Should You Hire Contractors to Try Them Out for Permanent Jobs?

With today’s shaky economy, many companies are turning to contract staffing firms to find permanent employees and for good reason. Using a contractor allows both your company and the contractor to see if your office environment and the job responsibilities are a good match before they sign on full-time. The combination can be unbeatable.

These days, contract staffing firms are filled with high-quality, well-educated workers, recent graduates, people who have relocated and those returning to the workforce for the first time in a few years — just the type of people that you want to hire full-time.

Hiring someone as a contractor gives you another benefit. You might discover that you don’t need someone to fill the vacant position after all – there really isn’t that much work to be done. If you take the time to assess your staffing needs, you may find that you just need to shuffle some job responsibilities or make a different hire in another department.

If you decide to try the “contract to hire” method of hiring, let the contractor know what your plan is. Most contractors will work harder for you if they know their work could lead to a full-time position.

There’s only one drawback to hiring a contractor as an employee: You will probably have to pay the contract staffing firms a finder’s fee.  However, that drawback is more than offset by the fact that you know you’re getting an employee you like.