When adding contract services to your existing direct-hire recruiting business, you must first decide if you are going to handle the back-office tasks (payroll, benefits administration, employment paperwork, invoicing, etc.) in-house, or if you are going to outsource them.
Many smaller firms and “one-man shows” choose the latter. After all, it can take the average recruiter one to six months to get set up to handle contract staffing issues in-house. Not only that, it takes one or two days every week to keep up with the timesheet, payroll, and invoicing issues. By outsourcing these tasks, any recruiter can take on contract opportunities without taking away from their direct-hire business.
NO Recruiting Firm is Too Small
A contract staffing back-office can handle all the administrative, financial, and legal details associated with contract placements. The back-office should also handle all the weekly tasks and actually become the contractors’ legal employer.
If you decide to outsource these tasks rather than handle them in-house, you will want to find an experienced contract staffing back-office with a well-documented history, an impeccable reputation, and positive referrals and testimonials. Remember that your back-office is a reflection of you, the recruiter.
Here is a partial list of the critical items that should be handled by a contract staffing back-office:
- Bill rates and pay rates assistance
- Contract generation for clients and candidates
- Employee paperwork
- Timesheets
- Payroll funding and processing
- State and federal taxes
- Workers’ compensation
- Unemployment insurance
- Invoicing and collections
- Background checks
- Certificate of Insurance
- Benefits – medical, dental, vision, 401(k), etc.
- ACA (Obamacare) compliance
If you use a reliable contract staffing back-office, you can easily offer both direct and contract staffing services to your clients, no matter your size. You can enjoy the extra income and client loyalty that come with contract staffing You can hand off the administrative details tied to a blended service business model and still enjoy the regular income and client satisfaction that come with contract staffing. And you can focus on what you do best – recruiting.
