The Top 10 Reasons

Contract construction workers, are they the solution for you? We wanted to know as well! So we did some research and here are the top 10 reasons Ireland’s leading contractors chose to use Sherlock Recruitment. There might be more benefits to using contract workers than meets the eye. Have a look and let us know if there are any reasons we might have missed.

1. Stability in uncertain times

For all organisations, flexibility and adaptability are paramount and having the ability to adapt their team during busy or low periods. The hiring and or finishing up of permanent staff is time-consuming expensive and can be detrimental to morale. The ability to bring on more workers or scale back the workforce to respond to the ebbs and flows of demand is one of the biggest benefits to using contract staff. This helps with a rapid response solution for sudden turnover, long-term leaves, and special projects.

2. Access to new skills

Working with Sherlock Recruitments contract employees, clients found that the contract staff provided new skills and perspectives to the project, which in turn improved efficiency and productivity. If a new project requires skills outside your permanent team’s area of expertise, a contract employee can provide those new skills and talent to keep things moving for as long as you need that surge.

3. It can lead to meaningful hires

This was one of our favourites; finding employees that are the right fit for your workplace is always a challenge, and making a bad hire can be costly. Contract employees, on the other hand, can provide employers with the chance to evaluate workers over a longer period of time without committing to a permanent offer. It can also alleviate some of the urgency associated with filling an opening in your permanent staff – having a contract employee in place during your recruitment process ensures you take your time finding the right hire. Sherlock has provided many employees on a contract to permanent basis. We are always delighted when we get that call to discuss moving a contract employee to become permanent staff.

4. Rapid and up to date expertise

Sherlock specialises in hiring quality staff for the construction industry, we are experts in the field and are specialists in your industry. One of the biggest perks, according to our clients, have told us is the speed to market, we provide a faster alternative to the conventional hiring process. We know the market, are well versed in current career expectations of quality staff and salary rates, have the available talent at our fingertips, and can reach qualified candidates quickly. Contract staffing is an instant solution for many companies that need the best available candidates in the shortest amount of time.

5. Access to Critical Skills

It is commonplace for many of our clients to use our services to gain access to critical strategic skills on a project basis. Commonly, companies need a qualified candidate to fulfil a critically important role for a short period and turn to contract staff to provide them with a suitable candidate. Being able to hire a well-qualified and vetted candidate provides human resource departments with crucial flexibilty solution for a project that needs immediate attention for a particular set of skills.

6. Fast scalability of your workforce

If you are like many of our clients and have several big projects rapidly coming up or have taken on a big new project? Using contract staff is one of the fastest and most efficient ways of scaling up your workforce at short notice. You will then have the option to of keeping those high performing employees permanently to continue the growth of your business.

7. Fast-track hiring

Contract staff can usually start work on-site within a few days, avoiding long notice periods or interview processes, and the hassle of backward and forward of counter offers etc. Sherlock Recruitment is always searching for, hiring and growing our database, and we have a pool of contract workers ready to spring into action when you need them and where you need them.

8. Cover while recruiting

Using this strategy is something that is happening more often in the current candidate-driven environment. Due to the difficulties, time and risk of hiring permanent staff, more and more companies are using the services of a contract employee while recruiting for a full-time employee. This strategy takes the pressure to hire off, giving the hiring desk the legroom to evaluate and negotiate with suitable candidates while minimising the strain on the rest of the team. The added perk here is that you might find the contract employee is the ideal fit. Plus, your new permanent recruit will thank you for keeping their workload to a minimum before they start!

9. Extended Trial

So many companies take contract workers on a ‘working interview’, or a trial to permanent basis with a permanent job on offer if things go well. If a contract worker isn’t suited to one role, they might be a good fit somewhere else in your company. Putting contract workers in on this basis gives both the employer and employee the ability to fully understand each other to see if it’s a good fit. Interesting fact: Over one-third of managers started as contract staff – so your new contract employee could go on to be a pivotal member of your business.

10. Risk-free retention of the best staff

By using contract staffing services, a human resource department is under no obligation towards the employee. The employer can evaluate the employee on the job, observe their performance, check their qualifications and monitor their work habits to make sure that the temporary worker meets all the criteria before offering the worker a permanent job. This no-risk employment relationship cuts down on staff turnover because both the temporary employee and the employer are certain of a good fit with the company’s work culture. Additionally, using a recruitment agency for high-volume staff placements will equate to cost savings related to turnover because the company will save on training costs amongst others related to employee recruitment.

These were the top ten reasons companies across Ireland use the services of Sherlock Recruitment and training. If you want to find out more about how companies across Ireland are putting these ten great reasons into practice in different sectors across the Construction industry, then be sure to contact your industry specialists:

General Inquiries: 01 456 8438

Construction Danny: 087 342 5402
Mechanical: Elaine: 087 383 8473
Electrical: David: 087 273 7312