Aaron Rowsell
6 Compelling reasons to hire an IT Contractor Over a Full-Time Employee
Whether you are watching TV or scrolling through your social media feed, you can’t hide from the fact that everyone is talking about the Gig economy.
As a nation it would seem as though we can’t get enough when it comes to talking about work! And one topic which is coming ever more popular is whether or not to hire an IT contractor over an employee.
In this article I discuss what hiring a contractor could do for your business to help it grow and succeed.
6 Compelling reasons to hire an IT Contractor Over a Full-Time Employee
1. Open up your business’ flexibility
With today’s ever-changing economy and marketplace, hiring an IT contractor over a full-time employee can serve multiple benefits.
Contractors help to create flexibility within your business, whether they’re there to serve a specific purpose short-term or for a long-term project.
When employing a contractor, you have no obligations to carry the person on longer than you need them, compared to a full time employee.
A full time employee may have to change their role over time depending upon the journey of your business, and may end up in a position they’re not the best fit for.
2. Watch what you spend
Contrary to popular belief, hiring an IT contractor may not cost your business a considerable amount more money.
It’s no rumour that contractors can earn more than a salary employee, however when budgeting for a full-time employee you need to take into consideration more than just the annual salary.
A full-time employee may require training courses compared to a specialised contractor. Additionally full-time employment also require sick and holiday pay.
Once you total these costs compared to hiring an IT contractor, you can see the significant difference.
3. Productivity starts immediately
The 2016 Workforce Productivity Report, released by World Market and KRC Research, reveals nearly half of all business leaders believe that contract workers are more productive than full-time employee.
This is because a specialised contractor doesn’t require any training and is able to hit the ground running from the beginning.
A full time employee, on the other hand, will require an induction period, including training.
Comparing the level of high standard work may compare however on a timescale, the contractor will produce the work in a shorter time frame.
4. Cut your recruitment time
Hiring a full time employee can be a lengthy process.
Whether it’s a small business with higher management searching for them or there is a number of trained staff dedicated to recruiting new staff, a lot of time needs to be set aside for this.
Between writing and posting job adverts, reading tonnes of resumes to getting through the interview stages, you can lose hours of time that could have been spent on more productive tasks.
Often when hiring a contractor, you can go through agencies who have a rich pool of specialised contractors who have already been checked thoroughly and are waiting to be matched to you.
5. Reduce your commitment
When you hire an IT contractor, it can also be a good way to give a potential employee a “test run” without any of the commitment.
If you have been involved in hiring or working within a team we have all come across people who despite give off an amazing first impression falls short of expectations once they’ve been hired.
With contractors, there is no reason why you aren’t able to keep them on full-time or extend their contract if they show tremendous value added to your business.
6. Providing extra value
As stated, when you’re hiring a contractor, you’re hiring a specialised skill set and this could serve great purpose to your company.
A contractor can be beneficial to the existing staff of a business as the contractor can help train the existing workers in their specialised field.
Additionally, showing them new methods of working which continues to encourage your business’ flexibility.
