All you need to know about Contract to Hire - Pros & Cons
A candidate goes through numerous screening and selection processes before he/she gets a job letter. But as an employer, how can you assure yourself that this one is the perfect pick for the job?
Contract to hire or temp to hire has gained a lot of popularity in recent years, giving employers confidence while recruiting talent. Employers get a chance to gauge a candidate’s hard and soft skills and be assured if they’ll adapt to the company’s culture. A candidate can stay on a contract basis for anywhere from 3 months to a year. This crucial period determines if he is good enough to be hired for a permanent full-time position.
However, this hiring methodology’s success rate varies for different companies, employers, and employees. While contract-to-hire can help companies navigate crucial recruitment decisions, it can be equally risky as well.
Here is how you can benefit from a good contract hire:
Have a chance to assess if the candidate is a good fit:
When hiring candidates on contract, you don’t have to commit to job permanence. During this contract period, you get enough time to view their performance and then take a call on whether they are a good fit for the job or not.
Immediate hiring
Hiring should be quick because delays in closing candidates for a job or project can cause a lot of damage to companies. When it comes to hiring contract workers, the formalities are short as compared to hiring permanent employees. Also, contract workers are hired only for specific tasks or projects. Hence, when the task is completed, they are ready to start another job immediately. Unlike permanent employees, they don’t have notice periods.
Instant performance
When candidates are hired for a short period, they put in their best efforts to prove their capabilities. They instantly work on making an impressive impact on their employer, to get recognized and increase their chances of turning into permanent employees. Besides, as contract employees are highly skilled at working on niche projects, hiring them can help drive your business forward. This makes it easy for you, as employers, to make the right long-term hiring decision.
New perspectives
The contract to hire brings in various talents and fresh minds into your business. As employers, you get a chance not just to test a candidate’s skill set but also to hear their perspectives on the latest technological trends and workings. This way, you can work on upgrading and bringing in positive changes in the way your business operates, helping you keep pace with current trends.
Work flexibility
Since contract employees have experience working at various companies, with different personalities and timeframes, they are extremely flexible with their work. They know how to adapt to the changing market needs and demands. Adaptable employees can easily fit into any work environment and ensure they meet deadlines.
Better results
Contract employees are usually hired for projects related to the technical skills they specialise in. This ensures that the task assigned to them is done with the utmost efficiency and significant results.
Cost-friendly
Contract hire carries a monetary advantage to employers. Full-time, niche-skilled employees are normally well paid. But hiring them on a contract basis, just for a particular project, can cut down on committing to paying them a high fixed monthly salary. Also, your extra costs incurred for the lengthy interview process, training, etc. of a full-time hire get cut.
Balancing workload
When it comes to crucial projects with deadlines, your employees could feel a crunch in completing them within the time frame. During testing times like these, hiring specialized, skilled employees on a contract basis can help reduce the burden and accelerate work.
While contract hires carry a lot of advantages, here are some cons that could occur if you hire the wrong contract employee:
There is no protection for sensitive data
When disclosing sensitive information about your company and its customers to contract employees, there can be trust issues. Since the contract employee works just for a short period, he/she can cause malware infection, causing leakage of your company’s sensitive data. whereas the trust factor is high with long-term or permanent employees as the bond gets stronger with time.
Converting a contract hire into a permanent hire can take time
While contract hires give you enough time to assess contract employees’ skills, it’s unclear if you would want to retain them for the long term. If you are not satisfied, you can request another contract hire from your IT staffing partner. Likewise, the circle continues until an employer finds the right fit. Depending on your luck, it can take a short or long while until you set your mind on the right candidate.
Continuity issues
Most contract employees have been causing issues of consistency with companies. Most of them tend to leave the project halfway through, either because they are bored or they get a better opportunity. This can be a big disadvantage if you have assigned them to a critical project.
Lack of connectivity
The tenure of contract employees varies from 3 months to a year. In such a short period, there is hardly any chance for them to build a good rapport with your company and team. This, in a way, makes them lose interest in the job and demotivates them from performing better. Though many companies try hard to involve contractual employees in motivational programs, it is hard to get their attention in such a short span.
However, to experience good contract hires sans the cons, you need to partner with a well-renowned IT staffing partner. With 20-plus years of experience as an IT recruitment service provider, AMBC assures you of connecting you to the best technical talents.
Our team works on bridging connections to broaden a business and increase its success rate.
Partner with us to hire the best!
For more advice and recruitment solutions, call us today:
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