Companies can choose from four different job placement types when selecting their next hire. These include direct, temp-to-perm, contract, and project-based hiring, and each one comes with its own set of benefits.

Quest Financial offers staffing services for all four types of job placement. Let’s dive into them and their unique advantages so you can decide which is best for your open role.

Type 1: Direct Hiring

Direct hiring is when a company utilizes a staffing agency but hires a candidate directly. Rather than the candidate becoming an agency employee, they are directly employed by the company. Businesses may also choose to hire independently without a staffing agency for these positions; in that case, typically, more work is involved, and the candidate selection pool may be smaller.

This type of job placement tends to be longer-term or permanent. Companies offer their direct hires benefits such as paid time off, sick leave, and health insurance.

Why Direct Hire?

Here are some of the reasons why a company may choose the direct hire route:

• Filling upper management or executive roles
• Filling positions where long-term commitment is beneficial
• Filling positions that require unique skills such as advanced degrees or specific technological skills
• Motivating the best talent, as full-time positions with benefits tend to have a better chance of enticing a person to leave their current role

Type 2: Temp-to-Perm

Another type of job placement is temp-to-perm in which companies are looking to hire an employee they may later take on permanently. Companies may hire with the intention of keeping an employee on permanently if they perform well; other times, companies may make that decision during the assignment.

Temp-to-perm roles are frequently used during busy periods when companies need extra assistance. Seasonal roles are an example of this type of job placement.

There are many advantages of a temp-to-perm position for employees. It allows them to explore new careers, beef up their resumé, learn new skills, and evaluate a job to see if they enjoy it. So don’t fear; plenty of people are interested in this type of job placement.

Why hire temp-to-perm?

Temp-to-perm is a type of job placement that offers unique benefits, including:

• Avoiding wrongful termination or unemployment costs. Temp-to-perm roles do not guarantee that an employee converts full-time. This means it’s less risky than hiring a full-time employee from the outset if an organization isn’t set on keeping them.
• Reducing costs. Temporary employees don’t receive paid vacation time, sick leave, health benefits, or retirement benefits. Employers will be required to provide worker’s compensation and overtime pay and meet basic safety regulations, but companies can still save lots of money. If a company decides to hire permanently, benefits are added.
• Trial run. If an organization wants to evaluate candidates thoroughly before hiring full-time, temp-to-perm is an excellent way to do so.

Type 3: Contract Hiring

Contract hiring is a job placement type where employees are brought on for a fixed duration to complete a defined task. Contract positions span a wide range of roles, including launching a company’s social media, developing a blog strategy, building a website, or designing a logo.

Contract employees may also be used to fill in for a permanent employee during a leave of absence (such as a sabbatical or parental leave).

The contract given to this temporary hire will lay out the deliverables and work that needs to be done. Once the job is complete, the relationship is typically over. Since the job has a predefined scope and end date, contractors aren’t entitled to any benefits.

Why hire a contractor?

There are several advantages to the contractor type of job placement, including:

• Vast industry expertise. Since contractors work with various companies, their expertise tends to be expansive. You can find contractors who specialize in whatever you need to be completed, ensuring an expert gets the job done.
• Flexibility. It’s much easier for a business to scale up or down with contractors. They can choose to bring on industry experts when more help is needed quickly; conversely, it’s easier to end contract positions than to lay off full-time employees.
• Cost efficiency. Since contractors aren’t entitled to benefits, companies can save costs. Companies also don’t need to grant paid time off or handle payroll taxes. And since contract projects are typically shorter in duration, the amount you pay a contractor is less than if you brought someone on long-term and full-time.

Type 4: Project-Based Hiring

Project-based hiring is similar to contract hiring in that you bring on freelancers who are employed for a specific period and have a defined scope of work. However, project-based hiring is used when companies need to fill a large volume of positions at a time, typically greater than 10.

Why hire project-based employees?

The advantages of project-based hiring are very similar to contract hiring. However, remember that you’ll use project-based hiring when you need a sizeable quantity of candidates or have a large project that needs completing.

Some advantages include:

• Cost efficiency. Project-based hiring allows companies to keep staffing costs low since they don’t have to offer benefits or paid leave.
• Need-based. Hire project-based candidates only when needed. This gives companies the ability to scale up or down as their needs shift.
• Industry expertise. Freelancers have in-depth knowledge and usually work with a variety of companies. This allows you to hire the best project experts.
• Saves time. Compared to full-time positions, project-based hiring is a type of job placement with minimal onboarding.

Need Help Filling a Position?

Whether you need direct, temp-to-perm, contract, or project-based hiring, Quest Financial is here to help.

Quest Financial is proud to have over 50 years of combined recruitment experience partnering with companies in accounting, finance, marketing, legal, HR, customer service, and administrative industries. Learn more today! We’ll help you find the best candidate for your open position, no matter the job placement type.

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