Running a business is no small task, and things seem to be even more difficult these days as 76% of companies say that they're struggling with recruitment.
Recruitment has become incredibly challenging for all kinds of organizations, and it can have a knock-on effect on various other business operations. Internal recruitment through HR may have been effective in the past, but these days, it may not always be the best approach.
Hiring a professional contract recruiting service may be a more suitable method if you want to secure the talent you need. These organizations will work to find the best candidates for any vacant positions you have.
In this guide, we'll cover everything you need to know about contract recruiting so you can get a better idea of how it can help your organization. Keep reading for more.
What Is Contract Recruiting?
Contract recruiting (or contract staffing) is a recruitment process that allows a company to fill positions on a short-term or part-time basis. You can do this if you don't want to take on full-time employees but currently have gaps that need filling.
This is a process that's done externally, so you can hire a third-party recruitment agency and they'll find suitable candidates for the positions you have available. Many companies do this when they take on specific projects but don't have the manpower needed or are lacking specific skills. You can take on the employees you need for the duration of the project, and then revert to your normal team once it's completed.
This is popular among businesses that have sizable changes in demand. You may not need to recruit at the same level all year round, so your HR team might have a lot more to deal with when you need new employees.
By outsourcing to a third-party company, your HR department will essentially be augmented for the period needed. They can keep working as normal, while one of our part-time recruiters works on finding the employees that you need.
Contract Recruiting Services
You could assign your HR team to the task of hiring employees whenever needed. However, most businesses work with a contract recruiting agency for this. They will charge a fee, but the many benefits they offer are typically more than worth it.
Working with third-party companies is becoming very popular for various business operations. Outsourced recruiting services are among the most widely used in a range of industries.
The Benefits of Contract Recruiting
There are various other recruitment options available, so why go with contract recruiting? Several benefits come with it, and it may be the most effective method for your business.
High Level of Skill
One of the main issues that businesses face when it comes to recruitment is finding candidates with the skill sets they need. When hiring for a technical position, there may not be many people who have the training or qualifications needed for the role. As such, securing suitable employees can be difficult.
Recruitment process outsourcing companies specialize in finding the perfect talent for specific jobs. They use efficient methods and processes to do this, and it's what their business is built upon.
Depending on the nature of your business, you might regularly have projects that require certain skills. Building a relationship with a contract recruiting agency can be a great way to ensure you always get the assistance that you need.
It's also best if you can let the agency you're working with know the kind of employee you need ahead of time. This will allow them to look through their talent pool, thoroughly assess the candidates, and present them to you. You'll then have time to compare these candidates and decide on who you want to employ without having to rush things.
Time Efficiency
On the subject of time, any business owner needs to understand that it's perhaps their most valuable asset. It's not something you can waste, and speeding up any business process is always helpful.
Internal recruitment can often be slow and drawn out. Your HR team will need to market the job opening, look through applications, conduct interviews, and select the best candidates, not to mention how long the onboarding process and training could take.
This is a typical HR responsibility, but they might not always have the means to do so. A typical HR professional has various tasks to take care of each day, and they're almost always busy.
Recruitment will take them away from other tasks. This can be even more of an issue in smaller businesses that don't have large HR teams as they're likely already under a fair amount of pressure. Allowing them to outsource this to an external company will help keep their workload lighter so that they don't end up burnt out.
One of our contract recruiters can help your HR team and take the lead on the recruitment front. They'll handle the whole recruitment process quickly and put the most suitable candidates in front of you.
Better Focus
HR teams typically have a lot of responsibilities. Their day-to-day tasks can include things like:
- Payroll processing
- Conducting disciplinary actions
- Updating policies
- Maintaining employee records
- Performing benefit analysis
- More
Recruitment is another one of these tasks, but the more they have on their plate, the less time and energy they'll be able to put into each one. As such, when they handle recruiting, the rest of their tasks will suffer, and they'll never be able to put 100% into their recruiting efforts.
If your HR team has to cut any corners, it could have bad consequences. Without proper screening, for example, you could end up taking on employees who have a history of causing problems with previous employers. The odds of getting the best candidates for any vacancies you have will drop significantly.
When it comes to contract recruiting agencies, this is their only duty. As such, they can focus on it without being distracted by anything else. They're dedicated to finding candidates that will fit the job position and your company perfectly.
