The Benefits of Using Contract Employees Instead of Hiring Full-Time

Companies who are willing to hire contract employees instead of full-time employees can reap many benefits, especially if the desired employment term has a defined end. With the rapid-fire pace a growing business must run at, the quick and easy hiring process for a contract employee, along with the other benefits associated with contract workers, can greatly outweigh any perks you might get from a full-time employee depending on your situation.

Offers Your Company Flexibility

Hiring contract employees is great for companies that need to be flexible, especially during economic downturns and business growth. Your business's plans are constantly changing, and it may not be practical to hire a full time employee to spearhead an experimental division or project. Costs are already high when your business is growing, so hiring contract labor ends up being less of a gamble than hiring a full-time employee.

Short Term

There are a wide variety of instances when businesses, especially growing businesses, need very badly for a short term employee to come in. You could have a situation where an employee will be absent for a few weeks or months, such as with maternity/paternity leave, vacation, or extended illness, and need someone to fill in for that short period. You could have a project that needs immediate attention, and the short turn-around on hiring a contract employee will ensure that the project gets done without having to figure out what you would do with a full-time employee after the project is finished. Contractors are also great for filling seasonal demand, especially when your product enjoys seasonal popularity.

Minimum Resources

Contract employees are a great way of minimizing the resources you would need for a full-time employee. The staffing service you use to find your contracted worker will have already vetted the candidate for your position, meaning your company will not need to spend time and resources to find the right person. Contractors are usually proficient in their field or require little training, so your company will not have to spend time and resources on the extensive training that a full-time employee would need. In addition, if your business is the kind that can be done remotely, you can have your contracted employee supply their own office space and supplies instead of having to supply them yourself.

Save on Benefits Packages

When you have a contract employee, you do not have to worry about providing the standard benefits package. This can result in major savings for your company. You do not have to provide them with any form of insurance, vacation pay, sick leave pay, or retirement plans. Many staffing companies actually provide these things to their contract employees, so it's a win-win situation for both the contractors and employers.

Save on Termination

When you already have a contract employee end date specified from the start, you don't have to worry about offering or paying severance packages or unemployment benefits. The more frequently you terminate full-time employees, the higher your unemployment payments will be, so ending a contract assignment is a better option than having to fire a full-time employee whose services you can no longer use. A staffing agency can then put the contract employee back to work at another client.