In corporations and SMEs across industries, the demand for contractors has been increasing by more than 20% since 2021. Companies are increasingly utilising contract staff not only in front-line customer-facing positions, administrative and business support roles, but also in digital transformation positions, IT placements and specialist roles.
This rise in contracting comes as no surprise. The relentless waves of uncertainties effected by the pandemic, and the apprehension in global markets have made contracting an expedient means to fill short-term needs.
The increasing willingness of workers to accept contracting roles and the need for business to manage costs have also lent their weight in making contract staffing a highly attractive hiring arrangement.
WHY Contract Staffing is A Highly Attractive Option for Businesses?
Contract staffing is a hiring arrangement that may be fixed-term or project-based. Usually arranged by recruitment agencies, the hiring company does not hire the individuals as employees. Instead, the hiring company enters into a B2B contract with the recruitment agency for contractors who provide specific services.
Such contracting arrangement comes with many advantages for businesses. The hiring company can be assured of fast hiring as the recruitment agency often has a large database of contractors who are ready and available for work.
Furthermore, contract staffing comes with fewer compliance risks and less administrative hassles.
HOW Contract Staffing Is Helping Businesses Stay Agile?
The greatest benefit of contract staffing is the flexibility it gives employers in hiring. By facilitating hiring-on-demand, companies can adapt to changing market conditions and match their operational needs to manpower requirements.
- Better Manage Cost and Resources: In utilising contract staffing, companies have the flexibility to hire based on business needs, project requirements and even seasonal operations demands. This helps companies better manage their cost and resources.
- Skills-based, Project-based Hiring: Contracting provides a highly viable arrangement for companies with uneven business verticals. Business teams that are experiencing faster growth or greater project needs have the flexibility of hiring based on skillsets required or work duration and may extend such contracts when required.
- Hire Remote Talents: With remote working a highly accepted arrangement amongst businesses today, contracting provides companies with the option of hiring talents who prefer to work from home or are outside of the organisation’s geographical location or time zone. This allows companies to be connected with talents that have skills which best match their needs. Oftentimes, contracting such talents come with cost savings as they do not need to be re-located, but can support a company’s operations from their home base.
The Hybrid Hiring Approach – Permanent Hires + Skilled Contractors
As the business environment continues to evolve, particularly with a global recession on the horizon, an innovative hiring arrangement is taking hold amongst companies – the hybrid hiring approach!
Companies are increasingly supplementing their headcount of permanent hires with skilled contract staff. Full-time employees are employed for roles that impact on business operations and skilled contract professionals are contracted for roles that require specialist talent such as digital transformation.
This hybrid approach not only gives companies the expertise they require, it also affords them the flexibility to scale-up and reconfigure their resources when conditions change.
Furthermore, with contracting becoming an increasingly accepted arrangement amongst jobseekers, there is now a large pool of highly qualified professionals with a diversity of skillsets and expertise who have embraced contracting as a career option.
The best part is that such professionals are registered with leading recruitment agencies and are available for contract assignments across job functions. This gives companies a large pool of business support talents and professionals with specialised skills to tap on for their business requirements.
Should you require specialist contract staff or short-term business support staff who can facilitate your business goals, email us at enquiries.sg@achievegroup.asia.
Contract staffing is the go-to hiring arrangement now
ACHIEVE Group can help businesses and jobseekers navigate the hiring scene by providing timely advisories and customised search and selection solutions that include permanent staffing, contract staffing and payroll outsourcing arrangements.
A recruitment consultancy in the Asia Pacific for over 30 years, ACHIEVE Group is a Human Capital Partner (HCP) and Singapore Prestige Brand Award (SPBA) winner, recognised for commitment to progressive employment practices and business transformation.
For any queries on hiring programmes, staffing arrangements or happenings in the job market, please reach out to us at enquiries.sg@achievegroup.asia or 63230050.