Temps vs. Direct Hires: Which Hiring Style Is Best for the IT Industry?
Posted April 8th, 2020
Many companies debate whether they should bring in temporary workers or permanent employees for their IT needs. This is especially true during recessions, where the economic uncertainty makes it harder to gauge what the future holds.
In reality, both approaches can be beneficial for the IT industry; they are just better suited to specific situations. If you are wondering which hiring style you should use, here’s a look at the pros and cons of each.
Pros and Cons of Temporary Workers
Short-term hires can actually be great for a variety of reasons. First, they can help you reduce many personnel-related costs. You avoid certain expenses like workers’ compensation and unemployment. Plus, you aren’t involved in payroll beyond potentially signing off on a worker’s hours.
Second, temporary workers are flexible. You can fill in short-term gaps, bring in specialized skills for projects, and otherwise right-size your workforce. At times, it may even let you access a higher caliber of IT pro. Some tech professionals prefer to focus on specific skills when they work, so they favor project arrangements where they can do more of what they enjoy and less of what they don’t.
You can even use this approach to conduct working interviews, enabling you to evaluate a candidate’s capabilities before you make a long-term commitment. It gives you a chance to see if a worker fits in before putting them on your payroll. However, the approach can have some drawbacks. This is especially true if they have been temporary for quite some time and thought a permanent job offer was coming, only for that to never happen. That leaves them disheartened and frustrated.
Pros and Cons of Direct Hires
As with temporary workers, there are pros and cons to the direct hire approach as well. The biggest benefit is being able to secure a top talent as part of your team. They join your payroll immediately, so the ambiguity that can come with a temp-to-hire arrangement doesn’t exist. That can boost loyalty and morale.
But this hiring method isn’t ideal in all cases. At times, you only need certain IT skills for a particular duration. When this happens, making a direct-hire isn’t the best move. You end up bringing someone onto your payroll that may not be a great long-term fit based on your needs. That’s a costly approach.
Ultimately, both temporary and direct hire methods have their place. Each hiring style is excellent in specific scenarios, so you should consider your precise needs to determine which approach aligns with your needs. That way, you can start off in the right direction, ensuring you’re making the proper recruitment and hiring decisions from the beginning.
Call Us to Learn Which Hiring Method is Right for You
If you’d like to learn more about temporary and direct hire programs, the team at Bayside Solutions can help. Contact us today and see how our service offerings can benefit you.
