My past experience in hiring contingent labor may mirror many of you. By the time I jumped through all the hoops internally for approval to bring on a resource, I had more work than I knew what to do with and didn’t have time to take on the part time job of hiring talent. While the internal hoops may not change, and the speed with which things are evolving continues to grow, I’d like to share a couple of things you can do to prepare for hiring contingent labor ahead of time.
Contingent Labor, or contractors/staff augmentation resources, are individuals who enter the work engagement with the understanding that the position is not permanent. Perhaps you have a short-term project that will need an initial increase in resources, but that need will taper off over time. Maybe that project is starting quickly, and you don’t have time to go through the formal HR hiring process for the position you need filled as soon as possible. Either of these situations would be an ideal fit for a contingent worker. Going this route will allow you to quickly fill your role in a matter of weeks if not days and nullify the risks and challenges of hiring and laying off full-time employees. Why not let a trusted partner, a firm like Hollstadt, take on those risks instead?
There is also the option to mark a position as Contract for Hire, and that will typically be discussed prior to the start of the contract to ensure that all parties have a clear understanding of expectations. A Contract for Hire position would be ideal if the work has not yet been defined as temporary or permanent. This option works well in this instance because the initial contract can help the client and the resource determine the long-term trajectory for the work together.
With these possibilities in mind, how can you prepare for hiring contingent labor when the time is right? Here are a few tips to help you out with the process:
- Find a partner you can trust who has your business’s best interest in mind. If you have a full-time job that is not hiring contingent labor resources, finding a trusted expert who can partner with you not only on finding the right talent but who also can act as a sounding board for resource planning will make your contingent labor hiring process faster and better.
- Keep in contact with your trusted partner, even when business is slow. The better your partner knows your team and your engagement style the better they will be able to match talent when the time is right. Additionally, sharing your goals and your struggles might trigger a whole new way of working together that can help you achieve your goals.
- Understand as much as you can about budget release and project timing. Instead of waiting until you get the green light to hire, start researching and planning what skills your project will need. As you are planning, your partner can help you budget appropriately for the skillset you are looking for to ensure there are no surprises when you’re ready to bring in a resource.
- Finally, learn about the contingent labor process at your organization. Every organization does this a little differently, so it’s important to know what will be required of you as a hiring manager before the process begins. Understanding approval and timeline constraints specifically will help ease frustration during the fast-moving moments of hiring.
While it’s exciting to launch that new project or get approval for the much-needed resources to make it successful, hiring can be overwhelming. Keeping these things in mind will help you to be better prepared when the time comes. And keep in mind, Hollstadt has more than 30 years of experience helping businesses succeed with a contingent workforce. We’d love to be that trusted partner for your next contingent labor need.