therefore, started to consider the roles or tasks that should be outsourced to an agency.
Design Agencies are renowned for their ideas on fresh, exciting designs and most importantly, their designers are so ahead on new, innovative, and creative strategies. It is well known that design agencies have experience working with numerous companies on different levels of projects. That’s why their team always comes up with state-of-the-art ideas and strategies.
Let’s not take much time and get to the points.
Well, To understand the difference between hiring in-house designers and hiring outsourced design agencies, there are 5 factors that would help you to consider the best out of the two. They are classified based on:
- EXPERTISE
- COST
- TIME
- COMMUNICATION
- FLEXIBILITY
Let’s find out how it matters!
Expertise
One of the major differences between hiring in-house designers and hiring a design agency is the level of expertise. Hiring in-house designers can be easy but they will be only experienced in working on one particular project. They might not be exposed to different types of projects. As a result, they lack an innovative approach and ultimately lose interest in work.
But, hiring a design agency helps to bring up-to-date, fresh ideas as they have more expertise in solving problems with their other similar clients. They are bound to have an array of skill sets available in one place. As the word ‘agency’ implies, they already have a team of experts ready to solve problems. It’s a one-stop store. You can get access to different types of creative minds.
Cost
Ideally, hiring in-house designers individually increase the overall budget of the company. As their expertise is already limited to an extent, the provision of their salary might be quite disadvantageous for you.
So, considering a design agency, in this case, can be favorable for you. The budget set aside for a UX design agency is highly rewarding in the long run. Most design agencies don’t charge for each employee working on the project. They charge a reasonable fee for the whole team of experts. Plus, they are fairly negotiable. It can be advantageous because it reduces the cost of hiring full-time employees.
The UX design agency has great skills and talents obtainable at any budget. However, sometimes they can be quite pricey but can provide the best results. According to Forrester, every $1 invested on UX brings $100 in return. So, that’s fair enough.
Time
The hiring procedure for a designer can come to a full circle if they provide the service for a project within a specific time limit. That’s one of the drawbacks of hiring in-house designers. Once they are onboarded as a full-time employee, they are most likely to take quite a bit of time to understand the new project and environment. They need constant guidance from their seniors to approve each time. The managers have to keep an eye on them all the time. That leads to incomplete and half-hearted task submission.
Design agencies are a whole package when it comes to providing the services on time. They already have a system to meet client deadlines. They tend to put their task on high priority if it involves customer service and reviews. They start their work from day one by properly collecting all the information required about the product or the company in just one meeting.
Communication
We all know that communication is the key to any doors of situation. While in-house designers can be easy to communicate with, it can be quite difficult for them to face their seniors and provide adequate suggestions. They need constant communication with the already busy product managers, which makes the process long and disturbing.
A UX design agency is quite easy to work with. The whole team knows what to do at what time. They don’t necessarily have to communicate frequently as they already have the experience working with their other similar projects. They are quite vocal about suggestions according to your product details. As their communication is effective, they also provide honest feedback based on data and experience.
Flexibility
A good hire should always be willing to be flexible at work. In-house hires might not cope up with the huge workload and needs better incentives, which again brings a step back to the budget. They also require some additional help when it comes to coming up with advanced ideas and strategies.
Design agencies already have their own full-time employees who are willing to be challenged and work with different work atmospheres. They are aware of handling different situations as they are used to addressing the same problems as you. They are very flexible to work on high-pressure situations as that brings out their creative side. It’s both a win-win for you as well as the agency.
A design agency is a good choice as the risks are as low as they hire only the best experts out of the lot. They have specific design expertise and skills to perform that your designers don’t have. And once they start a massive design campaign, they are obliged to finish it within a limited timeframe. They also have the knack to bring a fresh look to examine your product.
Finally, one of the best advantages is that a good UX design agency does good research work by conducting both qualitative and quantitative analysis. They can also assist you with a UX audit.
To top it all, Hiring a UX design agency is quite advantageous when it comes to designing for big campaigns. They literally come as a whole package. It is the safest and easiest option for you. Bonus pro: You can also get access to the best web designers.
Are these factors enough for you to decide which hiring option is right for you? Then, what are you waiting for? Let’s get to know each other.
Hiring Marvelloux
What if I told you there’s a third option? Something that won’t take all your budget but will give a result of a thorough analysis of your product, industry, and your audience? That’s Marvelloux – A realistic solution for all your design problems.
Hiring Marvelloux means you have access to all the benefits of our expert designers and with great experience and working remotely. We have built a strong team of both experienced and ready-to-be-challenged experts choosing to work for you.
Of course, all of the above are just words. To prove that we choose deeds, not words, take a look at our
case studies.
Key takeaway:
- A 2016 design study of 408 different companies found that the more a company invested in and focused on design, the more sales it saw.
- Design Agencies are renowned for their ideas on fresh, exciting designs and their designers are ahead on new, innovative, and creative strategies.
- If you need to launch a big campaign such as a new product or a rebrand, which requires a lot of planning and expertise, you have to choose a design agency.
- According to Forrester, every $1 invested on UX brings $100 in return.
- Design agencies are a whole package when it comes to providing the services on time.
- Design agencies already have their own full-time employees who are willing to be challenged and work with different work atmospheres.
If you’re interested in discussing your design needs with a design agency in this fast-changing world of creativity, please email hello@marvelloux.com to reach us.