5 Reasons to Hire Contractors in 2024

Acquiring skilled employees has been a challenge for businesses in Australia recently, due to a tight job market and a shortage of qualified candidates. Additionally, job security has been a top priority for job seekers, resulting in a preference for permanent employment over temporary or contract work. However, the hiring landscape is shifting. Whilst the employment market is still affected by the availability of candidates, competition for top talent and economic conditions, there is an increasing number of candidates favouring temporary and/or contract work due to the flexibility it provides, the competitive pay rates and the ability to be exposed to new environments. According to recent statistics by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the number of temporary and contract employees has been on the rise, increasing by 7.3% from 2019 to 2021.

Companies can benefit significantly from hiring a temporary and/or contract workforce to allow for flexibility in their hiring strategy to scale up and down as needed, gain access to specialist skills for bespoke projects and reduce costs by hiring short-term staff, as opposed to on a permanent basis. Through receiving agency support, you can benefit from having access to an extensive network of skilled candidates on short notice, reduce back-end administration and gain market and legislative insight.

Although there are quite a lot of benefits to including contractors in your hiring strategy, we have listed the 5 key reasons below to help you make an informed decision:

1. Meet your short-term needs

In today’s ever-changing market, companies need to be increasingly agile to meet their targets whilst still taking into account the work-life balance and stress levels of their staff. Hiring a flexible workforce can allow you to scale up and down your workforce during busy periods or periods of uncertainty, provide project support, cover staff leave and/or provide cover whilst you search for the right permanent staff member, without the obligations of hiring a permanent staff member.

Don’t forget, you can also “try before you buy” and engage a candidate on a temporary basis prior to offering a permanent opportunity to ensure they are the right fit or gain extra support for your team without the permanent headcount.

2. Access to top talent fast

One of the major benefits of working with specialist recruitment agencies like Miller Leith is the large pool of candidates at their fingertips. Consultants are constantly networking with top talent and building out their candidate pool so they can fill a role fast. A quality agency knows the market, they put the work in to screen candidates to ensure they’re the right fit and are able to work swiftly to provide a suitable candidate(s) to suit your needs.

3. Access to specialist skills

Specific projects or tasks may require specialist skills that are not available in-house and/or require additional training of staff to ensure they can meet expectations. Temporary workers often have specialist skills that they have developed over time and are a great resource to tap into for a finite period to provide expert knowledge and experience.

Depending on the scope of work, if there is the potential for contractors to work from anywhere, you can gain access to specialist skills that may not be based in your city, state or country, which further increases the talent pool.

4. Reducing costs

It may come as surprising, but using agencies to hire temporary and contract staff can actually be cost-effective. Companies can avoid the expenses associated with hiring a full-time employee such as long-term training costs, benefits, managing payroll and only paying the contractor for the work that is required. An agency manages all required on-costs which include payroll tax, workers’ compensation, PI/PL  and additional fees.

5. Hiring Strategy

Any quality agency will know current and predicted market trends and legislation. They will therefore be able to work with you to plan for any upcoming recruitment drives and discuss any legislative changes which may impact the workforce. They can help you to refine position descriptions, provide insight on available (candidate) skills and assist with best practices regarding hiring new staff. On top of this, recruitment agencies will manage contracts, probity checks, timesheets, payroll and legislative requirements so there is no added work for your HR or payroll team.

Why work with Miller Leith

At Miller Leith, we pride ourselves on being a premium brand with a people-first approach and strong networks across both, clients and candidates. Our team offers specialist skills and knowledge, best practices and legislation. Here is what our clients & candidates have to say about their experience with us across Melbourne, Sydney and Queensland.

We partner with our clients to understand their unique needs and go to market as an extension of their brand. We ensure due diligence is completed when screening candidates and manage all back-end requirements as needed and mitigate risk for your business.

We also keep in touch at a cycle that suits you (and the candidate) to ensure all is going smoothly and address any concerns, should they arise.

Looking to fulfil your contracting requirements fast without compromising on candidate quality?