A poor hiring placement creates a heavy burden on all involved. The “all” pertains to both ends of the equation — the company and the candidate. How “heavy” is the hit? For employers, the U.S. Department of Labor estimates the fallout could be as high as 30% of the employee’s first-year salary. Quick number crunching reveals the impact in dollars. Let’s consider the case of an employee who earns $60,000 annually. Making a mistake in hiring this person could cost the company as much as $18,000. It’s no wonder the Society for Human Resource Management refers to the financial fallout from such a bad decision as “astronomical.”
What are the factors behind these amounts? They derive from a mix of time and expenses that organizations incur, as well as intangibles. The major ones include:
- Interviewing
- Recruiting
- Onboarding
- Training
- Managing performance
- Loss of productivity
- Harm to morale, customer service, and reputation
- Payment for outplacement services and legal fees
Then there’s the other side: there are the repercussions for employees too. A suboptimal work situation subjects them to an array of problems and hassles. Failure on a job creates a stain on their record and need to discuss and defend it in vying for another spot. Lost wages produces financial hardships. And emotional stress plays havoc on the person and their family members.
It behooves everyone involved to make good decisions throughout the recruitment process. But, all things considered, sometimes you don’t know how it will go until you do a test drive. This explains the genesis of a hiring protocol gaining popularity. And that is the freelance to full-time transition employment option. You can think of it simply: Try before You Buy.
Hybrid Hiring with Satisfaction and Safety in Mind
Freelance to permanent placement provides a wide range of benefits. It brings to employment the principles we use for most aspects of our life. We try on clothing and shoes before buying them, sometimes lease or rent items prior to purchasing. Why not apply this practice to how we approach critical matters regarding business and livelihood? This hiring model enables organizations to get the talent they need quickly. At the same time, it ensures that the candidate selected has the desired hard and soft skills to mesh with the team on a long-term basis. What’s more, it extends the same set of assurances to the candidates themselves.
Also known as temporary to permanent or temp to perm, this style of recruiting spans the best of both worlds. It bridges gig assignments and full-time payroll employment. Job requisitions and alerts embed this provision in the descriptions. They may note it in several ways. In the status line, a term used is “Freelance/Possible Full Time.” In the estimated time of duration, it indicates “Possible Full Time.”
Employers have the confidence of knowing that those applying for the job ultimately seek full-time payroll positions. Candidates understand this concept too; that is, if they do well, the opportunity for enduring work exists. If there’s any doubt about fit or other factors, employers have yet another possibility. They may extend the length of the temporary/freelance assignment. This gives them more time to make a final decision about bringing the person permanently onto the payroll.
Cases in Point
Creative Circle offers this recruiting specialty. Since COVID-19 took root, finding a full-time employee by hiring a freelancer first has attracted major interest. In fact, it has proved to be the most sought after hiring pattern for top clients. It provides them with the help they need at this difficult time until their economics improve to add a full-time resource. For applicants, many lost their permanent jobs during the pandemic. This arrangement gets them back into the workforce; it also offers them peace of mind about starting something new. And it may lead to a long-term career at the company that engages them initially on a provisional basis.
Although any role can be filled via this method, the top 10 regularly requested temp-to-perm titles include:
- Marketing Manager
- Marketing Coordinator
- e-Commerce Specialist
- Social Media Director
- Digital Strategist
- Project Manager
- UX Director
- Email Marketing Specialist
- Copywriter
- Graphic Designer
Creative Circle has an active database of highly qualified candidates in major markets across North America, standing eager and ready to fill these and other jobs. With COVID-19 in mind, temp to perm fares as well for remote placements and off-site work as it does for in-office situations.
When it comes to moving forward in this sphere, take advice from what an advertising slogan once proclaimed: “Try it, you’ll like it.” The freelance to full-time hiring option is an all-around win-win waiting to happen. Get started now.
About the author.
You name it, she covers it. That’s the can-do attitude Sherry M. Adler brings to the craft of writing. A polished marketing and communications professional, she has a passion for learning and the world at large. She uses it plus the power of words to inform and energize stakeholders of all kinds. And to show how all of this can make a difference, she calls her business WriteResults NY, LLC.