Navigation Through Talent Shortages
Talent shortages can be a major issue for employers. If you don't have the right talent, you won't be able to provide your customers with your goods or services at the standard you should.
This is something that can hinder both new startups as well as long-established organizations. Without the talent you need, your managers and leaders may end up overworked and stretched too thin. Not only will this affect the work your team can produce, but it will also affect internal recruitment as they won't be able to focus on it properly.
The result is that you'll either end up with staff who aren't prepared for the tasks in front of them, or with no one at all. A recruiting agency can perform a professional search, thorough screening, and comprehensive interviews to ensure they find the talent you need.
If you're looking for something very specialized (e.g., enterprise medical recruiting), this is vital. You can't afford to have someone in a highly technical position who doesn't know exactly what they're doing. With an external recruiting agency, not only will you have a better chance of finding a suitable candidate, but you may also end up with multiple to choose from.
More Value in the Hiring Process
If you task your HR team with recruitment, they'll know how to get the job done, but might not have the resources to do it effectively. A contract recruiting agency, however, will. You're hiring them for this specific task, so you can expect them to go above and beyond to produce the best results.
For example, let's say you have some applicants who may be suitable for a certain position. Your HR team will contact them for an interview, but if they can't get in touch with them easily, they probably won't have time to keep chasing them up.
A contract recruiter, however, will try to look at this issue from a different angle. If they find suitable candidates, they'll make every effort to get in touch via phone, email, or any other channels available.
If they can provide you with the perfect workers, they know you'll be likely to turn to them again in the future when you need to take on any more contracted employees. Because of this, they'll always want to ensure you end up with the best candidates for a job and are happy with their service.
Better Understanding of All Industries and Fields
Contract recruiting agencies work with a huge number of businesses across a range of industries. This gives them a solid understanding of how these different industries work as well as the professionals that work in them.
This is part of what makes them so good at recruiting. They have comprehensive knowledge of what companies look for and what employees can offer.
When you're looking to take on a new employee, there's a good chance that the contract recruiter you're working with will have had experience with relevant candidates in the past. This means they'll have a good understanding of the position you have available, and shouldn't have any trouble finding suitable candidates for it.
There's no singular standard recruitment process that works across all industries, and professional recruiters know this. They'll use their comprehensive knowledge and experience to take an approach that's well-suited to your business. This will help them find the talent you need quickly every time.
Reduced Organizational Risk
One of the main reasons to go with a contract recruiting service is to take on employees for a specified amount of time. Once the contract is up, they'll move on, and you can proceed as needed.
Because of this, you don't have to worry about having a new full-time employee that you don't need. This could end up being the case, however, with internal recruitment.
With a contract recruiting agency, you don't establish a long-term binding commitment. While this isn't an issue in some cases (as you'll certainly need some long-term employees), there are plenty of situations in which a short-term solution is best. It also means your administration won't have to deal with as many employees as the contract recruiting firm will handle things for them.
Reduced Hiring Costs
Hiring a new employee can be very expensive, with an average cost of about $4,700. This could be more for your business, and it will quickly add up to a huge expense if you're hiring rapidly. The more time it takes and the harder it is to find the right talent, the higher the cost will be.
Working with a contract recruiting firm helps to make the process more efficient, and it can therefore cost a lot less. As professional recruiters understand the job market, hiring trends, and recruitment strategies, they may be able to save your company quite a bit of money. Some companies avoid outsourcing due to the costs that often come with it, but in this case, it could be a more financially responsible solution.
Bigger Talent Pool
In general, the smaller a talent pool is, the harder it will be to find the best candidates. Even if your company has a well-established HR team, they probably don't maintain a pool of updated resumes from potential applicants. Whenever a position arises, they'll likely need to start the hiring process essentially from scratch.
Contract recruiting firms, however, always have an extensive pool of candidates at the ready. While the majority of these are unlikely to be suitable for what you need, there's a reasonable chance that they'll have some candidates they can contact immediately who may be ideal. Not only does this speed things up, but it gives you more choice and flexibility which is always a benefit.
Professional Contract Recruiting for Your Business
With all the advantages of contract recruiting discussed above, it's clear that it can prove to be a great solution for almost any business. Recruitment process outsourcing services could save you time and money while ensuring you always have the talent you need.
Hire Velocity provides professional talent acquisition services to businesses in all industries. We've won various awards over the years for the work we've done. Contact us today to find out more about how we can help your organization.
