There are a number of advantages if you use contractors rather than permies.
You are going to save a lot of money and hassle by hiring contractors
When you hire a permie, you need to train/ babysit him/ her, provide benefits, office space and equipment to perform the day to day work. Also, you need to take care of his/ hers insurance, pension and also any employee compensation.
By using contractors, you are going to save hassle if you are operating under a project/ programme environment where your workload is going to fluctuate over the time. You simply hire contractors to deliver a certain project with short term notice periods.
Scope your requirements
Do not interview too many candidates. If you are interviewing more than 7 for one particular role that means you are having no clue about your requirements. List your candidates carefully before taking to the interview process.
Be direct and honest with the candidates
Be direct and honest with the candidates during the interview process and let the candidate speak and share his/ her ideas as well. Create an opportunity for the candidate to speak with your staff. If you are a large corporate, let the admin team handle the recruitment process and as an HM your focus should be 100% on interviews.
Recruitment can sometimes be challenging and a painful process for any business. Below are few tips.
Define your scope
Define your recruitment requirements clearly by documenting what is required. (What is lacking in your current team.) Do not just go and talk to candidates to see who is available. Write an accurate/ suitable job spec and make it relevant by emphasising on your requirements. Be realistic about what is essential and what is desirable and focus on MUSTs and COULDs.
Create a hiring strategy
Do you have a proper recruitment strategy and a system in place if not take help from an agency? Ask your team whether they know somebody for the job you are hiring.
Recruitment is scary and can be challenging if you are a start-up with no experience dealing with the recruitment process. Candidates also think start-ups are a risky place to work, so how you are going to make your place more attractive? Below are few tips and best practices for start-ups planning to hire the best.
Be transparent and Open
As an SME you are a growing company and you should focus on self-starting and more entrepreneurial candidates rather than process intensive people. These people going to help you to grow quickly.
Have enough cash reserves
You will need to have enough cash reserves to support your new business for 18 months with no revenue.
Plan/ Plan/ Plan
A well-written strategic plan will save a lot of money in the long run and will also build the trust between you and your business partners.
Look at the options of franchising
Recruitment can be very risky if you are a first timer to the trade or you don’t have a great strategic plan, so why look at the option of franchising and get the experience within that model. Also, decide whether to operate online or on the high street.
Hiring employees under the Fixed Term Contracts (FTC) will give you greater benefits and flexibility. You can hire FTCs for a number of reasons including to cover maternity leave, to test some new technology and also so test waters of a new programme or a project.
Fixed-term employees regulations do not apply to agency workers, apprentices and work experience placements. If you hire an FTC you are still liable for all the tax obligations including the PAYE and the NI contributions. An employee who has been continuously employed on successive fixed-term contracts for four years or more will automatically become a permanent employee unless the employer can justify the renewals. There are legal implications when it comes to terminating a fixed-term contract.