Are you thinking about hiring a full or part time web or graphic designer? There is a lot to think about before attempting to add a designer to your staff.

Hiring a designer is not usually the right choice unless you have a need for a full design department. Have you thought about all the problems and difficulties that designers face? Are you ready to bring that in house?

The design world is a fast paced and always changing environment that requires a lot of time, skill and a high level of involvement. Have you thought about skill sets, overhead, resources, training, management, time off, benefits, and all the other challenges you will have to face?

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE: Designers have different skills and experiences to draw upon. One web designer might specialize in HTML and Javascript on a program like FrontPage. Another may be skilled at E-Commerce using ColdFusion. Yet another may have database experience with SQL Server. How can you be certain to have a designer with the right skills and what happens when you company's needs demand a different skill set.

HARDWARE: Designers need high-end equipment that is typically replaced with the latest and greatest every 2 years. This is not limited to computers. Equipment

requirements usually include high quality color laser printers, file servers, database servers, networking, high quality scanners, high quality digital cameras, and more…

SOFTWARE: Design and programming software is very expensive. Designers that specialize in one sector of design usually use 4-7 different applications for the design work alone. Software changes regularly with new versions, new standards, new compatibility, and more productive applications. Additional software is often needed for desk and project management.

OFFICE SUPPLIES: Designers have high demand for office supplies. They use tremendous amounts of expensive ink/toner, paper, specialty materials, and other production tools.

TRAINING & SEMINARS: In order to keep abreast of the current state of the industry, designers have to spend time reading periodicals and attending seminars discussing new approaches to the way they do their work. As the standards and approaches change so must their skills through frequent and expensive training.

RESOURCES: The world of design is a very large industry with a number of ways to get any one project completed. Designers rely on resources like newsgroups,

reference books, design magazines, paid subscriptions to online developer libraries, stock photography and font libraries.

TURNOVER: In house staff tend to have high turnover rates as employees find bigger and better opportunities and when they leave, your company is no longer their concern. The ramp up period for a designer is high due to the complicated nature of the business. How easily can a new designer pick up where the last one left off? How often do designers find new opportunities, even in a weak market such as today's?

BENEFITS: Like any employer, you will need to consider the costs of benefits including Social Security, insurance, health care, bonuses and other incentives to keep your staff happy.

NON-PRODUCTIVE TIME: Administrative duties, phone time, travel, meetings, office management, and much more. It all takes time. An average employee in any industry spends approximately 20% of their time on non-productive tasks. For designers it is usually more.

MANAGEMENT: It takes you away from your work to manage a staff member. How much of your valuable time will you have to spend working with an employee to make sure they are on task and have what they need to get the job done.