FIELD ENGINEER
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On-Demand
by
Gary McCauley
|
May 29, 2019
Over the past few years, there has been an undeniable shift towards the use of on-demand engineers. As such, your company has probably spent a long time considering whether this could be the best approach or your future endeavors. After all, the thousands of companies (including global giants) that now utilize this approach can’t all be wrong.
Before making the leap of faith, though, you need to ensure that the use of on-demand engineers can actually benefit your firm. Here’s all you need to know about the gig economy and how it can be used to your advantage.
While appreciating the potential benefits of utilizing the gig economy is important, you will first need to put any potential fears to bed. As an inexperienced user of on-demand engineers, it’s only natural that you have a few concerns regarding the process.
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The big concerns revolve around the application of the engineer, as they do not have to care about the company per se. In truth, though, their reputation is on the line, which is why they will often go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that you’re happy. This is because the recommendations of satisfied clients can lead to new business as well as repeat bookings from the original customer.
Furthermore, on-demand engineers need to take pride in their work to produce the right results at the first attempt. Coming back to rectify their mistakes is not on their agenda, especially when the contract stipulates that there is a set payment rather than an hourly/daily rate.
Finally, you may be concerned about the prospect of an engineer stealing valuable data. Most freelance technicians are making more than enough money for those thoughts to even enter their mind. In most cases, the potential damage would be minimal anyway, especially if you’ve taken the right precautions.
The use of on-demand technicians and engineers can transform a business for the better thanks to a whole host of different reasons. Here are six of the best:
Using on-demand engineers saves you from needing to pay full-time staff that are only needed in certain situations. Moreover, you can haggle with individual contractors to secure better prices. Field Engineer helps California companies reduce costs by up to 60% and can do a similar thing for businesses around the world. On-demand is an extremely efficient solution.
Productivity relies heavily on building the strongest possible team, and this should extend to outside contractors. By using on-demand engineers, you’re no longer tied into long contracts. If a worker doesn’t live up to expectations, simply get them to fix their faults before putting them on your blacklist of contractors. Conversely, good engineers can be hired for future projects.
Staff politics can be a major cause for concern. When using on-demand technicians, though, there can be no reason for animosity. The technicians will simply arrive, complete their work, and carry on with their lives. Better still, this enables you to pay more attention to your full-time employees, which could be the key to boosting their productivity levels too. Perfect.
Freelancers want to earn their money and move onto the next project, meaning technicians are often eager to find the best and quickest way to solve problems in an accurate manner. Conversely, traditional engineers can take their time as their hourly rate is guaranteed. When added to the fact that more freelancers (70% to 49%) are developing their skills with training, this is the way to go.
When you have a traditional engineer working for the business, they probably boast a wide array of skills. Freelancers can afford to specialize in one area, allowing you to tap into that expert advice. This can often bring greater results, including the implementation of winning ideas and technologies before they become commonplace.
The thought of longwinded processes is a common concern for companies. Filling temporary positions, communicating with the technician, and managing invoices is a quick and easy process. Meanwhile, you’ll avoid many of the issues associated with more traditional employment. Given that time is money, this can be a significant benefit.
On-demand engineers can be used by companies of all industries and sizes, especially as there are so many different types of engineers – including network engineers, data center engineers, and RF engineers - that could be hired during the course of running a company. However, as with many aspects, the way in which SMEs and multinational giants approach the situation will vary.
Small businesses can use on-demand engineers to overcome issues relating to staffing budgets and limitations. Working with a small team of reliable freelancers on a project-to-project basis can work wonders while also cutting down on paperwork and other challenges that could be a major problem for companies without dedicated HR services.
Enterprises can use on-demand engineers as an efficient way to manage the networking and other aspects of multiple business premises, potentially across many cities and counties. It can also be a good way to trial prospective engineers before offering more permanent work. While some will prefer to stick with their freelancing endeavors, some may be tempted by the guaranteed work.
Bigger companies can also use this as a way to get dedicated support from engineers that specialize in a specific area, and may even hire them to work alongside their generic engineers so that there is no need to invest in further staff training.
If your business is planning to make the switch to on-demand engineers, finding the best technicians that the gig economy marketplace has to offer is essential. Field Engineer is home to over 40,000 professional and vetted engineers across a wide range of job roles and industries.
To start looking for your first on-demand engineer, or post your jobs to see which engineers are interested, simply sign up to Field Engineer today.
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