Project-based work has become the new norm for businesses looking to fast-track their digital transformation journey. This makes it increasingly challenging to decide whether to hire permanent or interim talent.
If you’re struggling to determine which of the two is the best fit for your organisation, you’re in the right place. In this guide, we’ve outlined the pros and cons of hiring temporary and longer-term employees so that you can make a sensible, fully informed decision.
The benefits of hiring permanent employees
Loyalty
Although interim workers can provide expertise and complete projects on a temporary basis, permanent staff are generally more loyal to their employment. They’re invested in your business and will understand your company culture, values, mission and goals better than any temporary employee will. This in turn means greater stability and security.
Reliability
You can rest assured that if your workload increases and you urgently need a helping hand, in most cases, you’re covered. In-house staff are there for the long haul and will assist you with projects on a permanent basis, ensuring they’re delivered on time and on budget.
The disadvantages of hiring permanent employees
Costly
The main disadvantage to recruiting permanent employees over their temporary counterparts is that they’re often more expensive – not only to recruit, but to train. As a fast-paced and rapidly changing industry, there’s a huge risk that permanent employees get left behind if you don’t invest in the right training.
Risky
Hiring permanent talent may seem like the ideal solution for many businesses. However, things can very easily take a turn for the worse. Recruiting the wrong person (or making the wrong hiring decision) can negatively impact productivity and result in huge financial costs for your company. This highlights the need to get it right the first time around.
The benefits of hiring interim employees
Cost-effective
The great thing about interim employees is that it’s extremely cost-effective to hire them for your business. Bringing in an interim manager to support your projects on a temporary basis could cost around £500 to £600 a day. On the other hand, a permanent project manager could set you back anywhere between £50,000 and £70,000 a year.
Flexible
Offices across the country have moved further towards flexible working due to the coronavirus pandemic. The good news is that, unlike permanent professionals, interim experts are more motivated by the flexibility of temporary, project-based work. This also means that they’re quicker to hire and even quicker to replace.
The disadvantages of hiring interim employees
Training
While temporary workers can save you both time and money in the long run, training them can become a repetitive and resource-intensive process. Regardless of how skilled they are, bringing interim experts up to speed with how your business operates can disrupt workflows and even delay project completion.
Availability
The talent pool of experienced interim tech specialists is currently very dry. As such, finding the appropriate people for your projects can be extremely difficult. If you’re having trouble filling your positions with the skills and experience you need, it may be worth partnering with a leading talent provider who can take full responsibility for your hiring.
How Edge Tech can help
At the end of the day, the decision between hiring permanent or interim employees ultimately comes down to your individual business and its unique needs. If you’re looking to maximise efficiency and decrease costs, striking the right balance between in-house and interim employees is key. With that being said, finding the appropriate mix of candidates for the job can take time and energy. That’s where we can help.
At Edge Tech, we have over a decade of combined market experience in recruiting the very best talent within emerging technologies such as RPA and AI. Whether you’re looking for permanent, contract or interim specialists to deliver your projects, we’re the team to turn to.
Give us a call on 01908 382 398 or email info@edgetechheadhunters.io to learn how we can help you build your team.
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