Finding the right talent for your company isn’t easy, and sifting through candidates is overwhelming. Direct hire staffing and contract staffing are excellent solutions, but understanding the difference is essential. At Blue Lake Search, we have over 30 years of experience in IT staffing across Michigan. We take the time to understand your needs to find candidates who accommodate your demands and culture, and we can find talent that can keep up with IT’s rapidly changing landscape.
Here’s the difference between direct hire and contract staffing:
Direct hire staffing involves a staffing agency finding permanent staff members for a company. Typically, these positions include benefits, training, and other onboarding efforts.
The staffing agency manages all recruiting, and the new employee is placed directly on the company’s payroll. Direct staffing signifies a long-term commitment, and the staffing company has more time to vet and find the best candidates.
There are several benefits of direct hire staffing. Direct hire recruiting promotes loyalty in new hires because they feel like valued team members.
Ultimately, this optimizes retention and enables you to fill permanent, full-time positions faster and with better talent through better perks and benefits, which optimizes productivity. Direct staffing also offers greater job security, which attracts top candidates.
Plus, direct hire staffing provides employers with more control over candidates’ work and guarantees compliance with labor and tax laws. Moreover, putting direct staffing candidates directly on your payroll avoids additional charges associated with staffing agencies.
The commitment is mutual, meaning valuable candidates are less likely to terminate a contract and move on.
Contract staffing signifies less of an up-front commitment to the candidate. The staffing agency manages front-end recruiting tasks, like sourcing candidates, evaluating resumes, and shortlisting candidates, before transferring them to the company for interviews.
During this process, candidates begin on the staffing agency’s payroll. This aspect provides more flexibility by enabling companies to decide if they want to hire the candidate full-time after the end of the contract. Contract periods vary from short-term to indefinite.
Still, contract staffing presents opportunities to hire the contractors full-time at the end of a contract term.
Contract staffing offers unique advantages as an opportunity to assess a candidate before committing to them. Moreover, contract staffing streamlines the interview process. For short-term or urgent needs, contract hiring is ideal.
Similarly, contract hires are perfect for adapting to seasonal needs or uncertain timelines and workloads, especially if you require a niche skill you don’t have in-house for a one-time, unique contract. Contract hiring also helps manage expenses.
Candidates remain on the staffing agency’s payroll, meaning you don’t have to worry about adding them to our benefits program, and they are only paid for hours worked, which also helps manage costs.
Outsourcing the recruiting to an agency that executes hiring saves significant time and resources. Lastly, contract staffing accommodates company growth and provides you with time to work new employees into your budget while still completing work.
In the IT space, it’s imperative to find the right experts with advanced skills who are as fast and agile as the technology they operate. Luckily, at Blue Lake Search, our contract and direct hire staffing can help find the perfect candidates with the right skillsets for your unique needs and company culture. We take the time to get to know employers and candidates to ensure each candidate is a perfect match. Contact us now to get started! Your team is only as strong as its members, and we’ll take it to the next level.
