Contract To Hire vs. Full Time Staff Both Have Their Advantages

In recent years, employees and employers have been looking for more flexible work opportunities to accommodate an ever-changing job market. Contract, freelance, and temporary jobs are among the many options that companies and job seekers have when it comes to a unique work situation.

For businesses looking to hire contract workers, there may be questions about whether contract-to-hire is actually the best option for their staffing needs. Here, we’ll go over what contract to hire staffing is, the differences between full-time and contract-to-hire, and the benefits of contract employees.

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What is Contract-To-Hire?

Contract-to-hire is a form of contract staffing in which a person is placed in a temporary position for a specific period of time, with both the employer and the employee understanding that there is a chance that the worker could be brought on as a full-time employee once the contract is finished. Contracts can last for any number of weeks or months, depending on the needs of the business, and full-time employment at the end of the contract is not guaranteed. Despite that, many workers find that contract-to-hire is a great opportunity to expand their employment potential. Contract-to-hire is different from temporary or seasonal employment as well as freelance or independent contractor work.

How Does Contract-To-Hire Compare to Full-Time Hires?

There are many differences between contract-to-hire work and full-time work. For starters, until the worker is hired directly as a full-time employee, they are technically employed by the staffing agency that recruited them. This is usually the case throughout the duration of their contract. Contract-to-hire employees are screened, sourced, and found by a staffing agency and only put in touch directly with the company they are interviewing with during the final stages of the hiring process.

In addition, workers under contract do not usually receive benefits such as health insurance, paid time off, and the like during their contract. They have the possibility of receiving those benefits if they are ultimately brought on as a full-time employee.

Most notably, the pay structure for contract-to-hire employees is different than that of full-time workers. When working on a contract, employees will be on the payroll of the staffing agency, with their taxes taken out just like if they were working directly for the staffing agency. However, instead of working at the staffing agency, the worker works on-site with the company that hired the staffing agency to do the search. Once the contract is complete, the company will decide if they want to hire the employee full-time and, if so, the employee will be transferred to the company’s payroll.

Benefits of Contract-To-Hire

When it comes to choosing to work with contract vs. full-time employees, it’s important to weigh the benefits of each. The following are some of the key benefits of contract-to-hire.

Time-Saving

Many companies utilize contract-to-hire because it is much more time efficient than a direct hire. With the help of a staffing agency, a business can get new, experienced, and qualified employees without the time investment of executing a search on their own.

Trial Period

In addition to saving time, companies that opt for contract-to-hire staffing avoid the potential costs and downsides of hiring a full-time employee that ultimately doesn’t work out. Using the contract period allows both the employee and the company to see if it’s a good fit before too much is invested.

Flexibility

Contract-to-hire staffing also allows for flexibility in terms of budget and staffing. In terms of budget, working with an employee on a contract basis can allow time for a company to determine if there is a cost-benefit of adding this new employee. In addition, it can save money on hiring expenses and provide time to work that new employee’s salary and benefits into the overall budget. As far as staffing flexibility goes, contract-to-hire staffing allows companies to complete their current projects without wasting time and money on full-time staff. This can also be helpful for businesses who have seasonal surges. At the completion of the contract, the company then has the option to hire employees who made a particularly impactful mark.

Cost-Efficient

Hiring full-time employees can be a financial burden to an organization. When in the market to fill a role, companies can benefit financially by turning to staffing agencies to do the heavy lifting. Contract-to-hire staffing cuts down on in-house staffing efforts while still offering the chance to bring on a qualified candidate full-time.

Accessible Growth

No company is ever fully sure of where they’ll be headed in the future. Business can shift in the blink of an eye, altering the staff a company needs, the skills that their employees should have, and the roles that will be integral to growth. Contract-to-hire staffing allows businesses to scale up on short notice by filling positions with contractors who can handle additional tasks and projects without getting in the way of a company’s budget.

Staffing Solutions for Houston Businesses

Whether your business is looking to employ full-time employees or contract-to-hire staff members the right staffing experts can help. It helps to use someone local that knows the local talent and can help leverage their relationships to find you the right employee as well as if you are a job seeker finding an IT recruiter with good connections will get you in the door in places an out of town company will have a hard time opening. As a business owner using an IT staffing focused company will help you identify the staffing needs of your business and advise you on the best staffing methods to get the best possible employees for the job.

Contract To Hire vs. Full Time What Are The Benefits?