What Is Contract Recruiting and How Can It Help Business Owners Optimize Their Hiring Process?

Whether running a startup or managing a large corporation, recruitment is always tricky and complicated. From the outside, it appears to be as simple as posting job openings, reviewing applications, interviewing candidates, and choosing the best ones.

It is seldom streamlined and smooth, but you can certainly try to optimize the process. One mistake most organizations make is that they don’t value the recruitment process and its importance in the company’s success.

If your company is struggling with its hiring process, there is a sound strategy that optimizes the recruitment of talented professionals: contract recruiting. It is a promising method that helps companies get the best results from their recruitment campaigns.

Keep reading to learn how it can help optimize your business’s hiring strategy.

What Is Contract Recruiting?

Contract recruiting refers to filling up positions in a company while being in a part-time capacity or short-term basis. You aren’t a full-time employee but are brought on to solve a hiring problem and devise effective recruiting solutions.

Contract recruiting involves a contract or agreement between the recruiter and the client. The recruiter will work solely for the client for the entire contract length. They are responsible for gathering candidates, screening them, and communicating with them on behalf of the organization. Depending on the contract terms, the contract will be over once you have fulfilled all the requirements.  

For instance, if a company has hired you to find employees for five positions on a short-term basis, you will only finish your work once you have found five suitable applicants for them. As the contract recruiter, you receive a recruitment fee upfront from the client.

Usually, a small percentage of the fee is paid as a retainer at the contract’s start. In contrast, another small portion is paid during the recruitment process, preferably after at least one candidate has been selected and hired. The exact payment details, schedule, and frequency are embedded into the terms and conditions of the contract that are agreed upon between both parties.

For several reasons, any company would hire a contract recruiter instead of an in-house recruiter. Most organizations hire them when they have an upcoming project for which they need employees, but they don’t have the budget to hire full-time recruitment professionals. Even though they have the budget, some companies hire contract recruiters for quick hiring campaigns because there won’t be any work for the recruiters once the positions are filled.

Another reason why a company might opt for contract recruiting is because they suddenly need many employees or want to expand their workforce but don’t want to work with an in-house recruiter. Moreover, a company might adopt this method if it has some unique or rare positions for which finding suitable candidates can be challenging. Some positions are more challenging to fill than others, and a contract recruiter can also help companies find the right talent for them.

You might also see contract recruiters being called contingency recruiters or headhunters, and they either have hourly wages or a fixed-income project with their client. They work as a recruiting consultant with a particular company, helping it fill its hiring requirements.

Contingency recruiters generally have contracts that last anywhere between three to six months. Once their work is finished, they can search for their next client contracts. Since you can expect the recruiter to fill various positions quickly, they have a strong network and a pool of qualified and talented candidates for different fields and industries.

How Can Contract Recruiting Help Optimize the Hiring Process at Your Company?

Contact recruiting refers to hiring a recruitment professional on a contractual basis to fill one or multiple positions in your organization. It is a suitable alternative to having a full-time recruiter or in-house recruitment team, which only springs into action when a vacancy or a new position is created.

Several companies have started adopting this method for finding suitable candidates and experienced several benefits.

1. Contract Recruiters Are Highly Skilled

First and foremost, contract recruiters are highly skilled and experienced recruitment professionals. By hiring them on a contract, organizations gain access to their expertise and efficient methods and capabilities, which have been polished by their numerous years of experience in the recruitment field.

Therefore, you can empower your hiring team by bringing a contract recruiter on board, and they would help you fulfill your hiring needs much faster than your in-house hiring professionals can.

If you enlist their services during peak hiring season or in times of increased demand, you won’t have to worry about getting thousands of irrelevant applications that would do you no good.

2. Contract Recruiters Work Faster

As mentioned in the previous section, contract recruiters can conduct the hiring process much faster than your staff recruiters would be able to do, mainly because this is what they have been doing for many years without a pause.

On the other hand, in-house recruiters aren’t as efficient or dedicated to finding the right talent for your organization. When there are no vacancies or need for hiring, they might not bother growing their network or sourcing talented professionals they can contact if a vacancy arises.

