The X Factor: How Contract Employees and Program Management Hires Help Small Businesses

When business is good, adding manpower to your total workforce can bring about both great benefits and challenges for your organization. You need to get things done, but with full-time staff, sometimes the costs outweigh the advantages. That’s why a lot of companies rely on contract employees or program management hires.

Program management is unlike contract staffing because it’s focused on a specific project. At Brookwoods Group, Companies leverage their own internal resources and expert consultants to push the project to completion so that its internal staff are free to complete their core tasks.

As workplaces continue to diversify, the rate of contract-based employees is on the rise. Studies show that temporary employment rates are increasing in many Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.

Here are a few examples of what companies with project and contract employees have to gain.

Flexibility in an unstable economy

Smaller organizations often have the biggest staffing challenges during recession periods. Hiring and firing their full-time employees can be expensive and time-consuming. Plus, replacing employees is a hassle, especially when the companies cannot find talent when they need it most. Contract employees can serve as a quick fix for unpredictable turnover problems.

Access to new skills

With the advent of contract and program management workers, companies gain access to specialized skills for very specific jobs. This in turn improves efficiency and brings in more perspectives to tackle a particular project. If you ever come across a project that demands skills outside of your current workforce—or you just need additional manpower to get things done, you can rely on your temporary talent to keep things moving forward.

Saves you money

Full-time contract and program management hires can be much more cost-effective than full-time permanent hires, even though an hourly contract rate appears more costly than a salaried employee. The difference is that the contract professionals can be better matched to the job, and are more likely to be productive team members and less likely to falter, fail, or quit.  In addition, contract or program professionals are prepared to leave when the project or assignment is complete, which can be an awkward transition for salaried employees.

Try before you buy

It’s not easy to find the right person for the right job (unless you’ve hired a staffing agency to handle the hiring process). Contract employment plans are a great way for employers to analyze the skill set of their workforce. It also buys management plenty of time to evaluate someone before they decide to extend his or her contract or even make a permanent offer to a part-time worker.

Energy boost in the office environment

Contract hires bring new blood into the mix when they are tasked with collaborating with permanent staff members. They bring their own unique experiences and expertise, which can shift the overall mood and energy of the workplace. Permanent staff get the help they really need while contract workers either get the experience they need or are able to lend their experience to your team. The right contract employees can strike a nice balance between experience and new thinking, keeping everyone fresh.

 

If you have a limited-time project that you need expert help to take to the finish, call Houston’s leading staffing and recruitment agency, Brookwoods Group. We can take care of your company’s staffing challenges by finding the best candidate for the job—whether it’s on a project basis or for a permanent position.