10 Benefits of Hiring Contractors During Periods of Rising Costs

Hiring contractors can provide businesses with additional cost savings compared to permanent hires.

The temporary nature of interim hires means that businesses can avoid long-term salary commitments, benefits, and severance packages.

While contracts could get extended, most of the time, businesses will have an idea of exactly how long the contractor will be working for. Once that contract comes to an end, they are under no obligation to renew it. This makes it easier to plan costs and budgets.

This financial flexibility can be especially advantageous for businesses looking to manage costs while still gaining high-level expertise.

Scale your workforce up or down depending on business needs without committing to permanent hires.

During times of economic uncertainty or rising costs, the benefit of having the flexibility to increase or decrease contractors without having to go through a lengthy redundancy or offboarding process can allow businesses to remain agile during periods of instability.

Many businesses only need limited time help for projects; by hiring contractors to support on projects, it allows businesses to bring in specialist help during busy periods or for specific projects. This helps to reduce burnout amongst permanent employees, protecting them from overload.

The fact that contractors can work their contract to deliver the project, and then they can move on is a cost-effective way of ensuring projects are completed to a high standard.

This means businesses can avoid the financial burden of over-hiring during uncertain economic periods by using contractors to bridge gaps.

Whether it’s due to restructuring, employees on personal leave, or just general employee turnover, if there is an immediate need to fill a gap or complete a project, contractors are a great option to fill a gap immediately.

Unlike permanent hires, it is much easier to find an interim executive who is available to start immediately; there’s no need to wait 3 months for someone to complete a notice period.

This makes the hiring process much faster, and a fast hiring process can be crucial for addressing urgent challenges or sudden hiring needs that appear unexpectedly.

If there is a need for a permanent employee in the long term, then getting a contractor to fill the interim gap while you search for a permanent employee makes the transition for the rest of the team much easier.

The entire process of conducting interviews, notice periods and onboarding can take a long time, and if there’s nobody to fill that gap in the meantime then projects can crumble, teams can be put under additional pressure and businesses can fail to hit their objectives – getting a contractor to work the interim is great solution to avoiding this.

During their time at your business, contractors can pass on valuable skills and knowledge to permanent staff, helping to ensure that the organisation continues to benefit from their expertise even after they leave.

This transfer of knowledge can help foster long-term growth and improve productivity, which is particularly vital during times of rising costs or uncertainty.

Save your HR team’s time and budget by letting a Contract Recruitment Agency handle job advertising, candidate screening, interviewing, and onboarding.

Need a compliance officer, IT project manager, or finance lead for a few months? Agencies specialising in contractors have a wide talent pool of contractors ready to go, so are able to source niche talent with the right experience fast.

Unlike permanent hires, businesses and contractors can easily end contracts when the need passes, avoiding redundancy processes or long notice periods.

When a contractor has worked their specified contract period, there is no obligation for a business to renew it. This provides greater business control over costs, particularly beneficial during periods where rising costs are a concern.

There is no need for lengthy redundancy processes, notice periods and offboarding costs.

As contractors are used to only staying in businesses for short periods, they are often experts in managing change.

This means that contractors typically arrive ready to go and can get up to speed a lot quicker than permanent employees who move less frequently.  There is also less need for time and money to be spent on training or upskilling.

Bringing in contractors to bridge employment gaps or for specific projects means that businesses can ease the workload pressure on their permanent employees.

The additional resource of contractors can help prevent burnout and thus improve retention among permanent staff. This is particularly important during times of business instability or uncertainty, where workforce retention becomes even more vital.

Whether it’s overseeing a merger, navigating an acquisition, or steering a company through a restructuring or turnaround, contractors, specifically executive-level contractors, excel at implementing new strategies and processes.

As contractors come in with a fresh ‘outsider’ perspective, their experience in managing transitions can be more effective than that of an internal candidate who might resist change or be entangled in existing company dynamics.

What is Contract Recruitment?

Contract Recruiting, also known as interim recruitment or temporary staffing, is the process of recruiting talent under a fixed-term contract. These employees can be hired on an inside IR35 or outside IR35 basis, which is dependent on the assignment brief and meeting relevant criteria.

What is a Contract Recruitment Agency?

A Contract Recruitment Agency is a recruitment agency that either fully specialises in contract recruitment or has a dedicated interim division which specialises in temporary, contract and interim recruitment.

Should I use a Specialist Contract Recruitment Company?

Working with a recruitment agency that specialises in Contract recruitment can provide you with access to higher-quality contractors due to the network that recruitment agencies have built with these candidates over time.

Although you will have an agency fee if the recruitment agency does find you an appropriate contractor, you will save your HR team’s time and budget by letting a Contract Recruitment Agency handle job advertising, candidate screening, interviewing, and onboarding.

Agencies specialising in contractors have a wide talent pool of contractors ready to go, so they are able to source niche talent with the right experience, often a lot faster than internal teams might be able to. By working with a specialist contract recruitment agency, companies can tap into a pre-qualified talent pool and fill crucial gaps fast, all while keeping business costs under control.

Is it cheaper to hire someone as a contractor than a permanent employee?

Whether it is cheaper to hire someone as a contractor than a permanent employee is circumstantial to your business needs. Contractors often tend to provide better value to businesses when they are needed for short-term periods, such as for a specific project, to help with business change, or to fill a temporary gap in staffing.