2 Questions: Then You Make Contract Placements

Last week in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog, we presented “2 Big Reasons to Start Making Contract Placements.” We also explained the difference between direct hire and contract placements.

This week, we continue our special series of blog posts about contract staffing. The main point of this post is that making contract placements is really not that difficult. You can get started relatively quickly. In fact, all you really need to do is answer two questions.

Those two questions (and their answers) are listed below:

#1 — How do I get started in contracting?

This is one of the questions that we’re asked all the time. The first step in making contract placements is the same first step as making direct hire placements. You need job orders. Without a job order, there is no placement.

However, statistics show that 80% of contract job orders come from a recruiter’s current client base. So start by notifying all your direct hire clients that you now offer contract staffing services. Then ask them if they have any contract positions that they need help filling.

More than likely, they ARE trying to fill contract positions. Up to this point, they were probably trying to fill them in a way that didn’t involve you. That’s because they did not know you offered contract staffing solutions. You can easily fix that.

In addition, make sure your existing marketing vehicles contain your contract staffing message. This includes your firm’s website, business cards, social media profiles, marketing documents, etc.

#2 — How do I figure out the bill rate and pay rate?

Negotiating rates can seem daunting, but it’s not as difficult as it sounds. First, most contractors are paid on an hourly basis. As a result, the bill rate charged to the client and the contractor pay rate will both be hourly.

We recommend obtaining a range of bill rates the client would be willing to pay up front so that you can negotiate with confidence. Then, you will need to determine the contractor pay rate.

Start by taking the annual salary for a comparable direct hire position and dividing it by 2,080. That’s the average number of full-time hours per year. You can then multiply that pay rate by a markup to get the hourly bill rate.

OR you can go directly to our website. That’s because we have a Profit Calculator that will tell you the bill and pay rates for our new Express Model. (Click here for more information about TEC Express.) In the meantime . . .

Click here to try out the Profit Calculator!

The final step is to find and use a recruitment back office. That’s easy: you use Top Echelon Contracting. We become the W-2 Employer of Record for your contract candidates. We handle all of the paperwork. You just make the placements.

See? Making contract placements really isn’t difficult after all.

For more information, download our Quick-Start Guide to Contract Staffing. Or request a demo from one of our contract staffing specialists.