Temporary employment has been an ongoing trend for over twenty years now and noted from sources such as Forbes and Zippia we have seen exponential growth in this area due to the pandemic. Many clients turned to temporary workers as a short-term solution to meet their project deadlines, and many layoffs led candidates to temporary work to help support their income.
Director of Recruiting, Daryn Cubba shares how the job market has influenced temporary employment over the last two years.
Contract work for candidates
While many engineers have relied on contract work throughout the last few years, we have seen a steady shift on engineers permanently transitioning to contract work. Here are the benefits that contractors are embracing.
- Flexibility and freedom have always been key motivators for contract workers. This has also now become the new normal for many of us. Flexibility has been a hot topic in the workforce and to many professionals having a flexible schedule is now non-negotiable. Being able to work when you want and having the ability to choose what you do is more appealing than a traditional work schedule or permanent position. According to Upwork, 76% of individuals prefer to work on a contract basis vs. 24% for a traditional employer.
- Compensation is another motivator that attracts contract workers. Most contractors are hired because they have a highly sought- after skillset and many years of expertise. Since their skillset is unique and hard to find, clients are willing to pay a premium to get them hired. Many times, their skillset is so unparalleled that the client ends up extending their original contract and continues to pay that premium for the engineer to complete another project.
How clients have adapted
When the pandemic hit, many clients had to adapt to hiring contract workers for the first time. They also had to adapt to hiring and onboarding remotely, trust in remote work and manage a hybrid team. As a leading talent provider in our space, we were able to coach many clients on how to make this transition. Historically clients have been resistant to contractors because they weren’t “reliable” or were known to be “risky” but now clients know that hiring contractors is a practical solution. It has been very exciting to see so many companies incorporating contractors as a part of their business model and really starting to see the value that contract engineers can bring to their team. What many clients have realized is that hiring a contractor has three major benefits:
- The hiring, onboarding, and off boarding process is much quicker and efficient.
- Their expertise allows you to hit your project deadlines and most of the time exceed them.
- A contractor is more cost effective than hiring a permanent employee.
Overall, we have seen a shift in mindset in the tech space. Engineers are more motivated by work life balance, work autonomy and high compensation. The taboo of contract work being “risky” and not a secure solution has been proved wrong. As we continue to embrace this aggressive job market, you can expect more permanent employees to transition to temporary employment and more clients to adopt contractors to their business model.