The ‘Fear Factor Series’: Degree of Difficulty

(This is the second in a series of blogs that debunks the perceived fears associated with contracting. It includes a quote from a direct-hire recruiter who has successfully added contract staffing to their business model.)First Fear—Contracting is too difficult to do. This is perhaps the most common fear that recruiters harbor, and while it’s true that the administrative and legal issues associated with contracting can be daunting, many recruiters are unfazed by those issues and make contract placements, anyway. There’s also a solution for recruiters who wish to avoid these issues altogether—and that’s to enlist a contract staffing service provider to take care of the issues for them. This service provider is essentially the back-office, assuming responsibility for a wide range of tasks that must be handled properly, while the recruiter remains the front-office, continuing to close deals and make placements.“The process [of matching the candidate to the job order] is the same as permanent placements, and with contract placements, sometimes the hiring decisions are made much faster. Since contractors are hired on an at-will basis, clients feel that there is little liability to remedy a hiring mistake or release an unproductive or incapable contractor. Often, we place professionals on a contract-to-hire basis and make both an hourly fee during the contract portion and then a conversion fee when the contractor is hired directly as an employee.”Frank Liggett of J. Jireh & Associates, Inc.