Try-Before-You-Buy: a Staple of the Hiring Process

Employee referrals. Assessment tests. Exhaustive interview processes.

These are all strategies that companies use to make sure they hire workers who are qualified AND are good cultural fits.  But many are finding these longstanding techniques are not enough and are turning to “try-before-you-buy” methods to help ensure successful hires.

If your clients are having trouble finding the right cultural fit or can’t seem to pull the trigger on a direct hiring decision, then you may want to suggest that they try-before-they-buy through a contract-to-direct arrangement. In this scenario, the candidate, recruited by you, would become the employee of a contract staffing back-office during a contract period that typically lasts between three and six months.

During this time, the back-office, not your client, takes on all the employment responsibilities, such as processing payroll, managing employee paperwork, providing benefits, unemployment, Workers’ Compensation, etc. The client can see the worker in action doing the actual job they are being hired for before committing to a direct hire.

If the candidate doesn’t meet expectations, they can simply end the contract and try someone else. And if the candidate doesn’t feel the job is a fit for them, they can end the contract as well. But if they both are happy, the candidate can then be converted to a direct hire.

With the often unstable nature of the economy and business, it’s no surprise that both employers and candidates are continuously trying to be cautious. As the try-before-you-buy concept becomes more common, you can also benefit from the trend by providing contract-to-direct services.

If you’re a direct hire recruiter and you want to know more about how you can offer contract staffing services to your clients, download our FREE Quick-Start Guide today!