In today’s recruitment market, outsourcing positions seem to dominate, especially in some well-known large enterprises, where the increase in the number of outsourced positions contrasts with the relative decrease in the number of formal positions. From the perspective of the designer industry, this article will deeply analyze the reasons behind this phenomenon, including factors such as changes in market demand, enterprise cost control strategies, and job nature division, and compare the work of designers at home and abroad, and finally provide designers with suggestions for dealing with “outsourcing and besieging the city”.
If you have been using recruitment software to look at some new job opportunities recently, there is a high probability that you will be confused: why are the positions on the market all “outsourced” and “dispatched”? Especially some large factories. From my observation, they are indeed recruiting, but more of them are outsourced positions, and there are fewer and fewer regular staff.
Now some people say that “ten positions and eight outsourcing”, in fact, it basically reflects some reality. Because I am a designer, I will talk to you about this topic from the perspective of the design industry to see where this “outsourcing wind” comes from and how different it is from the work of overseas designers.
First of all, why do I feel that there are more and more designer outsourcing positions in recent years?
Outsourcing positions, simply put, means that your labor contract is signed with a third-party human resources company, but the place where you work every day and the object of service are large companies like Tencent and Alibaba. You use the workstation of a large factory and participate in the projects of a large factory, but in a legal sense, you are not a “biological employee” of a large factory.
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The reason behind this is actually not complicated.
I remember 10 years ago, when there were many startups, each of them wanted to get on the mobile Internet train, and UI design was needed to make an APP. In my first job, the test question was to cut the drawing, and after cutting the development on the spot, I said it could be used, and then the boss directly sent me an offer. But in recent years, the wind has changed. The Internet industry as a whole has entered the stage of “reducing costs and increasing efficiency”, with business contraction, projects cut in half, and the demand for design positions naturally declined. I’ve seen data from recruitment platforms that the number of UI/UX jobs has even decreased by about 40% year-on-year.
On the one hand, the company is “locked” and no longer recruits regular employees on a large scale; On the other hand, the total number of designers is still huge, coupled with the wave of layoffs in previous years, as well as various designer training courses, a large number of designers have poured into the market. Now any company sends a UI recruitment post, and you can receive at least hundreds of copies in one morning, which is no exaggeration.
Under this “buyer’s market”, companies have become very cautious in recruiting. Instead of carrying a formal long-term cost, it is better to use outsourcing posts to “test the waters”, which can not only meet the needs of phased projects, but also “increase or decrease” manpower at any time.
Then in the eyes of the company boss, the company’s positions are roughly divided into two categories: core positions and non-core positions.
Core positions mean being able to grasp the lifeblood of the company and determine product strategy and core experience. For example, a senior UX designer responsible for the experience strategy of the core product line and a chief designer leading brand building. These positions must be “their own people” and must be firmly locked with formal establishment, even if they are not allowed to run to the rival company. In a team, there are not many key positions.
For non-core positions, it is some supportive, executive or temporary work. For example, when I was at Tencent, there were very few designers specializing in operational vision, because most of the operational activities were one-time and temporary, and they were usually done by a regular editor with a bunch of outsourcing or directly finding suppliers. Although the work is important, it is highly replaceable and mobile.
As a result, these “non-core” design positions have become the hardest hit areas of outsourcing. In this way, companies focus resources on the cutting edge and allow internal teams to focus on the most valuable creative work. For second- and third-tier cities, due to the lack of large-scale Internet products in the local area, the design work is mostly to serve local companies, and this supportive design demand naturally flows to outsourcing companies.
If the first two points are strategic considerations, then cost control is the most direct driving force for outsourcing.
An HR friend told me more bluntly before: “Outsourcing is first of all to save money.” “The company boss calculated this account very shrewdly.
The same UI designer may have a monthly salary of 15K for a formal position, and the company has to pay five insurances and one housing fund for him, and the total employment cost can easily exceed 20K. The service fee that needs to be paid to the outsourcing company may be 15K, and the outsourcing company pays social security to the designer at a lower base, or even takes a commission from it, and the final designer may only get 10K. The cost of employment has dropped all of a sudden.
Year-end bonuses, stock options, supplementary medical care, paid annual leave, and team building travel like regular employees of large factories are generally enjoyed…… These are all white flowers. Outsourcing employees? I’m sorry, but these basically have nothing to do with you. More importantly, when the project ends or business adjustments, the dismissal of a regular employee requires payment of “N+1” compensation, which may also lead to labor disputes. To end an outsourcing contract, you only need to do things according to the contract, which is simple and neat, and the risk is extremely low.
In addition, there are recruitment, screening, training, attendance, payroll…… These tedious personnel management tasks are all handled by outsourcing companies. The employing department only needs to raise the demand, and the outsourcing company can “transport” the designer to the post in a short time, realizing the “plug and play” of human resources.
This “money-saving and worry-free” model makes these big factories like it very much. Just like Meituan Takeaway uses a large number of outsourced riders, the outsourcing of design positions is such a situation.
Recruitment platforms such as BOSS Direct Recruitment, which focus on “direct chat” and “efficiency”, have also invisibly accelerated this trend. Outsourcing companies are very active on these platforms as recruiters. They post a large number of jobs marked as “outsourced” to connect with job seekers at breakneck speed.
This creates a cycle to some extent: enterprises have outsourcing needs – > outsourcing companies post a lot on the platform – > designers see a full screen of outsourcing jobs – > accept outsourcing for the sake of “getting on the bus before talking” or “curve into the big factory” – > the platform and outsourcing company complete an efficient match – > More companies tend to use this efficient recruitment method.
Therefore, when we designers were looking for a job, we felt this sense of information oppression that seemed to be only outsourced.