Since they have contractual obligations, you can expect contract recruiters to do their work swiftly, and they are better prepared even before they step into your office.

3. Contract Recruiters Have Only One Job

Whether your business is considered a startup or an enterprise, you would find that nearly all of the managers and leaders are overworked and multitasking, which means that they don’t have the time to properly screen, interview, and select applicants for any new positions or vacancies that may come up.

As a result, the recruitment drive doesn’t achieve its intended purpose, or you end up with incompetent hires who don’t know what they are doing. Therefore, it is always best to supplement your hiring campaign with a contract recruiter because they are dedicated and focused only on getting the right people to fill positions in your company. As a result, you can boost efficiency and fulfill your hiring requirements much faster.

Plus, your managers and other employees can direct their focus on other vital operations.

4. Contract Recruiters Know How to Navigate through Talent Shortages in the Market

The talent shortage is not a problem when you have a contract recruiter in your organization. Their mission is to dig deeper and uncover the best talent, no matter where they may be located.

Regardless of the position or the difficulty filling it, you can rely on a contract recruiter to find you the right talent for every position you have hired them to serve. There is no doubt that the job market is incredibly competitive. Hence, you need someone with extensive knowledge and experience regarding recruitment who can also help you filter out the best candidates to interview and select.

You don’t have to worry about getting names no other company has considered.

5. Contract Recruiters Add Value to the Hiring Process

When you hire a contract recruiter to fill the vacant positions in your company, you can expect them to go above and beyond to pursue the best talent that suits your requirements.

You can also expect them to do more than they are expected to. For instance, if you have already screened a few candidates for a highly reputable position, but most of them won’t come to the phone, you can count on the contract recruiter to approach the problem from another angle and try to rope in as many exceptional candidates as possible so that you have the opportunity of choosing the best ones out of them.

6. Contract Recruiters Understand All Industries and Fields

Another reason why contract recruiters can optimize the hiring process is that they aren’t only experienced or resourceful. Still, they are also well-versed in the hiring requirements and protocols in various fields and industries. This means that they can work with a wide range of companies and might have already worked with a client in the same industry as yours.

You can quickly expect that contract recruiters know their way around the industry most of the time, including understanding the different positions and their key specifications and devising robust strategies to approach candidates.

Expert recruiters know that no standard approach or strategy works for every industry, so they have to tailor their approach depending on the industry and position they are recruiting for.

7. Contract Recruiters Help in Reducing Organizational Risk

As you already know, contract recruiters are only hired for a short period to oversee the hiring needs at an organization, and once their contract is complete, they can look for future clients. This way, organizations don’t have to worry about sticking with an employee they have no use for, especially when the hiring demand is low, or the hiring campaign is complete.

Therefore, there is no long-term binding commitment usually involved with in-house recruiters. Moreover, there is a lower organizational risk, and your administration department has to deal with one less employee.

8. Contract Recruiters Help in Reducing Hiring Costs

It can cost a company an average of $4,700 to hire a new employee. If you’re rapidly hiring, this cost can quickly add up, so it’s important to have contract recruiters who are familiar with the job market and can reduce your time and cost-to-hire.

FIRST Agency hired Recruiter.com to help them fill 114 job openings. Using our contract recruiters, they had a 70% fill rate and saved 55% in recruitment fees compared to a traditional recruiting agency.

Contract recruiters know everything about the job market, including hiring trends, average salaries, etc. Compared to in-house recruiters, they are more involved in the job market, making it easier to understand the different hiring requirements and principles for various industries. Therefore, you can expect them to get the best candidates for multiple positions at the best salaries.

For instance, if the average salary for a senior software developer is $100,000 per year in your state, you can expect the contract recruiter to work around it rather than offering them $120,000 immediately. As a result, contract recruiting helps lower hiring costs and prevent you from spending excess money to get the most talented candidates.

9. Contract Recruiters Also Help You Build a Talent Pool

Several companies have full-fledged hiring and human resources departments responsible for researching everything about the job market and sourcing talented candidates occasionally.

