Six benefits of using contract workers
By Kevin MacIntyre
SeasonedPros Content Lab
Maybe you’re a non-profit planning an annual fundraiser and you need an extra hand to get things off the ground.
Perhaps your company is facing an unanticipated crisis that needs expertise fast. You could have a big launch coming up and need a marketing expert for a short period of time. You may not have the time or the budget for a full-time hire.
So what do you do?
Borrow the talent
Not all business talent needs are permanent. Sometimes it’s just a one-off project that requires a specific skill set or subject matter expert on a temporary basis.
Borrowing an experienced freelancer can solve a business talent challenge faster than traditional recruitment strategies. Contingent workers can be hired on a part-time or project basis. This helps companies manage the costs of hiring and use resources efficiently.
Businesses refiguring recruitment strategies
Facing talent shortages, employers are now relying more on contractors and consultants to fill project roles and talent gaps in their ranks.
HR departments are reassessing traditional approaches to talent acquisition and looking more broadly at pools of available workers. In the past, freelance workers tended to be known as “temps” with limited skill sets. This has changed.
There is now an army of white-collar talent available on a contract basis. These workers like freelance engagements because they offer flexibility and variety. They choose the work they want to do, how much time they want to spend on the job, and when they want to work. They enjoy being their own bosses.
The right talent at the right time
A big advantage to talent-borrowing is that it helps organizations source workers fast. This improves resource management because it is less expensive than a full-time hire and it enables an organization to match a project with the right talent.
It also boosts in-house full-time talent with outside expertise. This blended workplace approach retains the company knowledge held by full-time employees and adds new skills according to need. This shortens the time and costs of traditional talent acquisition.
These days, temporary talent comes from vast professional experience and skill in areas such as leadership, project management, marketing, accounting, logistics, engineering, human resources and change management.
Why should an organization borrow talent?
There are a number of reasons to borrow and some of the advantages may even be unintended:
Cost savings – borrowed talent does not require investment in medical coverage, pension plans and employee benefits and bonuses associated with hiring staff on a permanent basis. In addition, contingent employees are only paid when they are needed.
Speed of hire – traditional full-time recruitment and hiring can take 30 days to six months and sometimes more, depending on the position. There is also the time spent on training and onboarding. Expert and experienced freelance talent can be sourced in less time and when they start, they hit the ground running.
Access to a wider pool of talent – With so many top professionals now available on a contract basis, there is a greater likelihood of finding the right fit for a project without investment in up-skilling or training. If an organization is willing to entertain remote working, They can access talent from anywhere.
Increased ROI – When an organization needs talent to fulfill a highly-skilled task, they can turn to an experienced contractor who can work faster and more efficiently. They can be expensive but they are accomplished in their skill sets. This boosts ROI on a project.
Innovation – An unintended benefit of borrowing talent from outside of the organization comes with the new ideas and approaches to problem-solving they can bring. Contractors come from other sectors and industries with different experiences and organizational cultures. They might know how to do a small task faster or introduce a new platform for communication. They could introduce an innovative idea for service delivery or product development.
Flexibility – when a business cycle speeds up, a borrowed worker can jump in to lend a hand while things are busy. When the event or cycle ceases, they leave the workplace without a long-term commitment by the organization.
Businesses that use borrowed-talent tactics have to adopt new strategies. Jobs have to be designed for short-term contracts and company culture has to be prepared for contractors who will be coming and going on a regular basis.
SeasonedPros.ca is an on-demand business talent source. Clients with an immediate need for experienced talent trust us to source professionals for project, interim and part-time roles. Each professional in our national database has more than 20+ years of business experience. We provide our clients two-four vetted professionals in 10 business days or less.