Seeing this, you may think: Are only Chinese designers so “rolled”? Are all foreign countries easy and pleasant formal jobs?
It may not be what you think. What I learned is that overseas markets also use a lot of “informal employees”, but their form, culture and treatment are not very different from outsourcing jobs in China.
In North America and Europe, the word “outsourcing” exists more in the form of contractors and freelancers.
Especially in the United States, designers are the main force in the freelance army. According to data, 77% of people in the “art and design” industry in the United States work freelancing. They are not affiliated with any company, but take orders on a project-by-project basis under the name of individuals or studios. In the United States, this is a highly respected career form that is actively chosen.
Silicon Valley tech giants, such as Google and Apple, also widely employ contract workers. Google reportedly has more contract workers than full-time employees. These contract workers are usually hired for a specific project (such as a 6-month product revision) and end when the contract expires.
Therefore, from the perspective of the proportion of “part-time”, overseas markets may not be lower than China. But the key difference is that “outsourcing” in China is a B2B2C model (corporate->outsourcing company->designer), while overseas contractors/freelancers are closer to B2C (corporate->designer). The physical feeling is still not the same.
In China’s large factories, there is an invisible wall between “regular workers” and “outsourced workers”. There are huge differences in permissions, benefits, team activities, career advancement pathways, and even a psychological sense of belonging. Outsourcing posts are often seen as a transition or a springboard, with little stability.
In Europe and the United States, although contract workers are not “iron rice bowls”, they are usually regarded as professional consultants with specific skills. They can participate in discussions on an equal footing in the project and contribute professional value. Due to the contractual spirit and mature free market, a good contractor often finds the next contract quickly after closing a project. Their career path is based on the continuous accumulation of project experience and portfolios, and they will not be obsessed with entering a certain company to “become a regular”.
To talk about an unavoidable topic, there is a big difference in salary.
The monthly salary of UI/UX designers in first-tier cities is generally 1-20,000 yuan, and large factories will be higher, but the relative salary of designers in the sequence of large factories is also relatively low. Outsourcing jobs are usually lower and have meager benefits. The salary of contracted positions at home and abroad is generally lower than that of formal positions of the same level.
The average annual salary of UI/UX designers in the United States is about 100,000 US dollars (about 700,000 yuan), and in Europe, it ranges from 4-80,000 euros (about 30-600,000 yuan). The hourly or daily wage of overseas contract workers is usually higher than the converted hourly wage of regular employees of the same level. This is because the contract price includes compensation for the inability to enjoy company benefits (e.g. paid leave, pension, medical insurance). They are charged for professional services, not just one salary.
Of course, the cost of living and taxes abroad are a bit higher than ours, but judging from the pure salary figures and the concept of “equal pay”, overseas contract designers are treated more economically fairly.
Another difference is that remote work has become more and more accepted abroad, which is the biggest difference between Chinese and foreign workplaces in recent years.
After the new crown epidemic, remote work is widely accepted in Europe and the United States. Designers, a profession that relies heavily on computers, have a higher proportion of remote workers. Search LinkedIn and you’ll find a lot of “Remote” design jobs. Many companies have implemented hybrid work, allowing designers to work from home a few days a week, giving them the opportunity to achieve work-life balance.
In China, it is not realistic at present. Internet companies especially emphasize “centralized work” and “face-to-face communication”, and management is generally skeptical about the efficiency of remote work. For example, when I was at Tencent, I often engaged in that kind of “little dark room”, focusing on a project in 2 months, not only to go to work in the company, but also to sit together. Therefore, on domestic recruitment platforms, there are very few “remote” design positions.
Talking about this, it is not difficult to conclude that the outsourcing of designer positions in China is an inevitable product of multiple factors such as market, cost, and strategy. It reflects the company’s pursuit of flexibility and low cost in today’s economic cycle. Although overseas workplaces also pursue flexibility, their mature freelance ecology, sound legal protection, and diverse culture provide designers with an equally dignified career path that is different from that of “large factories”.
In the face of the current situation of “encirclement of the city” in China, how should we designers deal with ourselves? A few of my suggestions:
(1) Accept reality and adjust expectations. If you urgently need a job or want to enter a large factory to accumulate project experience, you may wish to regard it as a “springboard”, clarify your short-term goals, and actively look for better opportunities after completing one or two projects. There are many people around me who started from large factories to outsource, and then became full-time editors, and even became leaders after becoming full-time, so as long as you have strong ability, you will have a chance.
(2) Lifelong learning to build core competitiveness. No matter how the environment changes, excellent professional ability will always be the foundation of settling down. When your design thinking, product strategy ability, and cross-field collaboration ability are strong enough, you will naturally have the opportunity to become a “core talent” that the boss is willing to pay a high price to retain with formal establishment. If you feel that you are very capable but have not yet been discovered, then go to more interviews and find a place where you can be favored and use your abilities.
(3) Establish a personal brand. Don’t put all your hopes on one company. Use your spare time to continue to output works on platforms such as Zhanku, Behance, and official accounts to establish personal influence. If you have the opportunity, you can also try to take on some private orders and transform into a freelance designer. In the future, only by making your personal IP bigger can you truly take the initiative and feel safe.
(4) Learn English well. If you have excellent language skills and professional skills, you can try to find remote work opportunities overseas. While there are challenges, it’s a path that leads to higher returns and a more flexible way of working.
The recruitment market is always changing, for us designers, the most important thing is to see the background of reality, still be able to maintain the enthusiasm for learning and upward attitude, I think only in this way, can we really survive well, play our value and reap the corresponding rewards. That’s what I thought and did myself, and I’ve been here today.