Even if your organization has a hiring team, the chances are that they don’t have a pool of updated resumes from talented professionals who would be an asset to the company. Moreover, these teams usually spring into action whenever there is a new position or vacancy, and they are quite relaxed when there is a reduced demand for hiring.

If you want a network or pool of qualified and talented professionals, you can rely on the contract recruiter to develop this even when there is no vacancy. They already have an up-to-date list of candidates for various positions and industries, and you can ask them to send some contacts in your direction, provided that you add this to the contract terms.

10. Contract Recruiters Help with Compliance Requirements

Last, contract recruiters are also well-versed in the hiring requirements, policies, laws, and regulations for each state and different industries. Therefore, they can help your in-house recruitment or HR team comply with those laws so that there are no discrepancies or legal loopholes that might become a problem for the company later on.

Cheat Sheet: The Power and Potential of Contract Recruiting

Understanding Contract Recruiting

Contract recruiting refers to hiring independent recruitment professionals on a contract basis to find and secure top talent for an organization. Contract recruiters are typically hired for a specific period or to fill a particular number of positions. Unlike traditional full-time recruiters, contract recruiters are not permanent employees and are often used to augment an organization’s existing recruitment team during periods of high hiring demand.

The Advantages of Contract Recruiting

Contract recruiting offers a variety of advantages that can make it a compelling option for many organizations.

1. Scalability and Flexibility: Contract recruiting allows companies to quickly scale their recruitment capabilities up or down in response to fluctuating hiring demands. This can be particularly useful for organizations experiencing rapid growth, seasonal hiring spikes, or launching new projects requiring specialized talent.
2. Cost-effectiveness: Contract recruiters are hired for a specific duration or project, so they can be a more cost-effective solution than hiring additional permanent recruitment staff. Companies only pay for the recruiting services they need when they need them.
3. Access to Specialized Expertise: Contract recruiters often have specialized skills or industry knowledge that can help companies find and attract highly qualified candidates in specific fields. They can bring a fresh perspective to the recruitment process and offer valuable insights based on their unique experiences and areas of expertise.

The Challenges of Contract Recruiting

While contract recruiting offers numerous benefits, it’s not without its challenges. Ensuring clear communication regarding the organization’s culture, expectations, and hiring needs is essential. This can sometimes be difficult when working with contract recruiters not fully embedded in the company. Additionally, organizations must comply with all relevant labor laws and regulations regarding contract workers.

Best Practices for Leveraging Contract Recruiting

To maximize the benefits and minimize the challenges of contract recruiting, here are a few best practices:

1. Define Clear Objectives: Explain what you expect from the contract recruiter. This includes the number and types of positions they’ll fill, the timeframe, and any specific skills or qualifications candidates must possess.
2. Ensure Cultural Fit: Contract recruiters are not permanent employees, but they should still understand and align with your company culture. This is crucial for them to find candidates who will fit well within your organization.
3. Regular Communication: Maintain open lines of communication with your contract recruiters. Regular check-ins can ensure everyone is on the same page and allow any issues or concerns to be addressed promptly.
4. Provide Access to Necessary Resources: To be effective, contract recruiters need access to the same resources as your in-house team, including your applicant tracking system, job descriptions, and company information.
5. Review and Feedback: At the end of the contract, review the recruiter’s performance, provide feedback, and learn from the experience. This can help improve future contract recruiting efforts.

In conclusion, contract recruiting can be a powerful tool in an organization’s recruitment arsenal, offering flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and access to specialized expertise. By understanding the concept and best practices of contract recruiting, HR leaders and business owners can better determine if this approach aligns with their talent acquisition strategy and how to leverage it to secure the best hires and optimize their recruiting efforts effectively.

Hire a Contract Recruiter Today

Contract recruiters are highly experienced and talented professionals that can help you fill various positions in your company, and you don’t have to worry about sticking with them full-time. If you can find a contract recruiter who understands your organization and hiring requirements, you won’t have trouble making your hiring process efficient.

To know more about how professionals on a contract basis and recruitment process outsourcing can help you reduce the time-to-hire and cost-per-hire at your company, recruit for challenging-to-fill positions, and grow your team quickly with high-impact hires, get in touch with us at Recruiter.com.