Dec 5, 2022
The Challenges Of Employing A Fixed Term Role
If you’re hiring or thinking about hiring, you’re likely going through the motions of deciding whether your requirement is contract, perm or fixed term.
Each option presents advantages and disadvantages. But there is one option that definitively puts you on the back foot. That being, fixed term.
In our recent talent survey, only 3% of the project services community said that they would consider a fixed term contract. The reason, for the most part, is that a fixed term arrangement offers neither the security of a perm role, nor the financial advantage of a day rate contract. In essence, it’s the worst of both worlds.
By going to the market with a fixed term role, you are narrowing the pool of available talent down to 3%, which, in this market, makes it incredibly difficult for you.
Of course, you might not always have unlimited budget or even the headcount to hire someone on a day rate or perm basis. So, what should you do? There is no simple solution.
You could take your fixed term budget and work it back to see if you can afford a day rate contractor for a shorter period of time. E.g., If you have $160K for the fixed term 12-month period, you might be able to spend that $160K on a contractor for a 7-month contract. There is a chance that the individual may be able to achieve what you are looking for in a smaller duration.
You could also push internally for approval on a perm hire, leveraging market data and to a point, anecdotal evidence of what is happening in the market and how your chances of successfully hiring a fixed term candidate are low.
I’m not suggesting that Perm and Contract are perfect options either. As I said, each option has disadvantages. It’s important to understand what it is you’re trying to achieve, how critical the role is, and, how patient you are willing to be to get the right person in.
